Head of Finance

Head of Finance - £60,000 - £80,000 (DOE) + Bonus - Elstree, Hertfordshire

Vitae Financial Recruitment are exclusively working with HF Holidays to source a Head of Finance to work alongside the CEO of this £30M turnover leisure and travel business.

About HF Holidays
With over 100 years' experience organising outdoor holidays, every year over 60,000 guests choose to travel with HF Holidays to destinations all over the world specialising in offering a fantastic range of Walking, and Leisure Activities holidays.

Operating 19 Country Houses in the UK and with excellent partner hotels in Europe and Worldwide members are offered a fantastic choice of Guided or Self-guided Walking holidays.

Operating as a co-operative society the business is owned by its shareholding members and all profits are ploughed back into making holidays better.

The Candidate, we are seeking the following;

* Qualified ACA, CIMA or ACCA with at least 5 years previous experience in a Financial Controller, Head of Finance or Finance Director role
* Previous experience within Leisure, Hotel, Tour Operations or Retail / Multi-Site business
* An understanding of the dynamics and drivers within the industry i.e. Yield, Future Bookings, Foreign Exchange, Product Costing, and Margin Management
* A blend of Financial Control, Technical, Commercial, Influencing and Leaderships skills
* An empathy with the co-operative business model and ways of working
* Strong IT skills and experience of developing / implementing financial systems and processes
* Ability and willingness to travel throughout the UK from time to time
* A love of the outdoors is not necessary but an affinity to the product would be an advantage!
* Energetic, highly motivated, a passion for excellence and the ability to operate at both strategic and operational levels

The Role in Detail

Working alongside the CEO, the Head of Finance will need to be an experienced hands-on accountant but will also be expected to be commercially aware, advising on growth, cost control, and risk management.

Financial control

* Overall control of the company's accounting function
* Responsible for all statutory reporting, compliance, annual accounts, VAT, PAYE, etc
* Manage cash, cashflow, foreign exchange transactions, bank accounts and debts
* Setting and monitoring of budgets, forecasts, cash flow analysis, management and financial accounts to inform decision making at all levels
* Develop and implement finance policies and procedures
* To manage the annual audit process

Commercial support

* Work with the Board, Chief Executive, and other Senior Executives in order to contribute to the development of the business, challenging assumptions, providing financial analysis, modelling and guidance on all activities, plans, targets and business drivers
* Ensure that budgets and forecasts accurately reflect the business activity
* Identify and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of processes, systems and application of resources
* Seek sector and market insight to benchmark and inform the assessment of HF performance
* Corporate finance: to recommend and manage company policies regarding capital requirements, debt, taxation, equity, disposals and acquisitions as appropriate
* To assist in the ongoing assessment and management of business wide risk

Leadership and relationships

* Lead and develop the finance team
* Form a strong working relationship with the CEO and Board, supporting and challenging as necessary
* To support the senior management team in the achievement of their financial objectives
* To contribute to the maintenance and development of the HF culture, values and ways of working
* Manage key financial relationships such as the bank, auditors, financial advisors and key customers
* To present to members at the AGM and other events

This is a fantastic opportunity to take the No.1 finance role supporting a dynamic and ambitious CEO in a varied role covering Financial Control, Technical, Financial Planning, Commercial and Leadership. Applicants will be consider by those currently operating at a similar level or those looking to step up into a No.1 role.

All third party applications will be forwarded to Vitae Financial Recruitment.

AGY - Vitae Financial Recruitment
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