Head of Finance Job Description
Reports to:
Chief Operating & Financial Officer
Finance team comprises:
Management Accountant
Assistant Management Accountant
Ticketing Accountant
Payroll Administrator
Senior Accounts Assistant
Accounts & Payroll Assistant
Purchase Ledger Clerk
Summary of Role

Management and development of the Finance team

Timely provision and communication of accurate management information and advice

Driving the annual budgeting / re-forecasting process

Balance sheet & financial process review and control

Audit and Compliance

Systems development

Financial leadership to the Hall’s management team and the entire organisation

Relationship building to promote and benefit the Hall
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Management and development of the Finance team






Responsible for the motivation, objective-setting and development of the team
Ensure the whole team receive regular performance reviews against objectives
Ensure team members receive all necessary training and on the job coaching
Management of any disciplinary or under-performance issues
Responsibility for the effective administration of the Finance department within budgetary
constraints, including not only the departmental budget but also control/maximisation of other
lines in the income statement that are within the Finance team’s control (e.g. chargebacks,
interest income etc.)
Ensure team structure, roles and responsibilities remain appropriate as the business develops
over time
Timely provision and communication of accurate management information and advice

Overall responsibility for the delivery (to strict deadlines) of monthly management accounts,
including analysis and commentary of budget and prior year variances. These are intended for




a wide audience within the Hall, therefore the ability to communicate in an engaging and
jargon-free manner is vital
Engage (and ensure that other team members engage) with the cost centre managers (on a
formal regular basis plus frequent ad-hoc contact) to review expenditure vs. budget and
identify opportunities for efficiencies and cost savings
Become a trusted partner and financial advisor to all department Heads
Assist in the development of the use of management information and KPI’s in order to enable
better understanding, control and commercial development of the business
Attend and contribute to the Hall’s Finance Committee (which meets approximately 5 times
per year), playing a key role in preparing the information pack and explaining both the
management accounts and other financial matters to the Trustees on the committee
Driving the annual budgeting / forecasting process




Play a key role in developing the annual budget strategy and targets
Work with the Management Accountant and cost centre managers to prepare and finalise their
annual budgets
Consolidation, reporting and commentary of the Hall’s annual budget
Lead the forecast process at various points in the year
Balance sheet and financial process review and control






Responsibility for the accurate and timely day to day book keeping in respect of all financial
activities of the Hall, to comply with statutory requirements and satisfy the needs of all Hall
stakeholders
Ensure adequate controls and procedures are in place to properly safeguard the assets and
liabilities of the Hall from risk of fraud or human error
Oversee the timely and accurate management of the sales ledger, purchase ledger and
payroll functions
Responsibility for ensuring the reconciliation and control of all balance sheet accounts on a
regular and timely basis
Responsibility for overseeing cash management including the daily collection and
reconciliation of box office takings, bank reconciliations, treasury management and cashflow
reporting and forecasting
Responsibility to ensure that all promoter/merchandiser settlements are calculated and paid in
an accurate and timely manner
Audit and Compliance





Oversee the Finance team’s preparation of the annual statutory accounts for the Corporation,
its trading subsidiary, a connected fundraising charity
Lead the smooth transition to the new SORP
Own the relationship with the audit manager and lead the Finance team through the audit from
closing-the-books to signing of statutory accounts (including review or, where necessary,
preparation of all reconciliations and schedules requested by the auditors)
Oversee preparation of the Seatholders’ annual accounts and the Ticket Return Scheme
statement/payment process
Ensure compliance in respect of PAYE, NI, VAT, Foreign Entertainers tax and Corporation tax
and other relevant statutory requirements, to include annual P11Ds and the gift aid tax
reclaims



Collective responsibility, along with colleagues in other departments, for ensuring the Hall fully
complies with the requirements of PRS, PPL, National Statistics and other financial / data
collection agencies
Working with the Hall’s internal audit company, assisting in the planning and execution of the
Hall’s annual internal audit programme
Advise and oversee financial compliance within the rest of the organisation, for example tax
issues relating to fundraising, adherence to regulations on payment processing fees etc..
Systems Development



