British Council
Job title:
Head of Financial Control in Country
Company
British Council
Job description
We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.About the roleThis is a leadership role that oversees the retained in country financial accounting activities for the British Council and works closely with the Managed Service Provider (MSP) to ensure the financial accounts are completed correctly and in a timely manner, and numbers are reported accurately, and risk/controls are managed.The role leads a specialist global team of financial controllers who will be based in multiple locations providing retained in-country specific activities/processes, local, complex statutory/tax reporting, managing retained banking responsibilities, liaising with local authorities, supporting sanctioned countries and management of escalations raised by in-country teams and the MSP.The Controllership team also contributes to statutory reporting, tax review/filing, cashflow reporting and audit processes.This role provides high level financial accounting professional advice and leads the provision of complex retained financial services. The post holder will be a forward looking and strategic thinking finance professional, who will make an important contribution to implementing significant organisational and finance process change across British Council.This is a new leadership role created as part of the transformation of Professional Services and the global finance team, moving transactional finance processes to an external MSP.The In-country team will primarily focus on high risk and complex finance operating requirements that must retain in-country. Where there is capacity and no tax/status exposure, in-country roles will support on Process CoE activities. In-country roles include statutory and tax reporting responsibilities where operating complexity is high and local stat/tax filing is retained in-country. In-county roles will provide finance support to sanctioned/embargoed countries as required.The Head of In-country role will maintain oversight of regional finance operating requirements, ensuring risks/controls are managed. In-country roles will have regional/cluster reporting lines reporting into the Head of In-country finance support.This key role will drive significant organisational change in the way in which the business unit/geographical area carries out its transactional finance, monthly close process, and financial compliance. The post holder will be required to inspire, influence, develop and motivate people to change behaviours and introduce new ways of working. They will ensure consistent standards of performance and accuracy across the business unit/geographical area whilst maintaining strong and efficient interaction with the MSP.The post holder will be a pro-active self-starter with the ability to think strategically while keeping an eye on the detail. They will be a skilful and flexible finance professional with good communications skills and understanding of commercial finance. The person will be in constant contact with senior business leads and senior members of the global financial community.Senior stakeholders that the role interacts with regularly include:Director Finance OperationsHead of Financial Control, Centre of ExcellenceManaged Service ProviderFinance colleagues, Group, COE, Operations and Finance Business PartnersSLT, Strategic Business Unit and Regional Director partnersRegional and local delivery leadersInternal and External Financial Control and Compliance and Audit LeadsGroup Treasury and banking vendorsGroup Tax and local tax authorities.What we require of the successful candidate:Please see below a summary of the knowledge and skills required for this role however for the detailed role profile, providing a more in depth understanding of all the role entails, please send an email to [email protected]Language RequirementsThe British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required.Education and QualificationsHigher EducationQualified accountant with considerable experience post-qualification.Role specific knowledge and experienceA significant number of active years of financial controllership and related experience.Strong influencing and negotiating experience.Managing and developing teams.Strong Financial Control experience and knowledge of Professional Accounting Standards.Shared Services Operations (Desirable)Experience of working in international and multi-cultural organisations (Desirable)Leadership of change projects/initiatives (Desirable)SAP/ERP experience (Desirable)Role Specific SkillsStrong Financial Reporting, Accounting, Closing and Compliance skills.Strong communication and influencing skills, able to relay complex financial information in an easy-to-understand way.Building relationships at all levels of the organisation.Change Management skills.Excellent analytical skills along with strong planning and organisational skills are required.Flexibility, independence, and initiative to perform successfully in a rapidly changing environment.Ability to operate effectively and prioritise in a busy global facing role.Further InformationPay Band – 10Contract Type – IndefiniteLocation – e.g United Kingdom, Any (This role offers the option of hybrid working from home and office-based. The successful candidate would join one of our five main UK offices as their base office (either London, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh, or Belfast)In addition to a competitive salary and excellent pension contributions, the British Council offers:32 days annual leave and an additional half day on Christmas EveEmployee Assistance ProgrammeRequirements –Candidates are expected to have researched whether they have the right to live and work in the specified countries in which the role is based.Some travel and out of hours work may be requiredClosing Date – 25th April 2024Interviews: TBCA connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) StatementThe British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.If you have any problems with your application please emailPlease note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.
Expected salary
Location
Manchester – London
Job date
Sat, 13 Apr 2024 05:38:07 GMT
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