Head of Finance and Procurement

Allen Lane are pleased to be working exclusively with a leading London University to recruit an interim Head of Finance and Procurement. . This role will report to the Director of Finance and be responsible for the operational management of the Income, Expenditure and Procurement team. This role will also play a pivotal role in leading on strategic projects across these business functions and be a member of the senior leadership team. The Financial Controller role will develop a culture of continuous improvement within the Expenditure, Income Services and Procurement teams.

The Financial Controller will work with a broad range of stakeholders and will have experience of collaboration in a complex environment. Communication is key as the post holder will be working with diverse audiences and will need to ensure that business managers across the University are able to understand and engage with service development.

Key Duties:

• Involvement in leading Systems development, including a strong working knowledge of Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable systems and experience of best practise in these areas
• Experience of Business Process Improvement / streamlining processes, reducing lead times.
• Comfortable creating and implementing financial control frameworks
• Strategic mind–set with ability to partner with key stakeholders in the business, while driving the business from an operational perspective
• Demonstrable record of implementing business change and working alongside project managers to track/deliver relevant milestones
• Introduce measurable KPIs reporting for decision making and performance management.
• Develop reporting capabilities to drive best practice in areas of responsibility.
• Align the Procurement, purchasing and Income Services team's priorities with the Finance and wider University Strategy.

Key criteria:

• A Qualified Accountant with proven, successful experience of delivering high volume, transactional service
• Experience of procurement services in a large organisation
• Experience of government procurement regulations in practice
• Experience of developing an effective centralised Procurement function including exposure to government frameworks
• Experience of managing multiple projects
• Experience of Higher education is desirable however experience of working in a large, complex environment will also be considered