Join the staff—Interim Deputy Chief Financial Officer

Location: London, United Kingdom
Duration: 12-month Fixed Term Contract
Salary: Competitive, plus benefits
Hours: 35 hours per week

About the role

Reports to: Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Job purpose: The Interim Deputy Chief Financial Officer will support the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in leading the Finance team to ensure effective and efficient financial management procedures that comply with all relevant financial, statutory and regulatory requirements. This role involves collaboration with leadership across the organisation and internal and external stakeholders.

Role focus: The main focus of this role is to manage various projects within a finance transformation programme. You will be responsible for creating a detailed implementation plan for these projects, including initiation documents that clearly define the scope, goals, outputs and resource plans. Additionally, this role will support the CFO with day-to-day activities.

Leadership of the finance team will be aligned with resource requirements to effectively deliver these projects.

Principal responsibilities

• Employ a single global payroll provider—streamline local payroll processes and ensure timely and accurate payroll reporting. This project will also involve collaborating with HR to reduce the number of bespoke payroll arrangements.
• Develop reporting systems with Power BI—effectively embed Power BI as the financial reporting tool for general entity and consolidated primary statements, budget, revenue and trustee reporting. This includes collaborating with key stakeholders to redefine and automate reports, minimising manual and ad hoc reporting. Additionally, implement a process that enables key stakeholders outside the finance team to access financial reporting tools for generating and accessing standard reports. The finance team has already started transitioning to Power BI.
• Introduce a purchase order process—implement this process across all global entities to ensure all planned expenditures are pre-authorized and coded to the correct ledger. Communicate the ledger structure and ensure all finance staff and budget holders are trained to allocate costs and expenses correctly, minimising errors.
• Simplify international payment processes—potentially assess third-party providers to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Lead finance transformation—enhance the finance function's maturity and contribute to defining a more effective operating model for the foundation and team.

Person specification

Qualifications and experience:

• Must be a qualified accountant with a relevant degree or equivalent professional qualification.
• Ideally experienced as a Group Financial Controller.
• Extensive experience in finance transformation and process improvement, with a proven track record of enhancing finance function maturity and defining finance operating models.

Leadership and team development:

• Experience in leading, developing, and upskilling teams of 25 or more staff members.
• Strong ability in team support and development, with a proactive and detail-oriented approach.
• Experience guiding teams through transitions, such as new payroll provider integration and implementing new software tools.

Project management and change management:

• Strong project management skills for creating detailed implementation plans and managing multiple projects.
• Demonstrable experience in supporting change management and continuous improvement initiatives, with a focus on enhancing operational efficiency and driving process improvements.

Technical and analytical skills:

• Strong expertise in Excel and finance systems, with a preference for experience in Business Central D365.
• Familiarity with new financial tools such as Power BI is essential.
• Proven experience in delivering statutory accounts and supporting a Finance function.

Strategic and international expertise:

• Strategic thinking ability for designing and implementing a future-state operating model.
• Experience working in an international environment, understanding multiple financial and regulatory frameworks.

Collaboration and communication skills:

• Skilled in collaborating closely with C-suite executives and building relationships with stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of liaising effectively with external advisors, tax authorities, regulators and internal stakeholders.

Results-driven and flexible:

• A results-driven approach with a track record of achieving measurable improvements.
• Flexibility to support day-to-day business-as-usual activities alongside managing transformational projects.

To apply

Please send a detailed CV/résumé to recruitment@ifrs.org Please include the following information or your application may not be considered:

• the job title/position you are interested in (in the subject line of your email); and
• covering email/letter detailing how you meet the specified role requirements and your salary expectations.

Closing date: 31 January 2025

We encourage early applications as we reserve the right to close this vacancy once a suitable candidate is found, which may be prior to the advertised closing date.