Head of Finance

Brentford FC Community Sports Trust

With community work spanning three decades, Brentford FC Community Sports Trust has established itself as a pioneering organisation for the local community. It uses the power of sport to educate, motivate and inspire people from all walks of life.

Working in partnership with Brentford FC, the Trust offers a portfolio of programmes in education, health, sports participation and community engagement. The Trust has won the ‘Football League Community Club of the Year’ award four times and now employs more than 100 members of staff. 

Main Purpose of Job

 The Head of Finance is responsible for leading the Finance Department of a rapidly growing Charity with exciting innovative expansion plans to drive income in excess of the current £4m and social impact value above £70m, whilst managing expenditure in line with budget and maintaining reserves to agreed Board target.

Reporting into the CEO you will collaborate and provide input into the financial strategy to support the organisation’s mission. You will direct the finance team in the operational functions of the department and provide continuous improvement in processes to align with the ambitious growth of the organisation.

About You

You will be a qualified accountant be and experienced in leading a Finance team. You will have excellent business acumen and commercial awareness gained in similar size organisations or larger. 

You will be an Excellent team player with ability to quickly build trust and confidence both internally and externally. You will have strong analytical skills with a minimum of 3 years’ relevant Financial, Budgeting, Forecasting experience

Key responsibilities:

• Lead, Mentor and Develop the Finance Team.
• Deliver the following reporting in a timely and efficient manner:
  • Accurate monthly Financial Management accounts including, succinct, informative and action led commentary.
  • Overall management of Trust expenditure in line with tight Budgets and Forecasts, providing variance analysis and commentary based on regular review meetings with Budget Owners.
  • Production of Annual Budget (plus half yearly reforecast) including a Summary Income and Expenditure statement supported by detailed assumptions highlighting surplus/deficit on a project by project basis.
  • Alongside budget, production of Cashflow forecast, Capital Expenditure budget and forecast reserves cover.
  • Provide easy to understand, engaging and succinct Quarterly Financial reports and present to the Quarterly Finance Subcommittee and Board meetings focusing on KPI’s including, commentary on key metrics trends and variances.
•  Ensure the Finance Team engage with other departments and together with the Senior Leadership Team to deliver the Trust’s objectives to increase financial awareness across the organisation by
  • Working with Budget Holders to understand and manage expenditure on a monthly basis and assist them with strategy and pricing decisions to feed into the budgeting and reforecasting process.
  • Evaluate and review new projects and new funding applications of funding in a timely manner, providing financial analysis as required.
  • Provide Financial Analysis to support regular monitoring reporting required by funders.
  • Drive KPI’s to evaluate projects and provide post-project analysis to evaluate and monitor the project’s progress against the KPI’s
• Work with Management and Trustees to develop a recently formed trading subsidiary which will become responsible for some existing and new revenue streams. This will require working with legal and tax advisors as necessary.

Essential Criteria 

• Qualified ACCA, CIMA or ACA with a minimum 5 years of financial/commercial and team management experience.
• Excellent business acumen and commercial awareness gained in similar size organisations or larger.
• Strong analytical skills with a minimum 3+ years relevant Financial, Budgeting, Forecasting experience.
• Excellent attention to detail and ownership of responsibilities.
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral with the ability to put yourself in the shoes of the receiver.
• Excellent Leadership Skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Enthusiastic with an appetite to continually learn and drive personal development.
• Excellent team player with ability to quickly build trust and confidence both internally and externally.
• Ability to occasionally work flexible hours as required.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in the charity environment.
• Business/Strategic partnering experience.
• Excellent Leadership Skills.
• Positive and flexible approach with proven ability to work with all levels of an organisation.
• Professional with a friendly outlook and positive attitude.
• Strong team player, with ability to work across departments to achieve shared goals.

Personal Qualities:

• Positive and flexible approach with proven ability to work with all levels of an organisation.
• Professional with a friendly outlook and positive attitude.
• Strong team player, with ability to work across departments to achieve shared goals.

This is a great role for an individual who wants work within the charity sector and be part of an organisation that uses the power of sport to educate, motivate and inspire people from all walks of life.

Brentford FCCST is an organisation which values and is passionate about diversity and inclusivity. We welcome and encourage applications from qualified candidates, including those from underrepresented groups – such as those from ethnically diverse backgrounds, women, those from the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities.

Should you require any workplace accommodations (also known as ‘reasonable adjustments), you will have the opportunity to let us know at the appropriate points in the hiring process.

 Please note that where appropriate for the role, you will be required to complete additional background checks such as Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and police checks for any time you have lived or worked outside of the UK in the last 10 years. 

 If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.