ABOUT THE COMPANY:

OCS UK & Ireland is a leading facilities management company with 50,000+ colleagues and a turnover in excess of £2bn. We deliver innovative, award-winning services within facilities management, hard services, cleaning, security and catering.
Our mission is to make people and places the best they can be for our colleagues, customers and the communities we serve. Our commitment to doing business the right way is rooted in our TRUE values - Trust, Respect, Unity, and Empowerment.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Working pattern: Monday to Friday. Currently four days a week in the office, one day a week at home.
The purpose of this role is to support the Financial Controller in achieving the objectives of the Central Finance team.
You will be responsible for leading a team covering a number of areas of the accounting process. These include maintaining the integrity of the balance sheet, minimising financial risks, liaising with external auditors throughout the audit process, completion of regulatory returns, enforcing control and compliance, ensuring the cash, asset and expenses functions are well managed, and other accounting and reporting responsibilities are completed to the expected standards, adhering to relevant policies.
Your focus will be to deliver service excellence to all internal stakeholders and to ensure that our timelines and strict key performance indicators are adhered to at all times whilst seeking continuous improvements to core finance processes and document procedures.
You will lead a key team within the business ensuring that they are motivated, focused and driven to achieve results and that all personnel have clear deliverables that they must achieve for themselves as well as for the wider financial team.

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ROLE

• To manage and report on the underlying financial records for OCS Group UK Limited and other UK entities ensuring compliance to IFRS and internal policies.
• The preparation of audit files and be a key point of liaison between external auditors and internal stakeholders including sector finance teams and contract managers. Take responsibility for all statutory disclosure requirements and ad hoc external regulatory reporting.
• To successfully manage the Control & Compliance finance team, to lead, motivate and develop the team promoting training and staff development for the team, including liaising with training providers for team members undertaking professional qualification training.
• Drive continuous process improvement throughout all the central finance procedures adopting best practice.
• To ensure balance sheet accounts are fully reconciled to underlying records and risks are identified and mitigated on a timely basis. Ensure robustness and completeness of financial records so that quarterly declarations to Group are compliant. Manage the quarterly sector balance sheet review process.
• Lead reconciliation of intercompany accounts, ensuring P&L and balances sheet is reconciled for the Group on a monthly basis.
• To take overall responsibility for all payroll related balance sheet reconciliations and reporting thereon. To ensure the accurate posting of all payroll entries and deductions.
• To act as a key contact for completion and reporting to the Group Function.
• To validate accuracy and ensure timely submission of the quarterly VAT returns and CIS returns.
• To enforce asset and lease policy compliance and to improve upon the current process
• To ensure carbon emissions reporting is efficient and timely for the central finance function.
• To liaise with the internal auditor to ensure cash management of catering sites is effective and efficient.
• To provide collaborative support to the shared services team leaders.
• To control the opening and closing of finance system ledgers at month end and year end.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THE ROLE:

• Must be a qualified accountant - ACCA/ACA or CIMA as minimum
• Experience experience of day to day management of a finance team in a large organisation in a similar role.
• Proven track record of managing and developing a medium sized team.
• Year end audit experience including managing requirements to meet a strict reporting timetable and acting as primary liaison with external auditors.
• Knowledge of ERP software.
• Good knowledge of fundamental accounting principles & IFRS.
• Audit background preferred but not essential.