Group Financial Controller - 12 Month FTC

your Jared; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 56,000 - 93,000; Full time

Job summary

Barnardo’s is seeking a Group Financial Controller for a 12-month fixed-term contract. The role leads a large finance team, drives transformation across processes and systems, and reports to the CFO. It is largely remote with occasional days in the London office.

The successful candidate will have extensive post-qualification senior finance leadership experience, strong technical accounting knowledge, and a track record of delivering finance transformation while engaging with senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Significant post-qualification experience in a senior finance leadership position.
• Experience leading financial control and finance operations within a large, complex organisation.
• Fully qualified accountancy qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) or equivalent.
• Strong technical accounting experience including statutory reporting, audit, taxation, governance and controls.
• Proven track record of leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Experience delivering organisational change and finance transformation programmes.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders including executive and board reporting.
• Strong communication and influencing skills.
• Proactive and solutions-focused mindset.

Responsibilities

• Act as the senior operational deputy to the CFO, providing leadership across Finance.
• Lead key Finance transformation priorities, improving systems, processes and data.
• Sponsor Finance systems development and optimisation with measurable benefits.
• Champion automation, digital enablement and AI opportunities.
• Support organisational change aligning Finance structures and resources.
• Provide strong leadership across a large Finance function with accountability.
• Oversee statutory reporting, taxation, audit, and group consolidation.
• Oversee treasury, cash, liquidity and investments.

Skills

Senior leadership

Financial control

Accounting qualification

Technical accounting

Team leadership

Finance transformation

Stakeholder management

Communication

Change management

Education

ACA / ACCA / CIMA

Job description

Location: Remote Working

Sector: Charity

Date Posted: 03/09/2026

Salary: £92,892 - £92,892 per year

Specialism: Finance

Ref: RB44989

Robertson Bell is exclusively partnering with Barnardo’s to recruit a Group Financial Controller on a 12-month fixed-term contract. This is a significant senior finance leadership opportunity to join a complex and well-established organisation at an important point in its development, leading a large finance team and driving transformation across processes and systems.

Following changes to the Finance leadership structure, the Group Financial Controller will provide additional senior leadership capacity during a period of significant organisational development and change. Reporting directly to the CFO, you will act as a senior operational deputy, providing leadership across financial control, finance operations, treasury management, finance systems, finance transformation and legacy operations. You will lead a team of up to 7 directly, with up to 60 indirect reports, and will play a key role in strengthening financial governance, operational performance and service delivery.

Barnardo’s is a leading UK charity working to support children, young people and families. Its Finance function is strengthening to support the organisation’s strategy through financial stewardship, operational excellence and transformation, with a focus on improving processes and controls, modernising systems and reporting, embedding digital solutions and developing organisational capability.

The key duties of the Group Financial Controller are:

• Act as the senior operational deputy to the CFO, representing Finance at senior management meetings and providing senior leadership across the function.
• Lead key Finance transformation priorities, driving significant improvements across systems, processes, data and organisational capability.
• Act as senior sponsor for Finance systems development and optimisation, ensuring technology investments deliver measurable benefits and are accompanied by genuine process change.
• Champion automation, digital enablement and AI opportunities to reduce manual activity, strengthen controls and improve the Finance user experience.
• Support wider organisational change initiatives, ensuring Finance structures, systems and resources are aligned to future requirements.
• Provide visible and effective leadership across a large Finance function, promoting a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement and high performance.
• Provide leadership and oversight across statutory reporting, taxation, audit, technical accounting and group consolidation, maintaining strong financial governance and control.
• Oversee finance operations including transaction processing, income management, accounts payable, accounts receivable, Gift Aid and related services, driving operational excellence and improved service standards.
• Oversee treasury activities, including cash, liquidity and investments, while strengthening processes, systems and internal capability.

The successful candidate will have:

• Significant post-qualification experience in a senior finance leadership position (E), ideally operating at or close to Finance Director, Deputy CFO, Group Financial Controller or equivalent level.
• Experience leading financial control and finance operations within a large, complex organisation (E), with previous charity experience highly desirable.
• A fully qualified accountancy qualification such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent (E),
• Strong technical accounting experience, including statutory reporting, audit management, taxation, financial governance and controls.
• A proven track record of leading and developing high-performing teams, with the ability to coach and support permanent team members.
• Demonstrable experience delivering organisational change, service improvement and finance transformation programmes across people, processes and systems (E).
• Experience working effectively with senior stakeholders, including executive and board reporting.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to convey complex financial information clearly to senior audiences (E).
• A pragmatic, resilient, collaborative and emotionally intelligent approach, with the ability to build trust quickly and integrate effectively into an established team
• A proactive and solutions-focused mindset, with the ability to challenge constructively, identify opportunities for improvement and deliver against complex priorities.

This is a 12-month fixed-term opportunity paying up to £92,892 per annum and will be largely home-based with occasional days in the London office.

Applications close on Tuesday 15th September, with first-stage interviews expected to take place on Friday 25th September. Second-stage interviews will follow thereafter.