Group Finance Director in Birmingham

The Group Finance Director is responsible for the overall financial strategy, control and performance of the Group. This includes leading the finance function, safeguarding the organisation's assets, ensuring robust financial governance, and supporting sustainable growth in a tightly regulated, low-margin care sector. The role is both strategic and hands-on: you will shape the long-term financial plan while staying close to the numbers – occupancy, fee rates, staffing costs, and contract performance – that make or break a care provider.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Financial Leadership: Develop and own the Group financial strategy aligned to the business plan and care quality objectives. Provide clear, honest financial insight and challenge to the CEO, Board and senior leadership team. Lead on long-term financial planning, scenario modelling and stress testing (e.g. fee cuts, wage increases, occupancy drops). Support decisions on geographic expansion, acquisitions, divestments and new service lines (e.g. domiciliary care, supported living, complex care).
• Financial Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting: Lead the annual budgeting process across the Group, setting realistic but challenging targets. Produce rolling forecasts (P&L, balance sheet and cash flow) with clear commentary on variances and risks. Drive accountability for financial performance at service/home/regional level, working with operational leaders. Ensure accurate modelling of occupancy, fee uplifts, local authority/NHS contracts and pay rates. Own the month-end and year-end reporting processes, ensuring timely, accurate management accounts and Board packs. Ensure strong financial controls, reconciliations and balance sheet integrity across all entities. Lead the statutory accounts process and manage the relationship with external auditors. Ensure compliance with tax, VAT, payroll and pension obligations.
• Cash, Funding & Treasury Management: Take full responsibility for cash flow management, including short-, medium- and long-term cash forecasting. Manage banking relationships, debt facilities, covenants and lender reporting. Optimise working capital: debtor management (local authorities, NHS, self-funders), supplier terms and stock management. Evaluate and manage capital investment (refurbishments, new builds, IT systems, vehicles, equipment) and ROI.
• Commercial & Contract Support: Oversee pricing models and fee negotiations with local authorities, NHS commissioners and other funders. Support tendering for new contracts, ensuring realistic, sustainable commercial assumptions (not fantasy margins). Provide robust financial input into commercial deals, joint ventures and acquisition opportunities (including due diligence and integration).
• Risk, Governance & Compliance: Maintain a robust financial risk register, with clear mitigations and regular review. Ensure financial processes meet expectations of CQC, local authorities, funders and insurers where relevant (e.g. solvency, going concern). Own and continuously improve financial policies and procedures, including delegated authorities and anti-fraud controls. Work closely with HR and Operations to ensure payroll, agency usage, overtime and rota costs are tightly controlled and transparent.
• Systems, Data & Process Improvement: Lead on the development and optimisation of finance systems, reporting tools and BI dashboards. Drive automation and simplification of processes (e.g. invoicing, reconciliations, management reporting). Ensure service managers have clear, user-friendly financial information to run their services effectively. Lead, develop and structure a high-performing finance team (management accounts, transactional finance, payroll, credit control). Set clear objectives and hold the team to account on deadlines, accuracy and service levels. Build strong relationships with Operations, HR, Quality and IT to support one joined-up leadership team, not siloed functions. Role model the organisation's values, including a strong focus on safeguarding, ethics and transparency.