Head of Finance Operations

THE COMPANY

Our client operates a multi-stream IP and rights-management business centred on licensing and extending the use of a legacy brand across global media.

THE ROLE

To provide strategic leadership for all finance-related matters and manage the finance processing team to ensure the effective and timely delivery of financial operations and reporting.

Key responsibilities:

• Supervision and development the finance department
• Lead and manage core finance operations, including sales invoicing, purchase ledger processing, bank transactions, and approval workflows.
• Oversee the preparation of management accounts, budgets, forecasts, programme P&Ls, consolidation adjustments, and financial performance reporting.
• Manage specialised reporting requirements, including royalties, third-party participations, commissions, TV residuals, and profit reporting.
• Ensure compliance with statutory, tax, and regulatory requirements, including VAT returns, corporation tax, statutory accounts, audits, and withholding tax controls.
• Maintain robust financial controls through balance sheet reconciliations, fixed asset management, amortisation calculations, and accurate financial record keeping.
• Administration and troubleshooting all systems.
• Run licensee royalty audit process.
• Improve financial processes, including looking for automation opportunities.

THE PERSON

You will be a qualified accountant with substantial post-qualification experience, including operating at (at least) Financial Controller level within a commercial environment and overseeing a full finance function.

An effective people leader, you will have experience managing, developing and mentoring finance teams, with a genuine passion for building capability and driving high performance.

You will possess strong technical accounting expertise, including leading month-end, year-end and audit processes, preparing statutory accounts, consolidations and reconciliations, and applying UK GAAP (FRS102) knowledge in practice.

You will have excellent stakeholder management skills, advanced Excel capability, and experience improving financial controls, systems and reporting processes. Experience with Sage 50, Salesforce, and the Media, Entertainment, Licensing or Creative sectors would be advantageous.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• Searchlight only advertises active roles
• Your details will be sent directly to the consultant who is handling this role
• We aim to respond to candidates within 14 days.

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If this role isn’t quite right, but you would like us to have your CV on file, please send it to sroffice@searchlight.global.