Assistant Director of Finance

The Royal Armouries is the UK's national museum of arms and armour, keeper of the world's oldest national collection, with sites in Leeds, the Tower of London and Fort Nelson. Behind the galleries sits a genuinely interesting finance operation: charity accounting, a trading subsidiary, public sector governance, DCMS reporting and real commercial ambition, all under one roof.

As our most senior finance professional, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you'll lead Finance, Procurement and Assurance, and act as the finance lead for our Executive Board. It is strategic and operational in equal measure - you'd be setting the multi-year financial plan on Monday and fixing a stubborn process on Tuesday.

• Lead Finance, Procurement and Assurance, line-managing the Head of Finance, Procurement Manager and Executive Support Officer
  - Assurance & Planning
• Act as the finance lead for the Executive Board (EB), with a high degree of delegated authority from the Chief Operating Officer
• Ensuring the timely and effective generation of financial reports, projections and performance data for EB, Trustees and DCMS other statutory bodies as required
• Build a confident, supportive finance culture, the kind of team colleagues come to for help rather than approval

• Develop and deliver the long-range, multi-year financial plan in a demanding economic and commercial climate
• Lead the annual budget and in-year forecasting, reporting key movements to Exec Board, Trustees and DCMS
• Give budget holders analysis and reporting tools that make their jobs easier, not harder
• Translate complex financial information for an audience that includes curators, conservators and committees

• Lead the year-end process, statutory accounts and the annual audit
• Act as organisational lead on all tax matters - employment taxes, corporation tax and VAT
• Support the Procurement Manager on compliance with the Procurement Act and Procurement Contract Regulations
• Support the Executive Support Officer
  - Assurance & Planning on wider governance and regulatory compliance

• Drive continuous improvement in financial processes, systems and controls — inside Finance and right across the museum. You'll be pushing the service forward and using strong improving and modernising instincts wherever practicable and feasible to improve departmental efficiency, and contain and manage costs and overheads within the department and across the organisation.
• Test the assumptions behind investment proposals and business cases, constructively and with evidence
• Find opportunities to grow income, reduce cost and stretch resources without diluting quality

• Work with DCMS, HMRC, museum partners, auditors and professional advisers
• Influence colleagues, challenge established thinking where it needs challenging, and build real commitment to shared goals
• Stay plugged into the sector for benchmarking, intelligence and your own development

• A professional accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA or equivalent)
• Senior finance experience supporting colleagues across an organisation and reporting to Board level
• A strong grasp of the concept of the internal customer. You'll be serving and supporting line managers and budget holders with information and other finance needs as well as enabling and supporting their empowerment and independence
• Experience of leading the annual budget and ongoing forecasting process
• Experience of leading on the production of statutory accounts and managing the annual audit
• Previous track record of implementing and developing finance IT systems
• Evidence of developing effective, efficient policies, processes and controls
• Experience across a range of sectors, commercial, not-for-profit and public sector
• Experience of employment taxes, corporation tax and VAT
• Charity accounting experience
• Public sector procurement and knowledge of the Procurement Regulations
• Knowledge of HM Treasury governance and public financial management frameworks — Managing Public Money, the Functional Standards, the Orange Book and the Green Book
• A background in the cultural or heritage sector (welcome, but not a deal-breaker, there are people around who can teach you the difference between a gauntlet and a vambrace!)

• Salary c £75,000, on a 18-month fixed-term contract, potential scope beyond this for a candidate with extensive…