Lead Finance Officer

Bernicia Group; Horsham; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Bernicia Group in Ashington is seeking a Lead Finance Officer to support the Transactional Finance team, focusing on Accounts Payable and income processing, ensuring timely reconciliations and accurate ledgers.

You will report to the Transactional Finance Manager, providing guidance to Finance Officers and contributing to the continuous improvement of financial systems and reporting, while delivering high-quality service to customers.

Qualifications

• AAT qualification or equivalent or relevant experience in a finance role.
• Experience in transactional finance, particularly accounts payable.
• Experience with financial management systems and procedures.
• Excellent organisational and administrative skills.
• Experience in an organisation of a similar size is desirable but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Support the Transactional Finance Manager to lead Accounts Payable and Income operational areas.
• Ensure provision of timely and accurate reconciliations and reports.
• Perform and maintain accurate ledger entries with regular housekeeping.
• Provide support and advice to Finance Officers within the team.
• Assure customer information recorded is accurate and relevant.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of systems and reporting and support change management.
• Deliver timely and professional customer-focused service.

Skills

Accounts payable experience

Organisational skills

Communication skills

Education

AAT qualification or equivalent

Tools

Financial management systems

Job description

Lead Finance Officer

Location: Ashington

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 37 per week

Salary: £32,909 per annum

Closing Date: 5pm, Friday 13th November 2026.

We're looking for a positive, self-motivated and customer-focused person to join us specialising in Accounts Payable.

If you're a great communicator with a passion for customer service, significant experience in transactional finance and strong attention to detail, we would love to hear from you.

About the role:

• Support the Transactional Finance Manager to lead both Accounts Payable and Income operational areas, delivering an efficient and first-class service to internal and external customers.
• Ensure provision of timely and accurate reconciliations and reports.
• Perform and maintain accurate and precise ledger entries, conducting regular housekeeping duties.
• Provide support and advice to the Finance Officers within the team.
• Provide assurance that customer information recorded is accurate and relevant.
• Make major contributions in continuous improvement of systems and reporting and support the Transactional Finance Manager in change management.
• Contribute towards an excellent customer experience through the provision of timely and professional customer focused service delivery.

About you:

You’ll need:

• AAT qualification (or equivalent) and/or relevant experience in a finance role.
• Experience in transactional finance, particularly accounts payable
• Experience of financial management systems and procedures
• Excellent organisational and administrative skills
• Experience in an organisation of a similar size and type is desirable, but not essential.

About us:

We're all about helping people in need of housing. We believe a good home makes lots of other things possible, so we provide great homes and services that do just that.

We've built Bernicia to be a business that people want to be a part of. We're one of the North East's largest and most successful housing providers; building, renting, selling and managing homes as well as providing services to over 60,000 customers.

Looking to grow your career at a company that puts its people first?

Our people are what make us great. Their feedback has recognised us as a Great Place to Work certified employer.

We operate within a set of simple, but effective values, which blend perfectly to create our unique 'Bernicia Way' culture. This ensures we are customer focused, through working together, respecting each other, being accountable for our actions and demonstrating integrity and leadership.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than advertised, should we receive a large volume of applications.

The Group is fully committed to the promotion of equal opportunities and we particularly welcome applicants from groups who are currently under represented at Bernicia.