Deputy Head of Finance

Armstrong Knight are delighted to have partnered with one of the UK's industry-leading property management companies, with their head office based in East London. Our client is London’s largest privately owned property development and management group overseeing residential, hospitality, mixed-use, and commercial projects across London, the Home Counties, and the Midlands. This role is for a Deputy Head of Finance, requiring ACCA or equivalent and significant service charge accounting experience. The role sits within the group’s internal property management division and reports to the Head of Finance as the second position on the accounting team in the absence of the Head of Finance. The successful candidate will oversee the daily operations of the accounts and credit control teams and will work directly with the most complex service charge accounts, ensuring all aspects of the duties supervised are delivered to a high standard.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage a team of 8 direct reports and 3 indirect (7 in Accounts and 1 in Credit Control / Legal).
• Mentor and support the professional development of the team.
• Ensure reconciliations are performed regularly, and strong financial controls are observed.
• Prepare monthly management accounts and prepare the company’s year end pack for the auditors.
• Prepare TBs and draft Year End Service Charge Accounts on the more complex sites.
• Supervise and sign off TBs, Service Charge Year End Accounts and Year End Reports prepared by the accounts team and liaise with the external certifying accountants.
• Monitor Purchase Ledger unauthorised bills and report weekly to highlight and avoid backlogs.
• Prepare monthly analysis of Debtors by site and cost type and interpret that analysis for non-financial stakeholders.
• Analyse external staffing costs to ensure all extra costs are fully understood.
• Forecast staffing and utility costs as part of budget preparation and mid-year revision.
• Perform mid-year expenditure reviews with the team and advise on actions needed.
• Prepare ad-hoc reports as required by leaseholders or internal stakeholders.
• Check and approve payments on Barclays.
• Oversee and support the team in the preparation of VAT Returns and Trust Tax Returns.
• Apply professionalism, accountability, and integrity in all dealings for and on behalf of clients and within Galliard.
• Champion exceptional customer services and ensure high levels are maintained.
• Encourage close working links between the property management team, accounts team, and credit control/legal team.
• Along with the Head of Property, ensure both property and finance teams work effectively to deliver budgets, year ends and mid-year reviews on time.
• Have a good knowledge of VAT accounting for service charges and rent on both residential and commercial sites.
• Be involved in establishing new accounting processes as needed, for instance in response to changing legislation.
• Identify the need and source training sessions from external companies as needed.
• Assist in the maintenance and development of software systems and technology such as BlueBox.
• Be involved in making the existing systems meet our changing needs.
• Contribute your ideas to departmental policies, driving change and improvements.

Skills Required

• Experience in the service charge accounting field.
• Must be fully qualified ACCA or equivalent.
• An understanding of the principles of lease structure and aptitude to read and interpret a range of leases and legal documents.
• You need to enjoy preparing detailed analysis, have an eye for the detail and keep sight of the big picture.
• Advanced Excel.
• To uphold the ethics of service charge management to ensure compliance.
• An in-depth comprehension of budgets and accounts, apportionments, utility billing, VAT, banking, and credit control.
• Ability to delegate, supervise and develop junior members of staff.
• Understanding of data security including GDPR.

The Person

• Maintains a positive attitude, is upbeat, flexible, and confident.
• Ability to work under pressure and prioritise their workload.
• Passionate about clients and a customer‑first approach.
• Self‑starter with excellent organisational skills and accurate attention to detail.
• Strong communication skills, quickly able to gain trust and confidence with people at all levels.
• Pro‑active and enjoys working both independently and in a team, building and maintaining strong cross‑functional relationships.
• Leads by example.

Benefits

• Life assurance
• Matching contribution pension scheme
• Discretionary salary and bonus review
• Employee assistance programme
• Discounted gym memberships
• Cycle to work scheme
• Sponsorship of professional qualifications and accreditations