Finance Manager

Hawthorn One; Accrington; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentorship from Financial Director

Job summary

Hawthorn One, partnered with a private multi-entity manufacturing business, is seeking a Finance Manager to join a small but capable finance team. The role offers a genuine mentoring relationship with the Financial Director, and a clear pathway to expand scope as the function develops.

The Finance Manager will own month-end close, produce management accounts with insightful commentary, and manage cash flow across the group, including stock accounting and intercompany reporting.

Qualifications

• Self-sufficient in a small team within a fast-moving SME.
• Experience in SME or operationally complex environments with stock/inventory accounting.
• Must own month-end close, management accounts, and cash flow reporting.

Responsibilities

• Own month-end close end-to-end and produce monthly management accounts with variance analysis and meaningful commentary.
• Maintain cash flow forecast across the group and manage intercompany reporting.
• Oversee multi-entity consolidation and intercompany reporting.
• Develop KPI reporting linking operational activity to financial outcomes.
• Surface insights from data by engaging with operational and commercial stakeholders.
• Maintain stock valuation, movements and reconciliation and understand inventory flow.

Skills

Excel skills

Month-end close

Variance analysis

Commercial curiosity

Stakeholder engagement

Stock accounting

Education

Qualified or by experience

Job description

Hawthorn One exclusively partnering with a privately owned, multi-entity Manufacturing business. It sits within a well-established operating group with a history of steady, profitable trading, a business that has been built over time and knows what it does well.

The leadership team is experienced and operationally grounded. The business has genuine commercial ambition and is at a point where it is investing in the infrastructure to support the next phase of its development, of which the finance function is a key part.

The finance team is small but capable, and the Finance Manager joins into a function that already works, with a mandate to raise the quality and pace of financial reporting and make a real difference to how decisions are made across the group.

The Finance Manager Job

The Finance Manager reports directly to the Financial Director, an exceptionally experienced operator who has built and led finance functions across complex, multi-entity businesses. This is a genuine mentoring relationship, not just a line management structure. You will have direct access to someone who understands both the technical discipline and the commercial craft of finance leadership, and who is invested in developing the people around them.

The role itself is broad. You will own month-end close end-to-end, produce monthly management accounts with variance analysis and meaningful commentary, and maintain the cash flow forecast across the group. Multi-entity consolidation and intercompany reporting sit with you, as does the build and maintenance of KPI reporting that connects what is happening operationally to what it means financially.

The commercial piece is where this role becomes genuinely interesting. The business has good data, the Finance Manager’s job is to make it speak. You will work with operational and commercial stakeholders to surface the insights that sit behind the numbers, challenge assumptions, and bring a level of financial visibility that allows the leadership team to make faster, better-informed decisions. This is a role for someone who wants to influence how a business thinks.

Stock and inventory accounting form an important part of the role. The business carries meaningful stock and the Finance Manager will need to be across stock valuation, movements and reconciliation, understanding how inventory flows through the business and what it means for the numbers at month end and beyond.

Over time, there is a clear intention to develop the scope and seniority of the finance function. The Finance Manager who joins now will be well-positioned for that progression.

The Requirements

The Finance Manager must be self-sufficient. This is a small team in a fast-moving business where you will get exposure and development. You must be the kind of person who identifies what needs doing and does it, without waiting to be asked.

It is important that you bring genuine commercial curiosity, an interest not just in the numbers but in what sits behind them, and a real appetite to engage with the operational and commercial stakeholders who drive them. You will need to build credibility quickly and hold your own in rooms where finance is not the first language. You must have a background in SME or operationally complex environments, and it is important that this includes exposure to stock or inventory accounting.

Technically, you must be able to own month-end close end-to-end, produce management accounts to a high standard and maintain and report cash flow. Strong Excel skills are essential. You will be qualified or qualified by experience, and your experience must demonstrate genuine ownership.

The Rewards

The role is full time and hybrid, alongside the package, the Finance Manager will benefit from direct mentorship from an experienced Financial Director, a genuine investment in your development. For the right person, there is a clear opportunity to grow with the business as the finance function develops, and to take on greater scope and seniority over time.