Head of Working Capital in Essex

Kennedys is looking for a Head of Working Capital to join our global finance team based in our Chelmsford office, with travel to London as required. This is an exciting opportunity to shape and lead the UK and EMEA working capital team for a growing, global law firm. The role offers significant exposure to senior leadership, the opportunity to influence firm‑wide performance, and the chance to drive meaningful operational and financial transformation across an international platform.

The Head of Working Capital is responsible for leading and optimising the firm’s end‑to‑end working capital cycle across the UK and EMEA region and practice groups, including receivables, payables, inventory, and cash management, driving strategies that enhance cash flow, reduce financing costs, and improve the overall financial health of the firm. As the finance team looks to transform traditional processes to better align with the strategic goals of the firm, this role will champion transformation initiatives. This role will drive improvements in lock‑up, billing, collections, cash conversion and client financial management while ensuring alignment with the firm’s broader financial objectives.

Working closely with Partners, Practice Group Leaders, Regional Finance leads and the Global Financial Operations Director, the role will develop and execute a working capital strategy that enhances cash flow, improves financial discipline, and supports sustainable growth. The successful candidate will combine strong leadership capabilities with deep expertise in legal‑sector working capital management, stakeholder engagement and operational transformation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Take ownership of the working capital strategy and development across the UK and EMEA ensuring consistency with global operations, and that the team and systems provide the optimum solution needed to support the efficient and effective working of the firm now and in preparation for future growth.
• Act as the senior subject matter expert and trusted advisor for working capital management across the firm.
• Partner with senior leadership to identify opportunities for operational efficiencies and process enhancement.
• Champion and lead transformation initiatives to continuously optimise cash conversion, improving WIP management, billing timeliness, debtor recovery and overall lock‑up performance.
• Monitor and analyse key performance indicators including: WIP days, debtor days, lock‑up days, billing realisation, collection effectiveness and cash conversion metrics.
• Ensure consistent application of billing and collections policies.
• Responsibility for ensuring that the team meet the KPI set for cash collection, billing and working capital management.
• Development of reporting that demonstrates the effectiveness of the teams operations that can be used to identify opportunities for change.

Partner and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Build trusted relationships with Partners and Practice Group Leaders to drive accountability for working capital performance.
• Provide commercial insight and challenge where necessary to improve financial outcomes.
• Lead presentations and discussions with leadership regarding working capital performance.

Team Leadership:

• Lead, develop, motivate and mentor a team of working capital and revenue professionals.
• Create a sustainable high‑performance culture focused on service excellence, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Establish consistent operating procedures and best practices.
• Identify capability gaps and implement development plans for team members.

Process Improvement and Transformation:

• Identify opportunities to automate, streamline and standardise working capital processes.
• Sponsor and lead transformation projects relating to billing, collections, eBilling, matter management and finance technology.
• Collaborate within finance and wider business services teams to improve financial operational processes.
• Leverage data analytics and reporting tools to enhance decision‑making and forecasting.

Governance and Risk Management:

• Ensure compliance with the SRA accounts rules and all other statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure strong discipline and internal controls to reduce risk and comply with both firm policies and client agreements.
• Manage escalation processes for high‑risk debtor positions and significant client exposures.
• Support audit requirements and financial governance initiatives.

Required Experience:

• Relevant experience in finance, accounting, or business operations is essential.
• A bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or a related field, and/or professional qualifications such as CPA, CMA or CFA are desirable.
• Significant experience in a working capital management leadership role, in a law firm environment.
• In‑depth understanding of cash flow management, credit control and inventory management.
• Demonstrated success in improving lock‑up performance, collections and cash flow at scale.
• Experience managing geographically dispersed teams in a global environment.
• Experience in driving change and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Proven track record of working with and influencing cross‑functional teams, senior stakeholders and partners.
• Strong analytical, financial modelling, and problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent negotiation and communication skills.
• Proficient in ERP systems, financial software, and MS Excel.