Finance Manager / Financial Controller

Finance Manager / Financial Controller

Location: Based in our Dalston office with flexibility to WFH

Reporting to: Head of Finance

Contract: Permanent, open to full-time or part-time working

Salary: £50,000 per annum

About Fair Finance

Fair Finance is an award-winning social business with ambitious plans to revolutionise financial services to give everyone a fair chance. Our vision is to scale our alternative to the high-cost lending market and help reduce financial exclusion across the UK.

Following a successful fundraising round, over the next year we will focus on preparing our business to scale significantly. We will execute a digital transformation of our operations, service, and client engagement to allow us to manage growing demand for our service. Investments in technology will build out our platform and internal capabilities and develop data science capability to automate elements of our lending to create a lower cost, and highly scalable lending model.

We will begin working with a listed bank to explore opportunities for increasing the availability of more affordable and responsible finance for individuals who have difficulty accessing mainstream credit. This will be transformational for our business and will allow us address financial exclusion and financial vulnerability across the UK at scale.

About the role

Reporting to the Head of Finance, the role will be responsible for all management and statutory accounting, investor and bank reporting and other management information. The role oversees the annual audit and reporting to all stakeholders.

We are offering the opportunity to join our growing team of qualified and trainee accountants, reporting to the Head of Finance. The team is growing and changing to support our business’s fast-growth plans. This role offers an opportunity to make a real difference in shaping and transforming a growing function and will be a mix of hands-on work and providing strategic input and ideas to support the development of a high-performing finance function and team.

About you

You’re an effective communicator and keen to make a difference and want to work in a changemaking organisation. You want to work in a values-driven organisation and be surrounded by people who want you to be successful, support you to make the right decisions for our clients and help us revolutionise financial services to make it more inclusive. You may have a commercial background but keen to use your skills to support social impact.

You enjoy process improvement and you have experience developing financial reporting in MS Excel whilst also improving existing work papers to operate more efficiently. You are solutions-orientated and curious, with an appetite to continually review and improve processes.

You would like to play a lead role in delivering the end-to-end finance function and developing a function fit for high growth.

Key Responsibilities:

Financial Control - with the support of finance team, oversee all aspects of the finance function ensuring that a robust control environment is maintained and documented:

• Ensure all relevant regulatory reporting requirements are met for all entities including HMRC, Companies House, FCA. Supporting the Compliance Lead with FCA filings.
• Ensure that all aspects of financial reporting requirements under UKGAAP (FRS 102) are met for all entities.
• Manage the timely delivery of year-end financial reporting and audit ensuring that all relevant reporting standards are adhered to.
• Oversee financial operations and control (e.g. transactions, payments processing, and reconciliations) across the business, and implement operational best practice.
• Work with the Operations and Collection teams, ensure that loan provisions and loss ratios are managed.
• Lead role in managing an effective relationship with the external auditors, payroll providers and tax accountants.

Financial performance and management information – support Head of Finance to challenge and advise the business to drive superior financial performance:

• Provide the Board, Finance Committee and other members of the senior leadership team with business performance MI and analysis, and advice on the financial implications of business. activities. Deliver MI by WD 6 each month, consisting of management accounts (IS, BS, CFS) and management information (portfolio, operating metrics and KPIs for a lending business).
• Support with processes for financial forecasting, budgets and cash flow, including performance trend reporting tailored to needs of budget holders.
• Develop budgets that meet the requirements of the business strategy and monitor departmental performance vs budget.
• Preparation of the quarterly Board Pack and investor reporting.

Investor relations & Treasury - assist with the management of investor and banking relationships:

• Oversee the monitoring of various banking covenants.
• Ensure on time delivery of all financial information required under various loan and grant contracts, and co-ordination of non-financial compliance requirements.

Strategy & Planning - support directors and Head of Finance in development of short and long-term strategic financial objectives and oversee execution of those objectives:

• Monitoring financial targets across the business in line with the overall strategic plan
• Support the annual budgeting and regular financial forecasting with the leadership team and maintain overall financial management of the business.

Any other duties as required by the Company that are commensurate with the position

Skills and Experience:

• Qualified or almost qualified accountant (ACA, CIMA, ACCA).

• Advanced Excel and strongdata manipulation skills.

• Strong analytical and decision-making abilities.
• Proven ability to multi-task and prioritise in a busy environment.
• Solutions-orientated and curious, with an appetite to continually review and improve processes.

• Strongwritten and verbal communication skills.

• Experience of working in highperformance teams and managing change.

• Experience developing relationships withauditors and other external stakeholders.

• Prefer experience ofmaintaining and utilising accounting software, eg Sage or Xero.

This job description may be amended from time to time to reflect the changing needs of the business.

Why work for Fair Finance?

• Fair Finance is a social business with ambitious plans.
• Over the last nineteen years Fair Finance has helped over a hundred thousand people access affordable lending, start businesses or avoid eviction.
• Our work has helped influence Government policy and legislation.
• We have demonstrated how purpose and profit can work together to change the financial system for the better.
• We believe in employing, growing and building around exceptional people who share our values.
• We have created an environment where you can genuinely put clients before profits and make a difference to our clients’ lives.
• We will provide you with a supportive workplace surrounded by peers who want you to do well, with responsibility to make a real difference in the organisation and the opportunity to thrive and make the role your own.
• We are a diverse organisation full of people who understand the balance between achieving business objectives and our social mission.
• Our Head Office is in a shared workspace in Dalston, housing more than 300 creative businesses, social enterprises and charities.
• Hybrid working and work practice flexibility is offered.

Employee Benefits

• Annual holiday entitlement of 25 days in addition to UK public holidays (pro-rated for part-time working hours).
• An additional paid day off for your birthday.
• Staff receive an additional 'WFH budget' to allow even greater location flexibility.
• Private Health Insurance.
• Perkbox access for a wide range of discounts.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
• Staff Loan Scheme (currently interest free).
• 3% matching contribution towards a stakeholder pension.

Successful applicants will be contacted on a rolling basis so if you are interested, please apply at your earliest convenience.