Overall responsibility for the management of the Hall’s computerised accounting system, to
include assurance of data integrity, the maintenance of management reports, annual archiving
of data and the regular back-up of information
Lead the organisation to ensure 100% use of the system (e.g. purchase orders, reporting etc.)
and to maximise the benefits that the system can give
Development of the interfaces/integration between all Hall systems to ensure that the Hall’s
information environment is efficient and fit for purpose
Financial leadership to the Hall’s management team and the entire organisation





Provide financial advice and leadership to the Hall’s Heads and Directors, in order to ensure
they and their departments engage/comply with financial processes, get the most from our
systems/data and understand the financial implications of their decision-making
Present the Hall’s financial situation at staff induction sessions, staff meetings etc. in order to
ensure that the entire organisation is well-informed about the Hall’s financial position and
targets
Play a key role in the preparation of the Hall’s Business Plans, to ensure that they are
accurately costed and clearly explained
Engage fully with the Hall’s leadership team on all matters relating to the Hall’s operations and
strategy, primarily through the weekly Leadership Team Meetings but in other meetings and
informally too
Become the trusted advisor and first port of call for all Heads of Department, offering
persuasive guidance, creative problem solving and a ‘big picture’ view of the Hall’s operations
Relationship building to promote and benefit the Hall
Build relationships to promote and benefit the Hall, as its senior financial representative, including;
 Auditors, tax advisors, insurer and other professional service providers
 Concert promoters and other industry professionals with whom the Hall and its Finance team
need close relationships (e.g. co-promote partners such as Raymond Gubbay Limited)
 The service providers for the sector procurement consortia that have been jointly set up by the
Hall; currently Power Efficiency (energy) and Barclaycard (merchant services)
 Those in equivalent roles at other national arts and entertainment venues
Other




Represent the Finance function on cross-departmental project teams (e.g. development of
website functionality, roster systems etc.)
Special investigations and reports for the Executive team
Possibly become a trustee or secretary to the Hall’s legacy pension scheme
Ad hoc duties as required
Person Specification
Working style






Attention to detail, takes satisfaction from 100% accuracy
Inquisitive, persistent, always digging deeper
Able to see the big picture (whilst understanding the detail) and to perceive the wider
implications
A creative problem-solver, thinking laterally with pragmatism
Carefully plans workload, prioritising day to day demands whilst remaining flexible
Calm under pressure with a good sense of humour and warm approach to people from all
backgrounds
Leadership





Gentle self-confidence which naturally wins the confidence and trust of colleagues
A natural listener
Intuitive people-person who can adapt to work with other personality types
Understands the importance of a motivated team and is able to maintain this through
varying circumstances
Leads by example; working hard with a customer-service focus
Communication




A natural verbal communicator, with strong but understated influencing skills
Able to give unpopular messages clearly and positively
The ability to write clearly, simply and to tailor the writing style depending on the intended
readers
Able to present, with gravitas, a coherent financial perspective on a wide range of issues as
a member of the Hall’s senior management team
Experience & qualifications





Fully qualified accountant (preferably CIMA, ACCA or ACA) with, ideally, at least 5 years
post qualification experience
Previous roles must demonstrate significant exposure to financial control, management
accounting and budgeting
Previous roles must have included the responsibility for managing a team; including review
of work, training, motivation, disciplinary matters etc.
Previous roles must have had elements of commercial analysis and decision-making
Good on excel, quick to learn new software applications, affinity with the logical structure of
databases and able to see beyond apparent technology limitations
Advantage if candidate has






Experience of cash/credit card/inventory management and reconciliation in a retail
environment with large volumes of relatively low value items
Experience of ticketing systems
Payroll experience
Experience of complex VAT environments
Charity statutory accounting experience
An interest in the arts and a genuine love of attending live performance!