Finance Manager

The Revel Puck Circus; Shoreditch; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 40,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible remote work

London office option

Pension

Free show tickets

Job summary

Revel Puck Circus, a London-based contemporary circus company, is hiring a finance professional to own books, payroll and compliance as part of a small core team working with up to 60 freelancers per season.

You will Bring the finance function in-house, keep Xero reconciled, manage cashflow and budget forecasting, and liaise with external accountants to file statutory accounts and tax returns.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years running finance for a small organisation.
• You've personally prepared year-end packs and run monthly payroll, including pensions.
• Confident, day-to-day Xero user, with strong forecasting and spreadsheet skills.
• Experience paying freelancers, including internationally.
• A clear, patient communicator, including with people who don't speak English as a first language.
• Reliable and visible: you flag problems early and do what you say you'll do.

Responsibilities

• Keep Xero reconciled, correctly coded and current, and produce monthly management accounts with show-by-show profitability.
• Own payroll end to end, including RTI and pension submissions, and run weekly payment runs.
• Own the rolling cashflow forecast and budgets, and model new stands and deals before we sign them.
• Be the friendly first point of contact for artists and crew on invoices, fees and expenses, with a simple invoice template and plain-English guidance.
• Handle international payments, per diems and advances, freelancer status checks and Foreign Entertainers Unit withholding tax.
• Prepare VAT returns, the year-end pack and TTR working papers, and keep HMRC, Companies House and pensions admin in order.
• Prepare grant budgets and reports for Arts Council England, other funders and lenders.

Job description

3 days a week (0.6 FTE). £35,000 to £40,000 FTE, pro rata. Closing date: 12 noon, Friday 23 October 2026.

Revel Puck Circus is one of the most exciting contemporary circus companies in the UK. We pitch our own big top in parks and town centres and fill it with world-class acrobatics, clowning and live music, for audiences who might never set foot in a theatre. We're a not-for-profit, founded by a circus kid who grew up in Shoreditch's circus clubs, and we've been raising the roof ever since.

• 250,000+ people have seen a Revel Puck show live.
• 211 shows and 58,000+ tickets on our 2026 South East big top tour.
• Best Circus (Theatre Weekly) for The Wing-Scuffle Spectacular at the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe, with 6,000+ tickets sold and five sell-out houses.
• Two awards at the Cirque de Demain festival in Paris for our original Giant Rola Bola act.
• International: a sold-out run at FOCASA in Taiwan.
• Christmas sell-outs in Walthamstow and Beckenham, and this winter a brand new stage adaptation of Quentin Blake's Clown.

The role

We're bringing our finance function back inside the team. You'll own the books, cash, payroll and compliance day to day, join our weekly team meeting, and be the person everyone can rely on when something is "in hand". Our external accountants prepare and file the statutory accounts, corporation tax return and Theatre Tax Relief claim; you hand them a clean, complete year-end pack. We're a small core team working with up to 60 freelance artists and crew a season, from all over the world, so a big part of the job is making sure every one of them is paid right and on time.

What you'll do

• Keep Xero reconciled, correctly coded and current, and produce monthly management accounts with show-by-show profitability.
• Own payroll end to end, including RTI and pension submissions, and run weekly payment runs.
• Own the rolling cashflow forecast and budgets, and model new stands and deals before we sign them.
• Be the friendly first point of contact for artists and crew on invoices, fees and expenses, with a simple invoice template and plain-English guidance.
• Handle international payments, per diems and advances, freelancer status checks and Foreign Entertainers Unit withholding tax.
• Prepare VAT returns, the year-end pack and TTR working papers, and keep HMRC, Companies House and pensions admin in order.
• Prepare grant budgets and reports for Arts Council England, other funders and lenders.

About you

• At least 3 years running finance for a small organisation, ideally as the main or only finance person.
• You've personally prepared year-end packs and run monthly payroll, including pensions.
• Confident, day-to-day Xero user, with strong forecasting and spreadsheet skills.
• Experience paying freelancers, including internationally.
• A clear, patient communicator, including with people who don't speak English as a first language.
• Reliable and visible: you flag problems early and do what you say you'll do.

Arts, touring or festival experience, Theatre Tax Relief knowledge, a finance qualification (AAT, ACCA, CIMA or ACA) and a second language are all a bonus.

What we offer

Flexible working three days a week, remote or in our London office; 28 days' holiday pro rata including bank holidays; a workplace pension; free tickets to our shows for you, your friends and family; and a real seat at the table in a fast-growing circus company.