Permanent | Full time
The opportunity
We are looking for a commercially minded Development Finance Manager to take ownership of the financial management, control and reporting of our property-development portfolio.
Reporting to the Head of Finance, you will oversee management accounts and development reporting across the principal development company and its project-specific SPVs. You will work closely with the development team, senior leadership, lenders and external professionals, ensuring that project performance, cash requirements and financial risks are understood and acted upon.
This is a hands-on role combining management accounting, development finance, project forecasting and financial control. It would suit someone who understands the detail but can also challenge assumptions, explain financial issues clearly and provide commercially focused recommendations.
Key responsibilities
- Take end-to-end ownership of monthly management accounts and development reporting, including month-end close, journals, reconciliations and supporting schedules.
- Produce monthly management information covering profit and loss, balance sheet, working capital, debtor recoverability, cashflow and covenant performance.
- Monitor development expenditure, commitments, contingency and cost to complete against approved project budgets.
- Maintain project cashflow forecasts and identify funding requirements, risks and potential shortfalls at an early stage.
- Review development appraisals and challenge assumptions relating to build costs, sales, timing, tax, funding and contingency.
- Manage lender drawdown timetables and supporting packs, including QS valuation and certificate reconciliations, covenant reporting and completion statements.
- Lead the financial onboarding of new developments, including SPV set-up, chart of accounts, Xero budgets, cost codes, tracking categories and purchase-order controls.
- Apply appropriate accounting treatment to assets under construction, work in progress, contract revenue, retentions and VAT.
- Review bank reconciliations, payment runs, payroll and expenses, resolving queries and maintaining effective cash controls.
- Support project-completion reviews by comparing actual results with original budgets and explaining under- or over-performance.
- Line-manage and develop the team member responsible for development bookkeeping, reviewing their work and setting clear priorities.
- Improve reporting, processes and financial controls across the development portfolio.
About you
You will have demonstrable experience owning management accounts, month-end reporting, balance-sheet reconciliations, budgeting, forecasting and cashflow management.
You will also bring:
- At least two years’ finance experience within property development, housebuilding, construction or a closely related project-led environment.
- ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification, AAT Level 4 with significant industry experience, or equivalent experience gained through a relevant finance career.
- Strong knowledge of property-development or construction accounting, including work in progress, assets under construction, retentions, VAT and project cost reporting.
- Experience monitoring development budgets, project cashflows, commitments and cost-to-complete forecasts.
- The confidence to review project appraisals, challenge commercial assumptions and communicate financial risks to non-finance stakeholders.
- Advanced Excel skills, including financial modelling, reconciliations, data analysis and management reporting.
- Experience using cloud accounting software; Xero experience would be particularly useful.
- A thorough, organised and accountable approach, with the ability to balance financial control with commercial judgement.
- The confidence to support and develop another member of the finance team.
- An interest in using technology and AI-enabled tools safely to improve finance processes, analysis and reporting.
Cornerstone develops affordable homes and healthcare projects that create lasting value for the communities they serve. This role offers the opportunity to apply your financial expertise to projects with a clear social purpose, helping ensure they are commercially viable, properly controlled and successfully delivered.
You will have meaningful ownership of finance across a live development portfolio, working closely with senior decision-makers and project teams. Your insight will directly influence investment decisions, funding requirements and project performance, while helping Cornerstone deliver more high-quality homes and healthcare facilities where they are needed.
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