Head of Finance

Alexander Lloyd; Brighton; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Alexander Lloyd is partnering with a fast-growing international group based in Brighton to appoint a Head of Finance who will own financial control, compliance and reporting across the group. It is a hands-on leadership role with a focus on building the function for multi-currency entities and driving AI-assisted workflows.

You will lead a team across reporting, tax and projects, manage external audits, and partner with the CFO and Finance Director to deliver robust, well-documented financials

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA) with international multi-entity experience.
• Experience leading a finance team and managing external auditors.
• Hands-on with month-end and year-end closes, and statutory reporting.
• Strong IFRS knowledge and ability to ensure compliance across jurisdictions.
• Experience with ERP systems (NetSuite/Oracle/SAP) and change initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Own the group's financial control framework across all entities and currencies.
• Ensure integrity of reporting from monthly management accounts to statutory accounts.
• Manage month-end close, year-end close and documentation of processes.
• Lead external audits and ensure timely tax compliance across jurisdictions.
• Oversee payroll compliance across geographies and escalate risks early.
• Coach, develop and lead a finance team spanning reporting, tax and projects.
• Drive the move to AI-assisted workflows and standardise workflows to reduce dependency.
• Support board reporting packs with a clear commercial narrative behind the numbers.
• Own the improvement roadmap and embed new tools and ways of working.

Skills

Financial control

Multi-entity accounting

Leadership

Change management

IFRS & regulatory knowledge

Board reporting narrative

People development

Problem solving

Education

ACA or ACCA qualification

Tools

NetSuite

Oracle

SAP

Job description

We at Alexander Lloyd are proud to be partnering a fast growing, hugely successful international group in Brighton on a key hire. They are looking for a Head of Finance to take ownership of financial control, compliance and reporting across the group. Reporting to the Finance Director, this role sits on the senior leadership team and works closely with the CFO.

The Role:

It is a hands on leadership role. You will lead a team covering reporting, tax and projects, plus a wider finance function, and you will be the point of escalation when things get complicated.

The second half of the role is building the function. The business is scaling internationally and moving to AI assisted ways of working, so you will be assessing processes and tooling, owning the improvement roadmap, standardising and documenting workflows to cut key person dependency, and bringing the team with you through the change.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the group's financial control framework across all entities, keeping compliance with IFRS, local accounting standards and regulatory requirements watertight
• Take accountability for the integrity of everything finance produces, from monthly management accounts through consolidated group reporting to statutory accounts
• Own the month end and year end close end to end, delivering accurate, well documented reporting on schedule
• Lead the external audit relationship, and make sure tax compliance across all jurisdictions is managed accurately and on time
• Keep oversight of payroll accuracy and compliance across all geographies, escalating risks early
• Lead, coach and develop a team spanning reporting, tax, group accounting and projects, and be the point of escalation for the wider finance function
• Take active responsibility for upskilling the team, identifying capability gaps and embedding new tools and ways of working, including AI assisted workflows
• Act as the operational right hand to the senior finance lead, including support on board reporting packs with clear commercial narrative behind the numbers
• Own the process improvement roadmap, cutting manual effort, strengthening controls and standardising workflows to reduce key person dependency
• Lead the team through the move to AI first ways of working, managing the human side of that change with clarity and pace

What you will need:

• Qualified accountant, ideally ACA or ACCA
• Financial control or senior finance experience in a multi entity, multi currency group with international subsidiaries
• Strong technical accounting, applied practically across a complex group structure
• A track record of owning month end or year end close end to end, and of managing external auditors
• Hands on ERP experience, whether that is NetSuite, Oracle, SAP or similar
• Real experience of leading a finance team, someone who genuinely enjoys managing people
• Mentoring and development experience with qualified and part qualified accountants, knowing where people need stretching and where they need support
• The ability to build a culture where standards are high and feedback goes both ways
• Change management instincts, so you can take a team through new systems and new ways of working, bring people with you, and handle the resistance honestly
• Comfortable in a fast moving environment where priorities shift, spotting problems early and taking ownership of fixing them
• Genuinely interested in using new technology to change how finance works, rather than just talking about it

This is a genuine step up for a Financial Controller ready for a Head of role, or a Head of Finance who wants a bigger international remit and a real mandate to build the function rather than just keep it running.