Step up from leading a finance team to leading the leaders who run it. This Financial Controller role gives you responsibility for three experienced managers and a wider team, with the freedom to set the direction rather than getting dragged into every detail.

You’ll inherit a finance operation that works well, so this isn’t a turnaround. The opportunity is to make a good function better: challenging established routines, improving processes and using automation and AI intelligently, while protecting the controls behind the numbers. You’ll have real influence over how finance evolves, backed by a salary of £85,000-£89,000, up to 10% bonus and hybrid working with three days a week in Southampton.

The emphasis on candidate benefit, concise requirements and curiosity follows recruitment-advert principles that an advert should persuade rather than read like a job description

Reporting to the Finance leadership team, you will be responsible for:

• Leading three managers across technical accounting, management reporting and financial operations, with a wider team of around 22
• Setting clear expectations and giving your managers the autonomy to lead their own teams
• Overseeing financial control, the annual report, statutory reporting, year-end and external audit
• Building strong relationships with senior leaders, auditors and the Audit & Risk Committee
• Challenging established processes and identifying opportunities for smarter automation and AI
• Ensuring improvements make finance easier and more efficient without compromising financial control
• Helping shape the finance systems roadmap, working alongside technology specialists and delivery teams

What you will need:

• Previous experience in a similar senior finance role, such as Financial Controller, Group Financial Controller, Head of Financial Control, Head of Finance or senior Financial Reporting role
• A recognised professional accountancy qualification, preferably ACA, ACCA or CIMA
• Experience leading managers who themselves lead teams, rather than only directly managing individual contributors
• End-to-end ownership of annual reporting, statutory accounts and external audit
• Experience working with an Audit & Risk Committee or board and building effective relationships with external auditors
• Evidence of leading finance transformation or process improvement through your management team
• Strong financial control and technical accounting knowledge, combined with the judgement to know when to challenge and when to delegate
• The ability to bring people with different roles and levels of technical expertise behind the same vision

What you will get:

• Up to 10% performance-related bonus
• 28 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing with service
• Hybrid working, with three days per week in the Southampton office
• Flexible working options
• Enhanced family leave, including paid partner leave
• Learning and development support, coaching and mentoring
• Wellbeing support
• Volunteering leave and matched fundraising

If you would like to find out more about this role, please apply with your CV or LinkedIn PDF. We look forward to hearing from you!

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