Head of Financial Control

Motorway; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Motorway, the UK's largest online car-selling platform, is seeking a Head of Financial Control to own financial control, statutory and tax compliance, treasury and finance operations for the whole company.

You’ll build a robust control framework, manage auditors and HMRC relationships, and lead the finance systems upgrade to an automated, AI-native function while developing the team.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with post-qualification experience in finance leadership.
• Experience in technology, marketplace or high-growth businesses with high transaction volumes.
• Experience leading AI or automation changes in a finance function.
• Proven track record of growing and developing finance teams.
• Hands-on month-end close, reconciliations, and IFRS/UK GAAP reporting.
• Experience with UK tax compliance and HMRC interactions.

Responsibilities

• Own the integrity of Motorway’s numbers: month-end and year-end close, management accounts and IFRS statutory accounts.
• Set and own the control environment: financial controls, policies and delegated authorities that scale with the business.
• Own tax and regulatory compliance end to end: corporation tax, VAT, PAYE, R&D relief and Companies House filings, HMRC relations.
• Lead the audit and adviser relationships: plan and run the annual audit and manage external advisers.
• Own treasury and cash: cash flow forecasting, working capital, banking relationships and payment controls.
• Be accountable for the end-to-end payments, receivables and payroll cycle.
• Own NetSuite and the finance systems stack, and lead the move to an automated, AI-native finance function.
• Lead and develop the team: hiring, coaching, performance and succession.

Skills

Financial leadership

AI/automation in finance

Month-end close

IFRS/UK GAAP reporting

Cash flow forecasting

Stakeholder communication

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)

Tools

NetSuite

Job description

About Motorway

Motorway is the UK's largest online car-selling platform. We connect private sellers directly with over 8,000 dealers nationwide. Our online platform helps sellers achieve great prices for their cars while giving dealers fast, reliable access to the stock they want for their dealerships. Founded in 2017, our award-winning, technology-led approach has redefined the experience of selling a car. Motorway is backed by some of the world’s leading technology investors, having raised £143 million in Series C funding.

This is a unique opportunity to join a fast-growing scale-up at a crucial phase of growth and help change an industry for the better.

About the role

We’re looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Head of Financial Control. You’ll own financial control, statutory and tax compliance, treasury and finance operations for the whole company, reporting directly to the VP Finance. You’ll be accountable for the integrity of our numbers, for a control and compliance framework that stands up to audit and diligence, and for the finance systems that let us scale without adding headcount. You’ll work closely with Product, Engineering, Legal and Operations, and own our relationships with auditors, tax advisers and HMRC.

In this role, you will:

• Own the integrity of Motorway’s numbers: month-end and year-end close, management accounts and IFRS statutory accounts, and the reconciliations and reviews behind them, so the exec team and board can rely on them without question

• Set and own the control environment: financial controls, policies and delegated authorities that scale with the business, hold up to audit and keep us diligence-ready for any future transaction

• Own tax and regulatory compliance end to end: corporation tax, VAT, PAYE, R&D relief and Companies House filings, our relationship with HMRC, and the tax treatment of new products and commercial structures before they launch

• Lead the audit and adviser relationships: plan and run the annual audit, and manage external accountants, tax and legal advisers

• Own treasury and cash: cash flow forecasting, working capital, banking relationships and payment controls, and the cash impact of commercial and operational decisions

• Be accountable for the end-to-end payments, receivables and payroll cycle, setting the standards and controls the team runs to

• Own NetSuite and the finance systems stack, and lead the move to an automated, AI-native finance function

• Lead and develop the team: hiring, coaching, performance and succession across managers and individual contributors

About you

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) with substantial post-qualification experience

• Experience in a technology, marketplace or high-growth business, ideally one with high transaction volumes

• Experience leading an AI or automation change in a finance function: redesigning how work gets done, not just adding tools to the existing process

• A record of leading finance teams through growth and change and developing the people in them, with experience of both operational finance and strategic or transformation roles, and a solid grounding in project management

• Hands‑on experience of month‑end close, reconciliations, and management and statutory reporting under IFRS or UK GAAP

• Working knowledge of UK tax compliance (VAT, PAYE, R&D relief) and experience managing advisers and HMRC correspondence

• Experience owning a cloud ERP such as NetSuite, automating manual finance processes and using data and AI tools

• A strong grasp of working capital and cash flow forecasting, and of the cash impact of operational decisions

• Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain finance to colleagues outside the function and to the executive team and external stakeholders