Head of Finance

Global Guardians; Cuffley; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Global Guardians, the UK’s leading Property Guardianship Company, seeks a Head of Finance to oversee the Group’s financial management, control and reporting. Reporting to the CEO, you will drive strategic financial insight and scalable processes across multiple entities.

You will lead budgeting, forecasting, cashflow, working capital and KPI development, while growing and coaching the Finance team in a fast-moving, operational business environment.

Qualifications

• Qualified or highly experienced finance professional with a commercial mindset.
• Significant experience in a senior finance role within an SME or growing multi-entity business.
• Experience leading, coaching and developing a Finance team.
• Strong knowledge of financial controls, statutory reporting, tax and VAT compliance.
• Proven track record in managing cashflow, working capital, debtors and aged debt.
• Experience producing Board-level reporting and presenting financial performance to senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the preparation and delivery of monthly management accounts across the Group (P&L, balance sheet, cashflow).
• Provide financial analysis and commentary for Board meetings, explaining performance, risks and actions.
• Maintain strong financial controls, reconciliations, approvals and segregation of duties.
• Oversee statutory accounts, corporation tax, VAT and other compliance requirements.
• Manage relationships with external accountants, auditors and tax advisers.
• Lead cashflow management and working capital, focusing on debtor performance and collections.

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA preferred

Job description

We are Global Guardians, the UK’s leading Property Guardianship Company with a mission to bring empty properties back to life for the benefit of local communities. We are dedicated to offering sustainable and affordable solutions for managing vacant buildings by placing working professionals as guardians into these properties, ensuring they are kept safe and secure.

We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded Head of Finance to lead the financial management, control and reporting of our Group, comprising Global Guardians Management Ltd, Global Guardians Facilities Management Ltd and Global 100 Ltd.

Reporting directly to the CEO, this is a key leadership position responsible for ensuring the business remains financially robust, well controlled and commercially informed. You will provide the financial insight needed to support strategic decisions, while ensuring the underlying reporting, controls, compliance and processes are accurate, effective and scalable.

This is not a role focused solely on producing reports. We are looking for someone who can interpret the numbers, understand what is driving performance, identify risk, make clear recommendations and ensure financial analysis translates into meaningful commercial action.

The Role

As Head of Finance, you will oversee the full finance function across the Group, supporting the CEO and senior leadership team with financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, cashflow management, working capital, commercial analysis and long-term planning.

You will also lead and develop the Finance team, strengthening capability, accountability and resilience while ensuring the function continues to evolve alongside a growing and operationally complex business.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the preparation and delivery of monthly management accounts across the Group, including P&L, balance sheet, cashflow and management information.
• Prepare financial analysis and commentary for Board and senior leadership meetings, clearly explaining performance, risks, commercial implications and recommended actions.
• Maintain strong financial controls, reconciliations, approval processes, payment controls and segregation of duties.
• Oversee statutory accounts, corporation tax, VAT and other financial compliance requirements.
• Manage relationships with external accountants, auditors, tax advisers and other financial partners.
• Lead cashflow and working capital management, with a particular focus on debtor performance, aged debt, collection trends and cash conversion.
• Develop meaningful financial and operational KPIs covering areas such as property profitability, client profitability, guardian income, maintenance performance, debtor management and departmental performance.
• Work closely with operational and departmental leaders to understand the financial impact of business decisions and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Challenge budget variances and expenditure, ensuring budget holders take ownership of corrective actions.
• Lead annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, reforecasts, cashflow projections and financial modelling.
• Identify financial or commercial issues, establish root causes, quantify consequences, assess options and provide clear recommendations.
• Lead, coach and develop the Finance team, creating a culture of accuracy, accountability, commercial awareness and continuous improvement.
• Improve finance systems, reporting automation, dashboards and integration between operational and financial data.
• Work with internal and external system providers, including My Globe, to improve reporting efficiency and financial visibility.

What We’re Looking For

We are seeking a qualified or highly experienced finance professional who combines strong technical accounting knowledge with a genuinely commercial mindset.

You will ideally have:

• Significant experience in a senior finance role within an SME or growing multi-entity business.
• Experience leading, coaching and developing a Finance team.
• Strong knowledge of financial controls, statutory reporting, tax, VAT, reconciliations and compliance.
• Proven experience managing cashflow, working capital, debtors and aged debt.
• Experience producing Board-level reporting and presenting financial performance to senior stakeholders and Directors.
• A track record of developing KPIs, management information and financial analysis that supports better commercial decisions.
• The confidence to challenge budget holders, identify issues and drive accountability for financial performance.
• Strong technical accounting and financial reporting capability.
• Experience with accounting software, finance systems and reporting/dashboard tools.

Experience within property, facilities management, housing, service delivery or another operationally led sector would be advantageous.

ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification is preferred, although candidates qualified through significant relevant experience will also be considered.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role will mean more than accurate accounts being produced on time. You will help create a Finance function that:

• Gives the business clear and reliable visibility of financial performance.
• Identifies risks and opportunities before they become problems.
• Drives better cash conversion and working capital management.
• Holds departments accountable for financial outcomes.
• Supports commercially informed decision-making across the Group.
• Operates with strong controls, clear ownership and scalable processes.
• Provides the CEO and leadership team with practical recommendations, not just financial data.

This is a hybrid role, combining home-based and office-based working, with attendance at Head Office and other business locations as required.

Salary: £70,000–£85,000 depending on experience.