Finance Manager - 12-month fixed term contract

LEX Diagnostics Limited

Melbourn

On-site

GBP 70,000 - 100,000

Full time

14 days+

Get more replies from employers

Send a job-specific resume in minutes.

Benefits offered by this job

Employer pension contribution 10%

Private Medical Insurance

Life insurance

25 days’ annual holiday

Discounts and memberships

Job summary

Lex Diagnostics Limited is seeking a qualified finance professional to own the Cambridge site's finances. You’ll manage day-to-day finance, including cash flow forecasting, budgeting, and month-end close, while coordinating with global finance and external auditors.

You'll work with operational leaders to translate numbers into actionable plans, maintain strong controls, and contribute to strategic decisions within a growing, global biotech group.

Qualifications

You're a data-driven thinker who translates numbers into practical action.
You understand internal controls and risk management in a growing business.
You lead with collaboration and can influence cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

Manage day-to-day site finance: AP/AR,GL, cash, month-end close.
Own weekly cash flow forecasts and lead quarterly/annual budgeting cycles.
Prepare monthly management packs for the site CEO and senior team; liaise with auditors and tax advisors.

Skills

Strong numbers

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA

Tools

SAP

Syteline

Job description

Most finance roles leave you buried in month end while someone else makes the decisions that matter.

This one doesn’t.

You’ll take full ownership of the Cambridge site’s finances at a company that has just gone from independent UK biotech to part of a major global organisation. Lex Diagnostics builds ultra fast cartridge based PCR systems that deliver results in minutes, not hours. The technology is already changing how clinics work. Now the finance function needs to keep pace as we scale manufacturing, commercialise the first products, and integrate with a much larger parent company.

What you’ll actually do

You’ll run the day-to-day financial management of the site — accounts payable and receivable, general ledger, cash, and a controlled month end. You’ll own the weekly cash flow forecast so leadership always knows where we stand. You’ll lead the quarterly forecasting and annual budgeting cycles, challenge the numbers that come in, and turn them into plans people can actually use.

You’ll prepare the monthly management packs that go in front of the site CEO and senior team, and you’ll be the main point of contact for the external auditors and tax advisors (including Research and Development Expenditure Creditor RDEC). You’ll keep the balance sheet clean and the controls tight. And you’ll spend a lot of time talking to operational leaders and colleagues in global finance, treasury, shared services, corporate accounting, so the numbers support real decisions rather than just reporting them after the fact.

This is a hands on role. You’ll still get your hands dirty in the detail, but the real value is in the insight and the partnership.

Who this will suit

You’re a fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) who has already run financial management, reporting and business partnering in a fast-moving environment. You know your way around month-end, statutory accounts, budgeting and forecasting. You’re comfortable with IFRS or UK GAAP and you understand how proper controls actually protect a growing business.

You’re good with numbers and better with people. You can sit with an operational manager and help them see the financial consequences of their choices without making them feel stupid. You can prioritise when everything feels urgent.

Advanced Excel and experience with an ERP (SAP or Syteline are useful) will make the first few months easier. Any exposure to US GAAP or RDEC claims is a bonus, not a requirement.

The practical bits