Purpose of Role

Reporting to the Director of Finance & Resources (DFR), the Head of Finance will be responsible for delivering a first-class finance function to support Art Fund

Key Accountabilities

Management, leadership and governance

·        Manage and support the development of a team of four finance staff (2 direct reports).

·        Set, communicate and regularly monitor individual and finance team objectives, consistent with the financial elements of our strategy and objective and key results (OKR) framework

·        Partner with senior colleagues to champion best-practice financial management, business decision-making and internal financial controls across the organisation

·        Work with the DFR and other senior colleagues across the organisation to support and execute the 5-year strategy and 5-year financial plan for the charity

·        Present management accounts, reforecasts, longer-term financial plans and statutory audit updates to the Finance & General Purposes Committee (sub-committee of the Board of Trustees), working closely with the DFR to prepare the papers for both this committee and the Remuneration Committee

·        Present key results from the management accounts at staff meetings

Budgeting, forecasting, monthly reporting and financial analysis

·        Own the annual budget and quarterly forecasting processes. Drive collaborative and effective business planning and resource allocation, delivering a robust budget and quarterly reforecasts for Senior Management and Trustees

·        Lead, with the finance business partner and DFR, the update of the 5-year financial plan considering known events and macro-economic trends

·        Manage the month-end process (including oversight and completion of certain more complex reconciliations)

·        Review the monthly management accounts to facilitate the monitoring of financial performance and charitable impact

·        Critically assess and challenge accepted practices and ways-of-working to enhance the current culture of business partnering, continuous improvement and process efficiencies (including leveraging the recently implemented Power BI reporting)

·        Work with the finance business partner and budget holders around the organisation to anticipate and understand significant financial variances and early identification of issues ensuring regular and high-quality business insights are delivered to the Senior Management Team

·        Ensure management reporting is reliable and easily accessible to support effective decision-making at a senior level, including developing (with the finance manager and finance business partner) more insightful cash flow and balance sheet analysis for inclusion in the management accounts

·        Work with budget holders and the finance business partner to model new business initiatives

Statutory accounts & audit

·        Be the primary contact for the external auditor, ensure the accounts are consistent with Financial Reporting Standards and the internal control environment is under constant review and improvement

·        Manage the finance team in preparing all working schedules for the auditors

·        Be responsible for producing a high-quality and accessible year end audit file and accounts

Finance system ownership

·        Assume the role of ‘product owner’ for Art Fund’s finance system (Business Central) and data, managing the supplier relationship (NAV people)

·        Work closely with our suppliers and tech team to update and configure the ‘Making Tax Digital’ bridge from our finance system to HMRC to reflect agreed VAT treatments (refer to tax below)

·        Work closely with the tech team on potential enhancements to the finance system and also the options analysis for a potential change in the finance system post the 2025 audit

·        Work closely with the finance team to provide staff training in relation to the finance system

Tax

·        Responsible for the review of Corporation tax, VAT and Gift Aid submissions and ensuring these are submitted on a timely basis

·        Lead the finance manager in making any potential amendments to our VAT position and returns to reflect on-going correspondence with HMRC and external VAT advisors

Investments & Treasury

·        Support the Finance & General Purposes Committee in overseeing the effective management of the investment portfolio, liaising with external advisers as required and actioning recommendations made by our investment advisors

·        Oversee the finance co-ordinator to update and maintain the KYC and AML requirements of fund managers to allow trades to be undertaken efficiently

Other

·        Develop and maintain strong relationships with auditors, tax advisers, investment managers, bankers and other parties as directed by the DFR

·        Represent the finance team on the Green Task Force

Other Activities, Duties and Responsibilities

·        To actively participate in the wider life of Art Fund

·        To undertake other duties as requested by Art Fund from time to time

·        Art Fund has a policy of non-discrimination and everyone working or associated with us must treat others with respect

Reporting Lines: refer to attached organisation charts

PERSON DESCRIPTION

Qualifications

·        Qualified accountant

·        Member of a recognised UK accounting body

·        Candidates with equivalent experience or qualifications will be considered

Knowledge

·        Knowledge of charity financial practices and obligations

·        Understanding of charity SORP and related reporting requirements

·        Thorough understanding of financial planning, forecasting and analysis

·        Ability to develop and optimise financial systems, especially financial reporting tools

·        An understanding of financial control mechanisms within a business environment

·        Understanding of management and financial accounting principles and techniques

·        Understanding of charity VAT

·        Understanding of investment management

·        Understanding of gift aid regulations

·        Specific knowledge of Microsoft Business Central financial system

·        Knowledge of the arts and / or museums sector

Experience

·        Proven track record of communicating complex financial information in an easy-to-understand format

·        Experience of working with multiple stakeholders to prepare and deliver budgets and business plans

·        Excellent Excel skills

·        Excellent presentation skills

·        Significant experience of financial management

·        Leading a small finance team

·        Ability to design and implement projects to enact change

·        Experience of making improvements to finance systems

·        Evidence of having provided high-quality analysis which has meaningful business impact

·        Experience of preparing papers for Trustee committees

Personal Attributes

·        Strong leader but also comfortable undertaking detailed analysis when needed

·        Curious, thinks strategically and is passionate about delivering insightful information

·        Is a good communicator & relationship builder at all levels

·        Looks to constructively identify and drive improvements

·        Self-confident and tenacious with good influencing skills

·        Interest in the arts