Finance Team Lead

Response Personnel Ltd; St Albans; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working arrangement

Competitive salary

Supportive working environment

Job summary

Response Personnel Ltd is seeking a Finance Team Leader in St Albans, operating on a hybrid basis. The role focuses on owning the day-to-day transactional finance function and guiding colleagues while aligning with senior finance management.

The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience with purchase and sales ledgers, bank reconciliations, and reporting, and be proficient in Xero and Excel. This is a permanent, full-time position with a competitive salary and opportunities to improve

Qualifications

• Experience in a senior finance role and ownership of a finance function.
• Strong working knowledge of purchase ledger, sales ledger, credit control and bank reconciliations.
• Confident user of Xero in a commercial environment.
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, SUMIFS).
• Experience producing financial reports and analysing data.
• AAT qualified or equivalent, or qualified by experience.
• Understanding of VAT rules and their application.
• Excellent attention to detail and high accuracy.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain financial information clearly.
• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of day-to-day transactional finance function, ensuring processes are completed accurately and on time.
• Act as main point of contact for finance queries, supporting colleagues with complex transactions.
• Oversee purchase ledger, sales ledger and banking activities.
• Prepare weekly and monthly payment runs with proper controls.
• Carry out bank and general ledger reconciliations and resolve discrepancies.
• Support credit control activities, including escalated accounts.
• Assist with month-end procedures and ensure timely posting.
• Produce financial reports and analysis including aged debt, cash flow and ledger summaries.
• Monitor financial information, identify trends and risks.
• Champion the use of Xero and support system queries and best practices.
• Identify and implement improvements to processes and controls.
• Maintain audit-ready records and assist with year-end audit preparation.

Skills

Senior finance leadership

Purchase ledger

Sales ledger

Credit control

Bank reconciliations

Xero

Excel (Pivot, VLOOKUP, SUMIFS)

Financial reporting

VAT rules

Attention to detail

Communication

Independence

Education

AAT qualification or equivalent

Tools

Xero

ConnectWise

Excel

Job description

Finance Team Leader

Location: St Albans, Hertfordshire (Hybrid)
Salary: £38,000 - £40,000 per annum
Hours: Full-time, 9am - 5:30pm
Contract: Permanent

Response Personnel are currently recruiting for a Finance Team Leader to join a growing and well-established business based in St Albans.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced finance professional to take ownership of the day-to-day transactional finance function, providing guidance and support to colleagues while working closely with senior finance management.

The successful candidate will have a strong hands‑on finance background, excellent attention to detail and the confidence to take responsibility for financial processes, reporting and reconciliations. This role offers a varied workload, combining transactional finance with financial analysis and opportunities to improve processes and controls.

Key Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the day-to-day transactional finance function, ensuring processes are completed accurately and to deadline.
• Act as the main point of contact for finance queries, supporting colleagues with complex transactions and technical questions.
• Oversee purchase ledger, sales ledger and banking activities.
• Prepare weekly and monthly payment runs, ensuring appropriate controls are followed.
• Carry out bank and general ledger reconciliations, investigating and resolving discrepancies.
• Support credit control activities, including escalated accounts and complex cases.
• Assist with month-end procedures, ensuring transactions are posted accurately and on time.
• Produce financial reports and analysis, including aged debt, cash flow and ledger summaries.
• Monitor financial information, identify trends and highlight potential risks or discrepancies.
• Champion the effective use of Xero and support colleagues with system queries and best practice.
• Identify and implement improvements to financial processes and controls.
• Maintain accurate, audit‑ready financial records and assist with year‑end audit preparation.

The Ideal Candidate

• Proven experience in a senior finance role, with the ability to take ownership of a finance function and support colleagues.
• Strong working knowledge of purchase ledger, sales ledger, credit control and bank reconciliations.
• Confident using Xero in a commercial environment.
• Intermediate to advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, VLOOKUP and SUMIFS.
• Experience producing financial reports and analysing financial data.
• AAT qualified or equivalent, or qualified by experience.
• Understanding of basic VAT rules and their application.
• Excellent attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain financial information clearly.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and meet deadlines.

Experience supporting month-end procedures and working within an IT services, managed services or technology business would be advantageous. Familiarity with ConnectWise or similar billing software would also be beneficial, although training is available.

What's on Offer?

• Competitive salary of £38,000 - £40,000 per annum.
• Hybrid working arrangement.
• Permanent, full-time opportunity.
• A varied role combining transactional finance, reporting and analysis.
• The opportunity to take ownership of finance processes and contribute to continuous improvement.
• A supportive working environment within a growing business.

If you are an experienced finance professional looking for your next step and have the skills to lead day-to-day finance operations while supporting a wider finance team, we would love to hear from you.