Finance Assistant in Birmingham

Company Overview

Absolute Collagen is the UK's best-selling liquid collagen supplement and a fast-growing wellness brand operating at the intersection of beauty, health and nutrition. Founded in 2017 by Maxine and Darcy Laceby, the business has built a highly engaged community of over 60,000 subscribers within a subscription-first, multichannel model. The brand is built around its core platform, Age Powerfully, celebrating confidence and vitality at every stage of life. Backed by private equity investor Livingbridge and certified B Corp since 2023, the business is focused on its next phase of growth.

Why This Role Exists

Finance sits at the core of how Absolute Collagen manages its growth. This role has been created to own the day-to-day transactional finance processes that keep the business running. With transaction volumes increasing across both direct-to-consumer subscription and retail channels, and tighter commercial disciplines now required to support the next phase of scaling, the business needs reliable, accurate and proactive operational finance capability.

For the right person, this is also a genuine development opportunity. Absolute Collagen is a business that backs people who show up, take ownership and grow with the organisation. The finance team is evolving alongside the business, and there is real scope to build capability, take on increased responsibility and continue developing within a growing finance function.

About the Role

As Finance Assistant, you will be responsible for the operational engine of the finance function: the transactional processing, reconciliation and administrative activity that underpins financial accuracy and control across the business. You will manage purchase and sales ledger activity, own bank reconciliations, process employee expenses and provide support during month-end close. You will be the first point of contact for supplier queries and for internal teams seeking clarity on payments and expenditure. You will be expected to bring structure and reliability to these processes while supporting continuous improvement as the business continues to grow.

This is a role for someone who takes genuine pride in accuracy, communicates proactively when something is not right and brings a positive, can-do approach to a fast-moving working environment. You will be trusted to manage your own workload and meet deadlines consistently and in return, you will gain broad exposure to how a fast-growing consumer business operates financially.

Role Impact

• Provide a reliable, accurate operational finance function that gives the Financial Controller and leadership team confidence in the completeness and timeliness of day-to-day financial processing.
• Build and maintain strong supplier relationships and internal credibility, so that queries are resolved quickly and payment runs are executed without disruption to the business.
• Contribute to a cleaner, more efficient month-end close process by ensuring transactional activity is completed accurately and on time, reducing the burden on the wider finance team.
• Identify and implement incremental improvements to operational finance processes, helping the team work smarter as transaction volumes grow.
• Develop a strong understanding of the business’s finance processes, supplier base and operational requirements to support the wider finance team effectively.

What Success Looks Like

• The purchase ledger is accurately maintained, with invoices processed, coded correctly and reconciled to supplier statements on a timely basis, and payment runs executed without errors or late payments.
• The sales ledger is kept up to date, with receipts allocated promptly, customer accounts reconciled regularly and any discrepancies escalated and resolved quickly.
• Bank reconciliations are completed to a consistent schedule, with any unreconciled items investigated and cleared without prompting.
• Expense management runs smoothly: submissions are reviewed against policy, coded accurately and reimbursed within agreed timescales.
• Month-end support is delivered reliably, with accruals and prepayments prepared accurately and deadlines met without the need for last-minute intervention.
• Colleagues across the business describe you as responsive, dependable and easy to work with: someone who sorts things out.
• You have brought at least one meaningful process improvement to the team within your first twelve months.

Key Responsibilities

• Process supplier invoices accurately and in a timely manner, matching to purchase orders and obtaining appropriate approvals.
• Reconcile supplier statements and resolve queries professionally and promptly.
• Prepare and execute payment runs in line with agreed terms and cash flow requirements.
• Maintain accurate supplier records and manage the accounts payable inbox.

• Raise sales invoices and credit notes accurately and on time.
• Maintain accuracy of our automated postings from our sales platforms to the finance platform.
• Allocate customer receipts and maintain accurate customer account records.
• Chase overdue balances where required and escalate where appropriate.

• Perform regular bank reconciliations across company accounts, investigating and resolving discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Maintain accurate records of receipts and payments and flag any unusual items to the Financial Controller.

• Process employee expense claims in accordance with company policy, ensuring accurate coding and timely reimbursement.
• Maintain records of corporate card transactions and support month-end reconciliation.

• Assist the Financial Controller with month-end close activity, including preparation of accruals and prepayments, coding reviews and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Ensure all transactional activity is completed and posted ahead of month-end deadlines.

• Manage the finance inbox, routing queries to the appropriate team member and responding to standard supplier and internal enquiries directly.
• Maintain accurate and well-organised financial records, supporting audit preparation and internal review processes.
• Support payroll administration and monthly payroll checks where required.
• Support VAT and wider finance compliance activities as required by the finance team.
• Facilitate robust purchase order processes.
• Provide ad hoc administrative support to the Financial Controller and wider finance team as required.

Experience & Capability

• Demonstrable experience in an operational finance or accounts administration role, whether through full-time employment, a work placement or an apprenticeship.
• Solid working knowledge of purchase ledger processes and basic bookkeeping principles, with an understanding of the double-entry framework that underpins transactional activity.
• Strong attention to detail with a zero-tolerance approach to avoidable errors, you check your own work, notice when things do not add up and take responsibility for putting them right.
• Comfortable working with Microsoft Excel at an intermediate level; experience with accounting software such as Xero, Sage or a comparable platform is desirable.
• Organised and self-directed, with the ability to manage a varied workload, prioritise effectively and meet deadlines consistently in a fast-paced environment.
• A collaborative and positive working style, approachable, communicative and willing to support the team where needed rather than working in isolation.
• An interest in understanding how the wider business operates and a willingness to learn and develop within a growing finance function.

Desirable

• A relevant professional qualification or active study towards one, such as AAT or equivalent.
• Experience in a direct-to-consumer, e-commerce, subscription or retail business environment.
• Familiarity with multi-currency transactions or retail partnership accounting.
• Exposure to purchase order management systems or automated invoice processing tools.

Ways of Working & Location Expectations

This role is based at Absolute Collagen's Birmingham HQ, operating within a hybrid working model. The expectation is that you will be in the office for the majority of your working week, particularly during your initial period with the business, given the collaborative and relational nature of the finance function's role across the organisation. The business operates at pace, and the finance team is expected to be visible, available and responsive. Remote working flexibility will be discussed and agreed with the Financial Controller based on the needs of the role and the team.