Finance Manager in Manchester

Finance Manager DF Capital•Ancoats, Manchester, GB

We’re DF Capital – a specialist bank providing award-winning commercial finance, retail finance, and savings products to consumers and small businesses.

Based in Manchester, we serve thousands of customers across the UK and into Europe, supporting their ambitions with tailored financial solutions.

We help our customers realise their ambitions by doing things differently – combining the agility and innovation of a specialist lender with the security and service standards of a regulated bank.

Whether it’s flexible lending structures or straightforward savings options, we focus on what matters most to our customers.

In 2025, we launched DF Capital Retail Finance – a subsidiary of DF Capital Bank Limited – to offer specialist hire purchase solutions to retail customers.

Our goal is simple: to do the absolute best for our customers, our communities, and each other.

As a key member of the Finance team, you will be supporting the Director of Financial Control and Reporting with a broad range of tasks and responsibilities, from team management and financial reporting duties to leading business-wide projects.

You should be a proactive, motivated individual with a drive to deliver high-quality outputs, technical insight, and a strong control mindset.

As DF Capital is a regulated bank and listed on the London Stock Exchange, you will gain exposure to a variety of reporting requirements, such as year-end accounts, interim results, trading updates, Board & Ex Co reporting, monthly management accounts, and quarterly and annual taxation returns.

You will also assist the Director of Financial Control and Reporting in other typical areas covered by the Financial Control function, such as cost centre reporting, forecast analysis, project budget tracking, and risk management.

By being confident, competent, and well organised, the Director of Financial Control and Reporting should feel encouraged to delegate entire workstreams to you.

DF Capital is a progressive bank with big ambitions.

The business invests heavily into its systems and products as it strives to deliver its strategic objectives for customers and shareholders.

You will play a key part in delivering these projects by representing the team’s requirements and interests to ensure these are captured within the project, including from a tax perspective.

In this role, you will form part of working groups, gain cross-departmental exposure, and build strong business relationships with non-Finance colleagues.

You should embrace Technology and Change with a thirst to understand how our systems work and how you can extract more from them.

You will be excited to work alongside our Change, Automation and MI teams to improve Finance processes and controls.

You will be confident challenging current financial control processes and using automation tools and AI to drive improvements and efficiencies.

You will be an excellent communicator, able to express your opinion and ideas to all levels of management.

At times you will need to convince others of your way of thinking, so you must compose a strong viewpoint and use your negotiation skills to convince others.

You will assist the Director of Financial Control and Reporting in preparing well‑written internal compliance documents such as policies, accounting memos, internal SOPs, or model governance.

Requirements

You will be responsible for

• Managing a strong cohort of qualified and junior accountants.

Setting and overseeing both their professional and personal development goals, managing their workload and output, and helping with day‑to‑day queries.

• Overseeing the production of monthly management accounts including review of balance sheet reconciliations, P/L analysis, monthly commentary & variance analysis for presentation to the CFO.
• Overseeing tax returns (VAT, CT, ERS, P11D etc), assisting with internal tax queries and considering tax implications of new projects and business ventures.

This will include liaising with our external tax advisors as required.

• Proactively driving improvements to our internal risk and controls environment.

Identifying areas of risk and control deficiencies, implementing tangible improvements with clear documentation.

• Driving efficiency to our core finance processes through automation tools, AI or other similar approaches.

Scoping how to free up the wider team’s resources on value‑add tasks rather than manual processes.

• Leading on internal finance and business‑wide projects as required.

Working with other departments across the Group with an aim of achieving corporate objectives, improving operational efficiency, or enhancing the customer experience.

• Assisting with the preparation of year‑end and half‑year accounts in accordance with IFRS standards and London Stock Exchange reporting requirements.

Assisting with the external audit process, ensuring it is completed smoothly and to timetable.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

EXPERIENCE

• Qualified or certified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) – required
• Industry experience or in‑house consultancy – required
• Managing a team and driving improvements – required
• Project management experience involving managing senior stakeholders – required
• Financial services industry experience – desirable
• Tax accounting experience (VAT, CT, Payroll Taxes, R&D, Capital Allowances) – desirable
• Experience improving risk and controls environment – desirable
• Experience using AI or other automation tools – desirable
• OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE
• Exceptionally self‑motivated and reliable.
• Strong accounting and tax knowledge, comfortable navigating and interpreting IFRS and HMRC guidelines.
• Comfortable challenging current processes and proactively implementing improvements.
• Experienced in managing projects, driving change or automation.
• Strong risk and controls background, with a view on best practice controls environment.
• Strong team management and communication skills.
• Ability to manage, prioritise and delegate work streams and deliverables.
• Competitive salary (dependent on experience)
• Private medical insurance for you (and your partner)
• 10% Employer pension contribution
• 30-day annual leave entitlement plus Bank/Public Holidays
• Free Gym Membership
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Discretionary share awards
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Save As You Earn company share acquisition scheme
• Tax‑efficient salary sacrifice scheme to obtain bicycles and electric vehicles
• 4 days per year volunteering opportunities to support our local communities
• Vibrant office location in lively city centre
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