Head of Finance

Eutopia Search is delighted to be exclusively supporting Community Dental Service, an award-winning employee-owned social enterprise providing high-quality community dental services to the NHS. Due to continued growth, they are looking to recruit a Head of Finance based at their head office in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire.

Located on 91 acres of rolling parkland, offering good flexibility and hybrid working options, this is an excellent opportunity for a senior finance professional to take ownership of an established team in an organisation that gives back to the local community.

Reporting to the Finance Director, duties include:

• Managing and coordinating the work of the finance team, providing structured training, coaching, and leadership for the team’s development and support.
• Completing the budget-setting process with responsibility for coordinating, setting, and monitoring services against agreed budget envelopes and savings targets.
• Leading and coordinating the budget-setting process and being an authorized signatory responsible for authorizing payments and journals.
• Providing detailed financial advice, information, and support to the Finance Director and Senior Leadership Team.
• Supporting the Finance Director in negotiating and monitoring contracts and service level agreements.
• Overseeing the VAT function of the organization, including providing advice and assistance to budget holders and liaising with HMRC where required.
• Overseeing and monitoring the financial performance of all services within the organization.
• Meeting regularly with budget holders to discuss financial performance and, where necessary, agreeing and implementing remedial actions.
• Providing training to budget holders in the day-to-day discharge of their financial responsibilities.
• Completing the monthly Management Board report on financial performance and assisting in preparing papers for the Board.
• Completing the financial sections of all statutory statistical returns on behalf of the organization, including being the organizational lead on all cost-related projects such as annual budgeting.
• Acting as the system administrator for the corporate ledger system and associated sub-systems, including maintaining the integrity of the data and the coding structure.
• Leading the external audit process, including the preparation of the Year-End Accounts.
• Serving as the finance lead on corporate projects and the organizational lead on performance reporting.

Salary: Up to £72,000 per annum + benefits

10% pension

27 days holiday + bank

The ideal candidate will be a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) with at least five years of experience managing a finance department, alongside experience in:

• Financial performance management
• Proficiency in computer literacy (excellent spreadsheet skills and knowledge of accounting packages)
• Budgetary control, budget forecasting, and management