Associate Director, Finance

Orchard Therapeutics plc; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Orchard Therapeutics plc in London seeks an Associate Director, Finance to lead month-end close, financial reporting, and FP&A activities across the organisation. You will partner with senior leaders, manage technical accounting matters, and ensure compliance with IRFS and internal policies.

This role provides strategic financial support, budgeting, forecasting, and performance analysis while collaborating with cross-functional teams and external stakeholders in a high-growth biotech environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive experience in finance, accounting, or related roles including leadership responsibilities across financial reporting and FP&A.
• Industry-specific biotech/healthcare experience preferred, ideally at a public accounting firm.
• Strong technical accounting expertise and experience navigating complex accounting issues.
• Experience with financial planning, forecasting and partnering with senior stakeholders.
• Proven ability to lead and develop teams and drive process improvements.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a strong financial reporting and control environment.
• Lead the month-end close process with detailed analyses and reconciliations.
• Maintain internal control framework for regulatory compliance and policies.
• Provide technical accounting leadership on complex transactions.
• Implement new accounting standards and update policies and procedures.
• Act as strategic finance business partner, delivering monthly results and analysis.
• Support annual planning, quarterly forecasting, and cross-department budgeting.
• Collaborate with parent company and affiliates; respond to ad-hoc inquiries.
• Manage staff and accounts payable, and employee expense reporting processes.

Skills

Financial reporting

FP&A

Leadership

Strategic partner

Cross-functional collaboration

ERP systems

NetSuite

Adaptive Planning

Excel

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting

MBA preferred

CA/CPA or similar designation preferred

Tools

NetSuite

Adaptive Planning

Excel

Job description

Location:Hammersmith

Reporting to:Director, Finance

Job Summary

Orchard Therapeutics is a global biotechnology gene therapy company dedicated to transforming the lives of people affected by rare diseases through the development of innovative, potentially curative cell and gene therapies. Orchard has its global headquarters in London and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyowa Kirin, a Japan-based Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Company.

Reporting to the Director, Finance, the Associate Director, Finance, will play a key leadership role across both management accounting and financial reporting, ensuring a robust control environment and delivering high-quality financial insights to support business decision-making.

This role is responsible for leading the month-end close process, overseeing financial reporting and technical accounting and ensuring compliance with IRFS and internal policies. In parallel, the role serves as strategic finance business partner, driving FP&A activities including budgeting, forecasting and performance analysis across the organization.

The Associate Director will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams and external stakeholders to resolve complex finance and accounting issues, support planning cycles and ensure timely and accurate reporting. This is a highly visible position with broad impact across the finance function and the wider business.

Key Elements and Responsibilities

• Maintain a strong financial reporting and control environment.
• Lead the month-end close process ensuring accuracy, timeliness and completeness of financial results. Activities include performing detailed account analysis, recording journal entries, preparing and reviewing account reconciliations
• Maintain the company’s internal control framework to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and company policies.
• Provide technical accounting leadership including the resolution of complex accounting transactions.
• Implement new accounting standards including issuance and updating of corporate accounting policies and procedures.
• Act as a strategic finance business partner, providing monthly results and financial analysis.
• Support the business with the annual planning cycle and quarterly forecasting activities.
• Collaborate with parent company and affiliates, responding to ad-hoc questions and requests.
• Support corporate financial planning, forecasting, and budgeting processes across departments
• Manage staff and all aspects of accounts payable and the employee expense reporting process.
• Support interactions with parent company and affiliates, responding to ad-hoc questions and requests.

Experience, Skills & Knowledge

• 7+ years of progressive experience in finance, accounting, or related roles including leadership responsibilities across financial reporting and FP&A
• Industry-specific experience in biotech, healthcare preferred and ideally experience at a public accounting firm
• Strong technical accounting expertise with experience navigating complex technical accounting issues
• Demonstrated experience in financial planning, forecasting and business partnering with senior stakeholders
• Proven ability to lead and develop teams, drive process improvement and operate effectively in a fast-paced environment
• Experience with ERP and planning systems, ideally NetSuite and Adaptive Planning and advanced proficiency in Excel.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial information for non-financial stakeholders and influence decision-making.
• Proven ability to build relationships and partner effectively with cross-functional teams and senior leadership.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting, master’s degree in business administration (MBA), finance, or related field preferred
• Charted Accountant (CA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or similar professional designation (strongly preferred)