Business Services Manager (Agriculture & Rural)

Ensors; Bury St Edmunds; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading accounting firm is seeking a Manager to join their Business Services team in Bury St Edmunds. The role involves overseeing accounts and tax returns, managing engagements, and supporting agricultural clients. The ideal candidate will have an ICAEW/ACCA qualification, strong IT skills, and experience in client relations. This full-time position allows for agile working in a supportive environment.

Benefits

Attractive salary

Extensive in-house training programme

Friendly working environment

Qualifications

• Minimum 12 months of post-qualification UK practice experience.
• Experience in accounts preparation work and tax returns for clients.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality with sensitive information.

Responsibilities

• Oversee drafting / reviewing of accounts and tax returns.
• Manage multiple engagements simultaneously.
• Assist in the development of trainees.

Skills

ICAEW/ACCA qualification or equivalent

High IT proficiency (MS Office, Xero, Quickbooks, Sage)

Excellent communication skills

Organisational skills

Experience in client relations

Motivation for Business Development

Education

Qualified by experience or relevant qualification

Tools

MS Office

Xero

Quickbooks

Sage

CCH software

Job description

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

We are seeking a Manager to join our busy Business Services team. This role can be based at any Ensors location (Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Ipswich, Norwich or Saxmundham). However, the role will be specifically supporting clients serviced by our Bury St Edmunds office, and will have a majority bias towards agricultural clients, therefore applicants should be willing to develop their on-going practice career in this client sector. This full-time role (37.5 hours per week) can be combined with an element of home-working under the firm's agile working policy.

About the team

Our Business Services team support small and medium sized businesses in a variety of sectors and business structures including limited companies, partnerships, and sole traders. The team provide a mix of services which cover bookkeeping, management accounts, year-end accounts preparation, personal & corporate tax, and other accounting matters.

This means that we can offer you exposure to a broad portfolio of work. We pride ourselves on being an approachable, supportive, friendly and sociable team.

About the role

The role's responsibilities will include overseeing the drafting / reviewing of accounts and tax returns, production of/reporting on management accounts, and setting up accounting systems/functions. You will oversee more junior colleagues, produce budgets and bills, monitor engagement profitability, ensure compliance procedures are followed, and you will manage multiple engagements simultaneously whilst also taking a lead on client contact. You will assist in the development of our trainees, including reviewing their work, and providing feedback. You will also be involved in business development activities (eg developing professional relationships with business referrers, attending seminars/other activities).

The successful candidate will need to be equally effective in working both as part of a team, and alone, either within our office or at client sites. A full UK driving licence with access to own transport will be necessary to enable client visits.

Essential skills and experience

• You should hold the ICAEW/ACCA qualification, or be able to demonstrate that you are qualified by experience to a similar level.
• A high level of IT proficiency and the ability to use various packages, in particular MS Office (Word, Excel), Xero, Quickbooks and Sage. Prior experience of CCH software would be useful.
• Recent previous experience within a UK accountancy practice environment, in a role involving frontline contact with clients. We would usually expect you have to have a minimum of 12 months of post-qualification UK practice experience. Experience of dealing with agricultural sector clients would be preferred, but is not essential.
• Previous involvement in accounts preparation work and tax returns for both unincorporated and corporate clients.
• Excellent communication skills: confident and articulate in dealing with a wide range of clients.
• Tenacious, thorough and self-motivated attitude, with strong technical and compliance knowledge, an expert eye for detail, good organisational skills and the ability to identify and deal with potential issues.
• Competent in dealing with sensitive information and maintaining confidentiality.
• A proven track record of working to deadlines and effectively handling multiple priorities, with a positive attitude to problem-solving and working in a team.
• Motivation and ability to assist with Business Development activities.
• Must have UK driving licence and own transport to facilitate visits to client sites.

We offer an attractive salary with numerous benefits in a friendly working environment. We have an impressive record of growth and an excellent reputation for staff development, offering an extensive in-house training programme for all staff. Read more about working at Ensors here.

The role offers a great opportunity to gain experience within a prestigious team that has gained significant recognition. Ensors was shortlisted for 'Pensions Accountancy Firm of the Year' at the 2025 Pensions Age Awards. The firm was also shortlisted at the Central & East Insider Dealmaker Awards in 2024, 2023, and won Deal of the Year in 2022. Ensors also secured 1st place in the Experian 2020 Corporate Finance Adviser League Table. See more on our website here.

To apply, please submit your CV together with a covering letter stating your current salary via the 'Apply for this job' button. Please note we are only accepting applications via our recruitment portal for this vacancy. Should you not receive an acknowledgement email in response to your application, please check your spam folder.