Financial Controller

Financial Controller

London

Very Competitive Salary and Excellent Benefits

Our Financial Controller will be working with…

The Advantage Travel Partnership is the UK’s largest independent travel agent group.The leisure and business travel member partners who are part of the group are each independently owned, but as a collective produce over £4.5bn of travel sales each year, making us experts in every aspect of the travel industry.

We are extremely proud of our member partners and although their skills and travel knowledge are as different as the individuals themselves, they all share a passion for travel and a desire to tailor their travel services to the individual needs of their customers. We work closely with our member partners to provide them with the tools to offer their customers the most inspirational, yet affordable, range of travel product – and all with the full financial protection you would expect of an organisation of our size.

We work shoulder-to-shoulder with our business partners, sharing our collective knowledge to deliver exceptional travel services.

What our Financial Controller will be doing…

This is an amazing opportunity to join a fantastic company at a very exciting time.  You, as Financial Controller, will report to our highly inspirational Chief Executive Officer and work alongside the Executive Directors to drive the business forward.  You will manage on a day to day basis the finance department which includes a Management and Financial Accountant within a team of seven. 

The overall purpose of your job is to oversee the financial performance management and financial controls in all of the group of companies. Including: Advantage Travel Centres Ltd (ADV), Advantage Financial Services Ltd (AFS), Independents’ Advantage Insurance Company Ltd (IAICL), Worldwide International Travel Network Ltd (WIN) Advantage 4 Travel Ltd (A4TL), Advantage Meeting & Events (M&E) and Advantage Focus Partnership (AFP)

You will also be expected to ensure the financial state of the group is reported accurately, in a timely manner and within a strong internal control framework.  You will be responsible for the management of financial risk and for supporting all group businesses with vital financial information and analysis and be a major player in ensuring the group achieves its corporate objectives.

In this Financial Controller role, you will…

• Manage and develop a finance team of 7
• Oversee the preparation of the monthly group reporting pack and carry out regular performance reviews with line of business (LOB) managers
• Prepare annual budget; 6+6 Forecast, and year-end financial statements for approval of executive team and audit committee
• Ensure compliance with all group financial regulatory matters (e.g. HMRC/FCA/CAA/ABTA)
• Oversee the management of the group treasury function and ensure cash management is optimised
• Be point of contact and reference for external auditors and various third parties
• Liaise with Company Secretary for completion of Companies House filing obligations
• Be accountable for maintenance of share registers
• Liaise with and produce ad-hoc reports and MI for the CEO and LOB managers as required
• Lead the design and implementation of new systems and processes as part of an ongoing critical finance transformation project.
• Monitor business performance
• Oversee all compliance and risk management for the group

To be successful in this role, Our Financial Controller would have experience of…

• Successfully delivering against high targets in a similar environment
• Working in financial roles in the travel industry (5-10 years)
• Financial and management reporting for a consolidated group
• Embedding financial ownership across management teams to drive superior budgetary performance
• Cash-flow management
• Legal, regulatory and fiscal compliance
• Developing banking relationships

And be/display…

• Fully qualified (CIMA or ACCA) displaying technical excellence
• Strong commercial acumen – with ability to “deep dive” into the detail and yet stay focused on the big picture
• An ability to build excellent internal and external relationships with Executive team and other relevant stakeholders
• An excellent communicator at all levels both verbally and in written form
• Results orientation combined with an ability to recognise other competing objectives in a membership organisation
• Strong systems orientation and demonstrable track-record of bringing about transformational systems and process change
• A passion to drive business improvement and the initiative to find alternative solutions

What our Financial Controller gets in return…

Immediately after you start:

• 23 days leave, increasing by a day after two years’ service (to a max of 28 days)
• Birthday off
• Contributory Pensions, where Advantage contributes 5% towards required 8% total
• Ability to buy/sell up to 5 days leave per holiday year
• Free fruit
• Social committee
• Ability to work flexibly
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Eye care paid for (in part)
• Childcare vouchers
• Central head office location

And then after probation:

• Fully paid for BUPA (single cover)
• Life Assurance/Death in Service Cover
• Gym membership for £10 per month
• Rail loan
• Cycle to work

If this Financial Controller vacancy sounds right for you, please apply below now.