The Role:This is an interim Head of Finance Operations role for 12 months. The role sits within a finance team undergoing significant restructuring, including the integration of the fees function into Finance. It combines both leadership and hands-on responsibility, with a focus on managing multiple teams, improving finance systems, and driving efficiencies through automation and better ways of working. The role also requires strong change management capability, supporting a stable but reserved team through ongoing organisational change, while balancing technical finance delivery with effective people leadership.
Main Duties - Interim Head of Finance Operations role
- Line management of Income team (9), Finance Systems & HR team (3), and Accounts Payable team (3)
- Total responsibility for c.16 staff with 3 direct reports (Income Manager, AP Supervisor, Finance & HR Systems Manager)
- Focus on finance systems, process improvement, and merging of fee-related teams into Finance
- Driving efficiencies, automation, and improved ways of working (e.g. online expenses, reduced manual spreadsheets)
- Supporting FOI requests and ensuring systems are operating effectively
- Split role approximately 50% management / 50% hands-on delivery
- Working with wider finance leadership team to improve systems (e.g. Business World / Agresso)
The Successful Candidate - Qualified accountant, ideally with experience in Higher Education (HE) or Further Education (FE) finance, particularly fees
- Strong change management experience, ideally hands-on within a finance function
- Experience of systems implementation or finance systems improvement (not necessarily technical build, but delivery/leadership side)
- Proven ability to lead teams through restructuring, change, and potentially difficult transitions
- Able to identify inefficiencies and drive automation and process improvement across systems
What’s on Offer? - Interim Head of Finance Operations role at £83,000 salary plus benefits
- Contract until July 2027
- 2% annual pay award applied in August for all staff (including probationers)
- Pension scheme, 28 days annual leave plus 6 closure days and bank holidays
- Hybrid working model (2 days in the office)
- Opportunity to work within a live reorganisation
- Chance to shape and modernise finance systems and processes across the organisation
- Supportive but change-heavy environment requiring strong leadership and engagement skills
