Group Financial Controller

The Fragrance Shop; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site gym

Staff discount

Flexible working

Job summary

The Fragrance Shop, the UK's leading independent fragrance retailer, seeks a Group Financial Controller to oversee reporting, payroll, ledgers, and risk management. The role drives strategic decisions and evolves the finance function with AI and automation.

You will lead a multi-site finance team, manage budgets and cash flow, ensure tax compliance, and partner with senior leadership to deliver high-quality insights and controls across the group.

Qualifications

• Qualified chartered accountant (ACA preferred).
• Retail sector experience, ideally multi-site/multi-channel.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Finance Department day-to-day operations (reporting, payroll, ledgers, risk).
• Oversee budgets, forecasts and cash flow forecasting.
• Ensure VAT, PAYE, CT tax compliance and statutory obligations.
• Implement improvements to internal controls and systems.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Advanced Excel

Commercial acumen

Education

ACA qualification

Tools

Excel

Job description

Established in 1994, The Fragrance Shop is the UK's leading independent fragrance retailer. Our aim is to make mainstream and luxury fragrance affordable and accessible to everyone — showcasing over 700 brands across 216 stores and online, with a mission to Spray a Little Happiness.

The role

The Group Financial Controller will lead the day-to-day operations of the Finance Department, overseeing insightful reporting, payroll, all ledger functions and risk and transactional management. This pivotal role supports strategic business decisions and ensures statutory compliance. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong commercial acumen and leadership, helping evolve the finance team into a first-class function integrating AI and process automation at every step.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Finance team (Reporting, Payroll, Purchase/Sale Ledger, Stock Control, Management Accounts, transactional management).
• Oversee annual budgets, quarterly reforecasts and weekly cash flow forecasting.
• Ensure compliance with tax (VAT, PAYE, CT) and statutory/regulatory obligations.
• Proactively manage risk and relationships across audit, insurance, legal and operational banking.
• Control overheads and challenge financial processes across departments.
• Deputise for CFO and contribute to strategic planning.
• Implement improvements to internal controls and systems development.
• Qualified chartered accountant (ACA preferred).
• Retail sector experience, ideally in a multi-site and multi-channel environment.
• Demonstrable leadership in finance team development.
• Excellent Excel and IT skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement.
• Resilient, adaptable, and strategic.

What you can exepect

• Leadership development within a growing retail group.
• Flexible working and employee wellbeing benefits.
• Competitive salary and staff discount.
• On-site gym and modern office environment.

Key Objectives

• Ensure strong financial controls and compliance.
• Deliver high-quality reporting and strategic insights.
• Drive improvements and efficiencies in finance operations.
• Board-level budget and cash flow reports.
• Tax compliance records and audit responses.
• Weekly, monthly and annual financial statements.
• Strategic financial inputs and business case evaluations.