Group Commercial Finance Director

Sohohouseco; Greater London; On-site; GBP 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Soho Friends Membership

50% off Food & Drink

Staff Room Rates

Private Health and Dental Care

Weekly Pay

Life Assurance

Up to 50% Staff Discount on Cowshed &/

In Office Dog Policy on Fridays

Season Ticket Loan

Christmas Office Closure

Charity volunteering days

Free Counselling Sessions

Job summary

Soho House is seeking a Group Commercial Finance Director to lead a dedicated commercial finance team across the Group's businesses. You will own debt management, banking relationships, property costs, leases, insurance and commercial agreements, while partnering with Development, Legal, IHDB and Works to drive strategic decisions.

You will champion AI-enabled analytics and automation to strengthen capital planning, feasibility and underwriting, aligning with the Group's ERP and AI

Qualifications

• Senior finance leader with multi-site or property-focused experience.
• Proven debt, banking and treasury management.
• Deep property, leases, JV/HMA and capital planning expertise.
• Experience with corporate insurance programs and BI/CBI.
• Hands-on new site feasibility, underwriting and model critique.
• Strong GAAP accounting knowledge and reporting.
• Experience embedding capital planning governance and policy.
• Proven cross-functional partnership with Development, Legal, IHDB and Works.

Responsibilities

• Own Group debt management and refinancing initiatives.
• Manage banking facilities to support liquidity.
• Oversee Leases, property management and costs/performance.
• Own JV/HMA agreements and major contracts.
• Lead Group insurance programmes and BI/CBI claims.
• Drive New Site Review, feasibility and underwriting.
• Lead Capital Planning governance and reporting.
• Provide finance business partnering to Soho Works, IHDB, Partnerships, Residences.
• Champion AI-enabled analytics to enhance capital planning and decision-making.
• Represent Commercial Finance in Development, Capex and Ops Transformation forums.
• Develop and lead a dedicated commercial finance team.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Global perspective

Technical rigor

Data AI fluency

Governance & control

Stakeholder influence

Risk management

Change management

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA

Tools

ERP systems

AI analytics

Job description

The Role..

The Group Commercial Finance Director is a new senior leadership role created as part of Soho House's Commercial Finance transformation, leading a dedicated commercial finance team covering the Group's commercial and strategic finance arrangements. The role owns debt and banking relationships, property, leases, insurance and commercial agreements, new site feasibility, and capital planning governance and reporting, together with finance business partnering to Soho Works, IHDB, Partnerships, Residences and the Group's other businesses.

Working closely with Development, Legal, IHDB and Works, the Director plays a central role in Development, Capex and Ops Transformation forums, and will champion the use of AI-enabled analytics and automation to strengthen capital planning, feasibility and commercial decision-making, in line with the Group's wider ERP and AI transformation ambitions.

Treasury, Debt & Banking Relationships

• Own Group debt management, monitoring facilities and supporting refinancing initiatives as required.
• Manage banking facilities and relationships to support the Group's liquidity and funding needs.

Property, Leases & Commercial Agreements

• Own commercial and financial oversight of the Group's Leases across the portfolio.
• Lead Property Management from a commercial finance perspective, ensuring costs, income and performance are effectively managed.
• Own JV & HMA (Joint Venture & House/Hotel Management Agreement) agreements, ensuring commercial terms are understood, managed and optimised.
• Own Key Contracts, providing financial oversight and commercial input into major agreements.

Insurance

• Own the Group's insurance programmes, working closely with the business to ensure appropriate coverage is in place across all risk areas.
• Lead claims handling, ensuring claims are managed efficiently and effectively from notification through to resolution.
• Own Business Interruption (BI) and Contingent Business Interruption (CBI) claims, ensuring careful planning and preparation to support timely and accurate recovery.
• Provide ongoing, day-to-day support to Operations on any claims and coverage matters, acting as a trusted point of contact for the business.
• Regularly review insurance programmes and coverage with the business to ensure they remain appropriate and adequate as the business evolves.

New Site Feasibility

• Own New Site Review & Feasibility, leading financial appraisal and underwriting of new site opportunities to support the Group's expansion decisions.
• Critically review feasibility models, challenging inputs and assumptions (including revenue, cost, capex and return assumptions) to ensure recommendations are robust and well-evidenced.
• Ensure a clear understanding of the technical accounting impacts of new site decisions under GAAP (e.g., lease accounting, capitalisation and impairment considerations), working closely with technical accounting and reporting teams.
• Present feasibility and underwriting recommendations to senior stakeholders, balancing commercial ambition with financial and accounting rigour.

