Financial Controller

Role overview:

AFC Wimbledon is a professional football club based in South West London playing its home games in a new state of the art stadium, which cost in excess of £30m to construct and opened in August 2021.

The move to the new stadium marked a pivotal point in the clubs history as it returned to its spiritual home at Plough Lane and also provides the club with the ability to deliver top level facilities for both matchday and non-matchday events.

The Financial Controller is the most senior finance position within AFC Wimbledon and reports directly to the Managing Director and the Board of AFCW PLC.

This is an exciting opportunity for an energetic and driven individual who can play a key role in AFC Wimbledon’s journey over the next three to five years as it works towards long-term financial sustainability and successfully continues the greatest story in English football as a proudly fan-owned and ambitious club at the heart of its community.

The role requires an individual who thrives well in a fast-paced environment, has strong commercial acumen and holds a high level of financial awareness regarding the broader financial picture of the football club.

The individual is responsible for all financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting of the football club and stadium operations whilst also retaining a strong commercial influence within the business as part of the club’s senior executive team.

The Financial Controller will be instrumental in implementing the Business Plan and commercial and operational strategy to allow for AFC Wimbledon to exploit its commercial potential.

Key responsibilities:

·       Key member of the club’s senior executive team responsible for all financial matters, producing regular monthly financial reports for the Managing Director and AFCW PLC Board.

·       Support the Managing Director in the development of the Business Plan.

·       Manage and assess business investment cases with return on investment analysis.

Further operational responsibilities:

·       Monthly financial reporting presentations including Management accounts and cash flow forecasts.

·       Preparation of annual budgets and forecasts.

·       Regular tracking of financial performance against budget.

·       Preparation of statutory accounts and liaison with the Group auditors and tax advisors.

·       Preparation and submission of all financial reporting to the EFL and the FA e.g. SCMP submissions, gate returns.

·       Lead representation for the club when negotiating with credit providers, stadium operations partners (e.g. catering, ground share) and other suppliers of strategic importance.

·       Filings with Companies House.

·       Supervision and approval of all transactions including credit cards, purchase ledger, sales ledger and monthly payroll submissions.

·       Close scrutiny of operational overheads including insurance, utilities, licences, IT costs etc.

·       Key contributor to day to day operations of the football club.

·       Ad-hoc projects.

Competencies and experience required:

·       Qualified accountant with post qualification experience.

·       Energetic individual with a “hands-on” approach and willingness to be pragmatic when dealing with all manner of tasks.

·       Robust leadership with strong communication skills and stakeholder management.

·       Critical, commercially minded thinker with the ability to make difficult decisions.

·       Self-motivated, success driven and ability to work independently.

·       Ability to prioritise multiple tasks in a fast-paced fluid environment.

·       Good level of proficiency in Excel and financial modelling.

Salary range:

·       £50,000 - £60,000

Closing date: Friday 22 July 2022

Please send a CV and covering letter including salary expectations to [email removed - click apply for more details] if you are interested in this role.

Due to the large amount of applications AFC Wimbledon receive, if you do not hear back from us within two weeks of the closing date, unfortunately your application on this occasion has not been successful.

AFC Wimbledon is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment and its employment policies for recruitment are designed to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

AFC Wimbledon is committed to safeguarding all children, young people and adults are risk involved in its activities and events. The group recognizes its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of vulnerable groups by a commitment to procedures to protect them. The group additionally expects all staff and volunteers to fully support and promote these commitments.