UK Senior Finance Manager

Clifford Chance; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international law firm in the City of Westminster is seeking a Senior Finance Manager to support strategic objectives. Responsibilities include leading financial planning, performance management, and overseeing transformation initiatives. The ideal candidate will have proven experience in financial leadership within professional services, strong analytical skills, and excellent stakeholder engagement abilities.

Qualifications

• Qualified with relevant certifications indicating a strong foundation in financial principles.
• Experience in a complex, matrixed organisation with a strong track record in strategic financial leadership.
• Ability to translate financial insight into business impact and lead through change.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial planning and analysis to support long-term strategic goals.
• Develop and oversee KPIs and financial metrics for accountability.
• Act as a finance lead on transformation programmes.

Skills

Strategic financial leadership

Performance management

Strong analytical skills

Excellent communication

Proficiency in Excel

Education

Relevant certifications (e.g., ACA/CIMA/ACCA)

Tools

Financial software

Office 365 (especially Excel and Copilot)

Job description

Regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they've reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that's possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you'll find across all of our teams. Whichever area of the business you join, you'll become an integral part of an innovative, diverse, and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best colleagues meet.

Job Description

The role

This is a key role designed to support the UK Head of Finance in achieving the Firm's strategic objectives around growth and operational excellence. The UK business has an income of over £900m per annum and approximately 1,200 FTE.

We are seeking a Senior Finance Manager to join our dynamic team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for financial planning, performance management, and operational excellence, with scope to influence firm-wide initiatives and contribute to strategic transformation.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Financial Leadership: Lead financial planning and analysis to support long-term strategic goals. Partner with senior leaders to shape financial strategy and ensure alignment with business priorities.
2. Performance Management & Reporting: Develop and oversee KPIs and financial metrics that drive accountability and performance across departments. Provide insight and challenge to ensure delivery against targets.
3. Transformation & Change: Act as a finance lead on transformation programmes, including digital finance initiatives, process optimisation, and cost efficiency projects.
4. Governance & Risk Oversight: Ensure robust financial governance, compliance with regulatory standards, and proactive risk management. Lead internal controls and audit readiness.
5. Stakeholder Engagement: Influence and collaborate with senior stakeholders across the UK and global finance teams. Represent finance in cross-functional forums and strategic initiatives.
6. One Europe Collaboration: Actively contribute to the One Europe finance agenda, sharing best practices, aligning processes, and supporting cross-border initiatives.

Qualifications & Experience

• Qualified with relevant certifications (e.g., ACA/CIMA/ACCA), indicating a solid foundation in financial principles and practices, and a commitment to ongoing professional development.
• Experience in a complex, matrixed organisation, with a proven track record of strategic financial leadership, ideally within professional services or regulated sectors.
• Strong commercial acumen and ability to translate financial insight into business impact including experience of influencing senior stakeholders across functions and geographies and demonstrated ability to lead through change and contribute to firm-wide transformation.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex financial data and provide clear and actionable recommendations to senior management.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex financial information to non-financial stakeholders in a clear and understandable manner.
• Proficiency in financial software and Office 365 (particularly Excel and Copilot), with experience using advanced features to analyse and present financial data, with a focus on automation and insight generation.

Company Description

Who we are

We are one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm's global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Our firm, work, and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating—full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That's why we're so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.

Our one firm global strategy is focused on targeted growth led by the needs of our core clients, those who we can best support with the breadth and depth of Clifford Chance expertise, across sectors and geographies, which matter most to them.

You'll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, and more.