Specialist, Finance in Manchester

We are looking for a detailed, highly organised, and proactive Finance Specialist to join our team at Journey Further. This role is ideal for an ambitious finance professional with 1 to 2 years of hands‑on experience who wants broad exposure across a fast paced marketing agency environment. Rather than being stuck in a single niche, you will manage core operational workflows.

This means you will work across day to day credit control and complex ledger reconciliations to purchase orders and billing support. You will work closely with our Revenue Operations (RevOps) team and Client Leads, ensuring our financial data is immaculate, our cash inflow is steady, and internal queries are resolved with speed and clarity.

What you will do:

• Manage the day to day credit control cycle, contacting clients via phone and email to secure timely payments while maintaining great working relationships.
• Act as the first point of contact for client billing queries, liaising with internal Client Leads to resolve scope, PO, or invoice disputes rapidly.
• Perform credit checks for new clients, setup new accounts, and ensure billing details and payment terms are accurately captured in our system.
• Monitor aged debtors daily, escape persistent overdue accounts to the Finance Manager, and keep debtor notes up to date.
• Perform daily bank reconciliations across multi currency accounts, ensuring all cash movements are matched accurately in our accounting software.
• Prepare and maintain key monthly reconciliations, including bank, credit card, petty cash, and supplier statements.
• Process incoming supplier invoices, verify purchase order (PO) approvals, schedule payment runs, and resolve supplier queries.
• Assist the Finance Manager with basic month end preparation, including entering journals for accruals, prepayments, and deferred revenue.
• Partner closely with RevOps to ensure client retainer models, media spend reconciliations, and project billing mirror active contracts.
• Process staff expense submissions and monitor corporate credit card usage, ensuring compliance with company policy and correct VAT treatment.
• Maintain clean, organised financial records and document workflows to ensure total audit readiness at all times.
• Provide clear, prompt finance support to internal agency teams (Client Leads, Operations, People).

Requirements:

• 1–2 years of experience in a broad finance, accounting, or transactional role (agency, professional services, or fast-growth business background is a plus).
• Direct experience handling credit control and ledger reconciliations (sets and recs).
• Proficiency with modern cloud accounting software (e.g., Xero) and confidence using spreadsheets (Google Sheets for data manipulation and lookups).
• Good foundational understanding of VAT rules and purchase order systems.
• You aren't afraid to pick up the phone to chase an invoice or talk through a query with a client.
• You take genuine pride in clean ledgers, balanced reconciliations, and accurate records.
• Actively studying towards an AAT qualification would be preferred but not essential.

Benefits:

• Pension - Matched up to 4%.
• Health - Private medical insurance.
• Family - Enhanced maternity, paternity & adoption pay.
• Flexibility - 25 days annual leave, Christmas shutdown and home working allowance.
• Salary Leeds - £27,000 - £30,000; Manchester - £27,000 - £31,000.