Capital Planning & Governance

• Own Capital Planning governance across the Group, setting and maintaining policy to ensure consistent, disciplined investment decision-making.
• Lead day-to-day management, review and reporting of Capital Planning, checking submissions and spend against Group policy and requirements.

Business Partnering

• Act as lead finance business partner to Soho Works.
• Act as lead finance business partner to IHDB.
• Provide commercial finance business partnering to Partnerships, Residences and Other Businesses (Line Group).

AI-Enabled Commercial Finance

• Champion the use of AI-enabled analytics and automation to strengthen capital planning, new site feasibility and underwriting analysis, reducing manual and transactional effort within the commercial finance function.
• Leverage ERP and AI-enabled data to improve decision-making on debt, capital allocation and commercial agreements, focusing capacity on forward-looking analysis and value creation.
• Act as key business partner to Development, Legal, IHDB and Works, representing Commercial Finance in Development, Capex and Ops Transformation forums.
• Lead and develop a dedicated commercial finance team, building specialist capability across capital planning, new site feasibility, business partnering and insurance/risk management.

Key Skills & Experience

• Extensive experience in senior commercial finance leadership roles within complex, multi-site or property-related businesses.
• Proven track record managing debt, banking relationships and treasury-adjacent commercial finance matters.
• Deep expertise in property, leases, JV/HMA agreements and capital planning within a multinational, multi-brand environment.
• Experience managing corporate insurance programmes and claims, including Business Interruption (BI) and Contingent Business Interruption (CBI), with a track record of careful claims planning and ongoing operational support.
• Experience leading new site review, feasibility studies and underwriting to support expansion and investment decisions, including hands-on review of financial models and critical challenge of inputs and assumptions.
• Strong technical accounting knowledge under GAAP, with an understanding of how new site decisions (e.g., leases, capitalisation, impairment) impact the Group's accounts.
• Experience embedding capital planning governance, policy and reporting frameworks, with a track record of day-to-day review against requirements.
• Experience business partnering diversified or newer business lines (e.g., co‑working, membership residences, licensing).
• Experience leveraging AI-enabled analytics and automation to strengthen capital planning, feasibility and investment decision‑making.
• Commercially astute, with the ability to negotiate and manage complex commercial agreements and translate them into clear financial and strategic insight.
• Qualified Accountant (e.g., ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent), with strong technical grounding and leadership presence.

Key Competencies..

• Strategic Leadership: Ability to shape and execute a commercial finance strategy that supports growth, resilience and value creation.
• Global Perspective: Strong understanding of property, JV and commercial agreements across multiple jurisdictions.
• Technical & Analytical Rigour: Confident reviewing financial models and challenging inputs and assumptions, with strong technical accounting (GAAP) knowledge.
• Data & AI Fluency: Confident using AI-enabled analytics and automation to strengthen capital planning and commercial decision-making.
• Governance & Control: Rigorous in applying capital planning policy, governance and reporting standards, with strong attention to day-to-day review and compliance.
• Stakeholder Influence: Exceptional communication and negotiation skills across senior leadership, Development, Legal and operational teams.
• Risk Management: Proactive in identifying and mitigating financial and commercial risk across debt, property, insurance and commercial agreements.
• Change Management: Experience leading transformation initiatives and embedding best practice across commercial finance functions.

Benefits…

Soho House offers competitive compensation packages that feature global benefits and perks. Whether you’re seeking entry‑level employment or a new opportunity to expand your profession, we offer training to develop the technical and managerial skills necessary to grow your career.

• Soho Friends Membership
• 50% off Food & Drink, 7 days a week
• Staff Room Rates
• Private Health and Dental Care
• Weekly Pay
• Life Assurance
• Up to 50% Staff Discount on Cowshed & Soho Home
• In Office Dog Policy on Fridays
• Season Ticket Loan
• Christmas Office Closure
• In conjunction with Soho Impact, take 2 days paid a year to support a charity of your choice.
• Free Counselling Sessions
• Cookhouse & House Tonic: Our Cookhouse & House Tonic programmes offer unique food and drink trainings, events and opportunities to inspire and educate.
• Continuous training to develop yourself personally and professionally
• Exclusive access to our benefits platform with hundreds of discounts on shopping, gym memberships, holidays, insurance and much more
• Team Events: From fitness sessions to cinema screenings and art classes, each month we hold a series of fun events which you can sign up to.