Finance Head of Housing & Independent Living

Your Company:
NET Recruit is pleased to be partnering with a well-established organisation in their search for a Finance Head of Housing & Independent Living to join their central Finance team. This is a senior finance leadership position within a substantial organisation, with responsibility for overseeing financial reporting and business partnering across a major operational division.
The successful candidate will work closely with senior operational leadership, directors, and budget holders, providing high-quality financial insight and ensuring robust financial planning, reporting, and forecasting. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced finance professional looking to take ownership of a large and strategically important division.

Your Role and Responsibilities:
While in this position, your duties may include but are not limited to:

• Lead the Housing and Independent Living financial reporting teams, ensuring accurate and timely monthly management accounts are delivered to Group Finance and the Operational Leadership Team.
• Produce and present monthly management accounts, providing clear commentary, analysis, and insight into financial performance.
• Lead the quarterly reforecasting process, ensuring forecasts and supporting commentary are accurate, robust, and delivered within agreed deadlines.
• Provide detailed financial analysis and management information to help directors and budget holders understand their financial performance and make informed decisions.
• Work closely with operational leadership to coordinate the annual budgeting and financial planning process across Housing and Independent Living.
• Partner with senior operational stakeholders, providing constructive financial challenge and supporting effective commercial and financial decision-making.
• Coordinate with the Financial Accounting team on the preparation of statutory accounts for Housing and Independent Living.
• Oversee the finance elements of the annual service charge cycle, supporting accurate calculation, reporting, and recovery of service charges across the Group.
• Continuously review finance processes, identifying inefficiencies, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Lead the design and implementation of process improvements and systems changes, encouraging a culture of continuous improvement within the finance teams.
• Work collaboratively with other Finance Heads to identify inconsistencies and share best practice across the wider Finance function.
• Support the preparation of Group cash flow forecasts and provide relevant information to Group Treasury.
• Lead, motivate, develop, and retain the Housing and Independent Living finance teams, ensuring the function is structured effectively to support future growth.
• Support succession planning and the development of talent across the finance function.
• Encourage collaboration and resource sharing between teams, ensuring appropriate support is available during peak periods.
• Present financial information clearly to senior stakeholders, adapting analysis and reporting to suit different audiences.
• Ensure financial reporting and outputs are delivered accurately and within agreed deadlines.

What You Will Need to Apply:
To be considered for this opportunity, you will be a qualified accountant and member of a recognised professional accounting body, with at least five years' post-qualified experience in relevant senior finance roles.
You will have significant experience across management accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and business partnering, with the ability to work confidently with senior operational stakeholders and directors outside of Finance.
Experience managing relationships with senior budget holders and providing constructive financial challenge will be essential. Previous experience within the housing sector and knowledge of service charges would be advantageous, alongside exposure to statutory accounting.
You will have a strong track record of managing and developing sizeable finance teams, with experience of organisational structure, succession planning, performance management, development, and conflict resolution.
The ability to lead through change will be important, with demonstrable experience of identifying opportunities to improve processes, implementing new systems or ways of working, and driving continuous improvement.

You will also require:

• Strong technical accounting knowledge and a broad understanding of financial management.
• Proven experience leading budgeting and financial planning processes within a complex organisation.
• Excellent business partnering and stakeholder management skills.
• The ability to analyse, interpret, and present complex financial information clearly and concisely.
• Advanced Excel skills and strong overall IT capability.
• Experience working with specialist finance systems would be advantageous.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver to demanding deadlines.
• A collaborative leadership style and the ability to build strong relationships across all levels of an organisation.
• A proactive and solutions-focused approach, with the confidence to challenge existing processes and introduce improvements.

What You Will Get in Return:
This is an excellent opportunity to take on a senior finance leadership position within a substantial organisation, providing strategic financial oversight across a major operational division.
You will have significant exposure to senior leadership, directors, and budget holders, with the opportunity to influence financial planning, operational decision-making, process improvement, and the future development of the Finance function.
The role offers a salary of up to £80,000 opportunity to lead and develop a sizeable team while playing a key role in improving financial reporting, forecasting, budgeting, and business partnering across Housing and Independent Living.
For an experienced qualified accountant with strong leadership and commercial finance experience, this represents an opportunity to take ownership of a complex and high-value portfolio while making a meaningful impact at both operational and strategic level.

To express interest in this role and have a confidential chat, please reach out to:

Phoebe Jones - Recruitment Partner

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