Group Finance Director

Group Finance Director

Stoke-on-Trent

£75,000 per annum

Hopedale Children & Family Services Ltd is part a rapidly growing group of independent special schools with locations in Staffordshire and Cheshire, providing exceptional, holistic care, education and therapy to children from 5 to 18 with a range of complex social, emotional and mental health difficulties and learning needs.

We are seeking a Group Finance Director who will join us on this exciting journey, enabling the group to grow and evolve:

Group Finance Director: £75,000 per annum 37.5 hours per week, Mon-Fri.

The successful candidate will be a key member of the senior executive team, working closely with the CEO and board with responsibility for the financial reporting, management and strategy of an expanding group of children’s services

Duties:

Financial Management

• Ensure the group’s financial practices are in line with statutory regulations and legislation
• Update and implement financial policies and procedures
• Facilitate day-to-day operations, including tracking financial data, invoicing, payroll, etc…
• Responsible for the overall control of the company’s accounting function and corporate budgeting process, including presenting to investors and the board of directors
• Deliver financial analysis, defining KPI’s and monitoring the business against these to aid on all activities, plans, targets and business drivers, using data to help inform company strategy
• Take responsibility for the tax affairs of the business
• Take responsibility for and oversee the development of corporate governance
• Interpret complex financial information and provide updates and information as required
• Develop & implement strategies to reduce costs & improve profitability
• Seek out methods and practices to minimise financial risk
• As directed by the executive board, contract auditing services to ensure effective financial monitoring
• Ensure employees who contribute to financial processes across the organisation carry out their tasks effectively and efficiently
• Maintain excellent working relationships with key investor finance personnel to ensure requirements are understood and timelines are adhered to
• Create and maintain relationships with service providers and contractors
• Ad hoc projects to support the CEO

Strategy and Development

• Analyse financial climate and market trends to assist senior executives with strategic planning
• Understand and share the key business drivers
• Develop relationships with markets and gain an understanding of the market's results and challenges
• Leverage your commercial experience and knowledge to identify opportunities of strategic interest and frame approaches to tackle them
• Drive investment decisions and key resource allocation discussions, including ROI-based economic trade-offs
• Play a key role in any significant change, investments or transformation initiatives across the group
• Provide accounting for acquisitions, disposals and group restructuring
• Advise on and challenge deal rationale, financial projections, and financial implications
• Own and oversee relationships with the group’s funding partners and develop funding strategies to provide the debt component necessary to underpin the group’s strategic growth objectives
• Manage the process of property acquisition and disposal, with the support of external solicitors
• Ensure site purchases are completed in a professional manner and within agreed timescales
• Negotiate and draw up Heads of Terms
• Contract negotiation

Qualifications: ACA, ACCA or CIMA

Experience and Knowledge:

• Several years working in finance at a senior level within a PE/VC backed company setting
• Previous experience of mergers and acquisitions, corporate development and deal origination
• Management of audits
• Direct experience of dealing with the boards of private companies and an interest in corporate strategy and the SME marketplace
• Experience within a children’s services sector is an advantage, but not a prerequisite

Skills: Mathematical, leadership, understanding of data privacy standards, communication (written and verbal), attention to detail, organisational, strategic planning, problem-solving, research, analytical, critical thinking, IT, multi-tasking, commercially astute, technically strong

Qualities: Integrity, honesty, humour, commitment, conscientiousness, flexibility, positivity, can-do attitude, robustness, resilience, ‘all hands-on-deck’ approach, ability to work effectively as part of a team

Hopedale is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with current and past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

We are an equal opportunities employer.