Financial Controller in Newton Aycliffe

Imagine using your financial expertise to help change young people's lives. Some finance roles are about producing reports. Others are about creating impact. At ROC Group, every financial decision helps provide safe homes, brighter futures and life-changing opportunities for children and young people across the North East.

Paul Card Recruitment is proud to be partnering exclusively with ROC Group, an award-winning, values-led organisation that has been supporting children, young people and vulnerable adults for over 20 years. Today, around 200 colleagues, including 37 within its charity, work across children's residential care, disability support, family services, supported accommodation and charitable housing. Every service shares one common purpose: helping young people build brighter futures.

Despite significant growth, ROC has never lost sight of why it exists. The founders remain actively involved in the organisation today, creating a culture built on integrity, collaboration and doing the right thing. You'll join a knowledgeable and supportive finance team, working alongside a long-standing Finance Manager and two Accounts Assistants. It's a business where people genuinely enjoy working together, celebrate success and support one another.

The Opportunity

This isn't a role where everything is already perfectly polished. ROC is looking for someone who enjoys getting stuck in. Someone who asks questions, challenges the status quo and wants to leave things better than they found them. As Financial Controller, you'll become a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, leading an experienced finance team while providing the commercial insight that helps shape the future of the organisation.

Working closely with leaders across children's residential services, disability support, family services, supported accommodation, ROC Solid and the wider group, you'll play a key role in ensuring financial decisions support the people who matter most.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Producing monthly management accounts, budgets, forecasts and cash flow reporting.
• Delivering meaningful management information to the Executive Leadership Team.
• Strengthening financial controls, reporting processes and governance.
• Leading and developing the finance team.
• Supporting year-end accounts and external audit.
• Building on the recent transition from Sage to Xero, helping maximise reporting and financial systems.
• Driving continuous improvement across the finance function while supporting the organisation's future growth.

There will be challenges. That's the reality of joining a growing organisation. But if you enjoy bringing structure to complexity, improving processes and becoming a trusted adviser to senior leaders, you'll find this role incredibly rewarding.

About You

You're already a Financial Controller or an experienced Finance Manager looking for a role where you can genuinely make an impact. You'll bring:

• Strong management accounts, budgeting and cash flow experience.
• Experience leading and developing finance teams.
• A track record of improving processes and financial controls.
• The confidence to build relationships across a business.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative approach.
• Experience within social care, charities, housing or another purpose-led organisation would be advantageous, but isn't essential.

Qualified, part-qualified and qualified-by-experience candidates are all encouraged to apply. More importantly, you're someone who wants more than another finance role. You want your work to matter. If you're looking for an opportunity where your expertise will influence strategic decisions, strengthen a growing organisation and help create brighter futures for children and young people, we'd love to hear from you.