Finance Manager

Finance Manager (12-Month Maternity Cover)

Location: Oxfordshire – mostly office-based, with some flexibility

Contract: Fixed-term, 12 months, starting November 2026

Reporting to: Divisional Finance Director

Manages: Finance Assistant (1)

About

*** designs, installs and maintains fire, life-safety and security systems across Oxfordshire, specialising in intruder alarms, CCTV, access control and fire detection. It serves education, healthcare, hospitality, property and commercial clients, backed by a 24-hour emergency callout service.

The company joined *** Group in May 2026. *** is a private equity-backed, buy-and-build group delivering life safety, compliance and building services across the UK and Northern Ireland, growing through both organic performance improvement and targeted acquisitions.

About the Role

This is a 12-month maternity cover with a clear mission - run *** finance function day to day, and hand it back faster, better controlled and fully aligned to *** Group standards.

We are deliberately recruiting above the level of the existing role. Since joining the Group, it is planned that the company will be moving from Sage 50 to Xero and implementing Simpro as its ERP and job management system, with go live expected in early 2027. It also needs to report monthly to the *** timetable. Today's processes and reporting speed are not where the Group needs them to be. You will bring the experience to lead that change while keeping the day-to-day finance operation running smoothly.

You will also help the management team get real value from the new systems, turning Simpro job, labour and margin data into insight that improves decisions. When the Finance Manager returns from maternity, they should take over a function with updated systems, documented processes and a reliable monthly close.

This is a hands-on role in a small team. You will lead by example, supporting and developing the Finance Assistant, and working closely with the Managing Director, operations colleagues and the Group finance team.

Key Responsibilities

Systems & Process Transformation

Lead the finance workstream of the migration from Sage 50 to Xero, planned for early 2027, which will include documenting processes and ensuring data validation controls in place.

Act as finance lead on the Simpro ERP implementation, going live alongside Xero, ensuring job costing, billing, purchasing and stock processes are designed correctly and integrate cleanly with Xero.

Redesign core finance processes (purchase-to-pay, order-to-cash, payroll, month end) to remove manual work and align with *** Group standards.

Document all key processes and controls so the function can be run consistently when the Finance Manager returns from maternity.

Month-End & Management Reporting

Deliver monthly management accounts to the *** Group timetable, progressively shortening the close as systems and processes improve.

Prepare accruals, prepayments, balance sheet reconciliations, intercompany recharges and supporting schedules.

Provide clear commentary on performance, margins and variances to the Managing Director and Group finance.

Support the annual budget and reforecasts, and year-end audit or statutory accounts preparation.

Business Partnering & Management Information

Help the management team use Simpro data, including job profitability, engineer utilisation, work in progress and contract performance, to improve commercial decisions.

Build and embed KPI reporting that gives management timely, reliable insight into the business.

Challenge and support operational colleagues on pricing, cost control and billing discipline.

Financial Control & Core Accounting

Oversee bank posting and daily bank reconciliations.

Oversee purchase invoice processing, PO and invoice approvals, and matching of subcontractor costs to sales invoices.

Manage quarterly VAT returns and ensure VAT funds are set aside monthly.

Manage credit card payment and reconciliation, customer refunds, and supplier returns and disputes.

Maintain a strong control environment, including approval of credit notes, subcontractor invoices and payments.

Manage monthly invoicing and milestone submissions for framework contracts (including Constellia, covering NHS and Oxford Brookes), aligning subcontractor payments to client receipts.

Cash & Working Capital

Manage cash flow with 13-week cash flow forecasts and weekly and monthly payment runs.

Oversee aged debt and credit control, directing escalation including account stops, termination of remote monitoring services and letters before action.

Handle customer queries and disputes, and drive improvements in billing speed and cash collection.

Payroll

Run monthly payroll end to end, including overtime and callouts, starters and leavers, SSP, deductions, pension auto-enrolment and Nest submissions.

Post payroll journals and ensure timely settlement of PAYE and NIC.

Support with migration of payroll to 3rd party provider

People & Stakeholders

Manage, support and develop the Finance Assistant, building their capability through the change programme.

Work closely with the Group finance team, and with the Managing Director and operations colleagues at ***.

Liaise with external accountants, auditors, HMRC and system suppliers as required.

What Success Looks Like After 12 Months

* The business is live on Xero, with Sage 50 retired.

* Simpro is live, with job costing and billing flowing accurately into Xero.

* Payroll has been successfully migrated to 3rd party provider.

* Management accounts are delivered to the *** Group timetable every month.

* Management actively uses Simpro-based KPI and job profitability reporting.

* Key finance processes and controls are documented, and the Finance Assistant is confident operating them.

* A structured handover is completed, so the returning Finance Manager takes over a stable, efficient function.

Candidate Profile

Essential Experience

* Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA), or part-qualified with substantial equivalent experience.

* Proven experience running the full finance function of an SME, from transactional processing through to monthly management accounts.

* Hands-on experience of a finance system migration or implementation, ideally including a move to Xero.

* Track record of improving processes, controls and the speed of month-end reporting.

* Strong Excel skills and confidence working with operational and system data.

* Experience of payroll, VAT and credit control.

Desirable Experience

* Experience of Simpro or a similar job management or field service system.

* Background in a service, contracting, engineering or facilities business with job-based costing.

* Experience working in, or joining, a PE-backed or acquisitive group with Group reporting deadlines.

Personal Attributes

* Hands-on and delivery-focused, comfortable doing the detail while leading change.

* A natural improver who questions how things are done and makes them better.

* Clear communicator who can explain financial information to non-finance managers.

* Supportive team leader who builds capability in others.

* Organised and resilient, able to manage business-as-usual and project work in parallel.

What We Offer

* Competitive salary

* 25 days holiday plus statutory bank holidays

* Pension scheme

* A high-impact role shaping the finance function of a newly acquired business, with visibility across a PE-backed group

* A supportive, family-feel culture within ***, backed by the resources of *** Group

Career Progression

Although this is a fixed-term maternity cover, *** Group is growing quickly. For a candidate who performs strongly, there will be opportunities to move into more senior roles across the Group, such as Financial Controller at the end of the cover
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed