Finance & Loan Operations Manager

About

Sporting Assets is the UK's leading provider of advisory and investment management services to the sport and physical activity sector. Over the last 13 years we have completed more than 750 projects and helped mobilise over £300 million of investment into community sport — backing the clubs, facilities and organisations that make a real difference to people's lives.

We design and manage impact investment funds that provide affordable, patient capital to community-based organisations delivering social impact through sport and physical activity. Our investors and partners include Sport England, DCMS, National Governing Bodies, Better Society Capital, Triodos Bank, and a range of Trusts and Foundations — a coalition that reflects the credibility and ambition of what we're building. Our first fund, Sporting Capital, delivered over £39 million of proven social value, with a return on investment more than three times the sector benchmark.

We have established and managed five funds to date, with three currently live and further funds in development over the next twelve months. Our ambition is to have over £50 million under management by 2030 — a significant scale-up that will expand our reach and deepen our impact across the UK.

Beyond our funds, we provide business advisory services to the sector, helping organisations build capacity, develop investment cases and business plans, and strengthen their long-term resilience.

We are a small, expert team with offices in Leeds, and London (Vauxhall). This role is based in our Leeds office. That means real visibility, genuine responsibility, and the chance to help shape an organisation at an exciting moment in its growth.

If you want your work to have a tangible impact on communities across the UK, this is a rare opportunity to do exactly that. For further details see www.sportingassets.co.uk

Role

This is a full-time role based in our Leeds Office, with a minimum of 2 days per week in-office. We will, however, consider part-time applications working a minimum of 30 hours per week. This role reports to the CEO with support from Group FD. Occasional travel to our London (Vauxhall) office may be required.

The Finance & Loan Operations Manager will play an important role in our team. We currently manage £15m under three impact investment funds, focused on community sport, physical activity and facilities, and are in the process of developing new funds.

As the business grows, we're creating this new role to take on the day-to-day bookkeeping, accounting and loan administration work. This is a broader role than pure accounting. Alongside management accounts and bookkeeping, it covers banking and treasury, sales/purchase/expense administration, and the ongoing management of loan repayment schedules and direct debit collections. Alongside Xero, we run a website-based reporting system that we've built in-house, and it's essential that the successful candidate is able to maintain and refine it. It suits someone who enjoys ownership of a wide finance operation, is highly comfortable with technology and systems, and wants to help build a small, growing company.

You will work with colleagues from across the business, responsibilities including:

Bookkeeping & Management Accounts (across all entities)

·      Maintain accurate day-to-day bookkeeping in Xero for all entities (currently 5)

·      Prepare monthly management accounts, journals, accruals and prepayments

·      Perform balance sheet reconciliations and support month-end/year-end close

·      Liaise with external accountants and auditors as required

·      Providing administration support across the teams

Banking & Treasury Management

·      Manage day-to-day banking across all entities

·      Process payments and maintain appropriate approval controls

·      Perform bank reconciliations

·      Monitor cash positions and support cashflow forecasting

Sub-Ledger Management

·      Sales ledger: invoicing, credit control, aged debt monitoring

·      Purchase ledger: supplier invoice processing, payment runs, aged creditor management

·      Expense management, including staff expense claims

Loan Repayment Schedules & Direct Debit Collections

·      Maintain accurate, up-to-date loan repayment schedules for all borrowers

·      Process and manage direct debit collections

·      Monitor arrears and follow up on missed or failed payments

·      Reconcile loan repayments against records and resolve discrepancies

·      Handle borrower queries relating to payments and schedules

Systems & Process Improvement

·      Make full use of Xero and other finance/loan administration systems to maximise efficiency

·      Maintain and refine our in-house website-based reporting system, built using Claude AI, which sits alongside Xero for management reporting — clear process and guidance notes are provided

·      Identify and help implement opportunities for automation and process improvement

·      Maintain clear, well-documented processes as the business scales

Qualifications and Requirements

We are looking for candidates with relevant experience rather than a specific qualification. Relevant experience may include:

·      Accounting training (e.g. AAT qualified, or part/fully qualified ACCA/CIMA, or equivalent qualified-by-experience background)

·      Proven experience of bookkeeping and management accounts preparation

·      Hands-on working experience with Xero

·      Experience of loan administration, repayment schedules, or direct debit/payment collection processes is strongly preferred; candidates with strong transferable experience (e.g. subscriptions or membership billing) will also be considered

·      Experience in social lending, CDFI, impact finance, or another fintech/lending environment

·      Experience of working in a small or scaling business

We do not expect candidates to possess all these skills and competencies; importantly, what we are looking for is someone who can show how their skills and experience could be adapted to fit this profile, if/where there are gaps.

The Individual

We strongly encourage applications from a variety of candidates — we believe that different experiences result in increased ideas, collaboration and success.

We are looking for someone who is:

·      Highly IT literate and systems-oriented; confident learning and adopting new tools

·      Tech-savvy, with the confidence and ability to maintain and refine our in-house website-based reporting system — essential, though full guidance notes and process documentation are provided

·      Enthusiastic self-starter who works well on their own initiative and delivers to outcomes and deadlines

·      High attention to detail and accuracy, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines with limited supervision.

·      Strong communication skills, comfortable liaising with borrowers, suppliers and colleagues

·      Excellent communicator with strong relationship-building capabilities and an adaptable style.

·      Genuinely passionate about sport, physical activity and social enterprise.

What we offer

·      Up to £45,000 base salary, dependant on skills and experience.

·      Discretionary bonus of up to 20% of base pay, plus statutory pension contribution.

·      Private medical insurance, and Group life insurance

·      Full time (5 days per week) preferred; although part-time applications will be considered, with a minimum of 30 hours per week.

·      25 days flexible holiday (plus English bank holidays) plus additional 2–3 days fixed at Christmas (pro-rata)

·      Hybrid working arrangements — with a minimum of 2 days per week in our Leeds office.

Learning and continuous improvement is core to how we support staff develop. Support is provided for individual development, through external training and coaching from members of the executive team. The role will allow opportunity to progress rapidly in a growing business at the forefront of community sport investment in the UK.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply with their CV and covering letter detailing their interest in Sporting Assets and relevant experience.

Please include your salary expectations in your cover letter. All candidates must have the right to work in the UK, please confirm this in your application.

Sporting Assets is an equal opportunity employer. We work to provide a supportive and inclusive environment where all individuals can maximise their full potential. Our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion is evident through our constant focus on recruiting, developing and advancing individuals based on their skills and talents.