Finance Manager in Manchester

The Production Factory is a global production agency working across stills and film. We produce high-end visual content for fashion, luxury, beauty, lifestyle, and culture’s most forward-thinking brands, creatives, and agencies. From concept to final delivery, we handle the full production journey — bringing ideas to life through thoughtful planning, expert production, and industry-leading post-production.

Whether on set or in post, our teams work seamlessly to shape imagery and film that feels elevated, considered, and impactful across print, digital, social, and broadcast platforms. Our integrated approach means production and post-production work hand in hand, ensuring creative consistency, technical excellence, and a smooth, collaborative process throughout. We partner closely with photographers, directors, stylists, and creative teams to support ambitious ideas and deliver exceptional results at every stage. We have offices in London, New York, Miami, Mallorca, and Manchester, meaning we operate on a global platform.

REPORTING: The role will report to the Group Finance Director.

ROLE OVERVIEW: Based in our Manchester City Centre office, the Finance Manager plays a key role in keeping our finances running smoothly. Despite our global reach, we are still a medium-sized business, and this role will form an integral part of our small Finance Team. Working closely with the Management Accountants, the Finance Manager will make sure our month‑end process is organised, our reconciliations are accurate, and our financial records are reliable. A key part of the role is keeping cash flow on track by managing credit control, aged debt, and any tricky debtor issues. You’ll help improve how we collect payments, keep senior leaders updated, and ensure purchase orders, AP, payroll, and general ledger transactions are processed accurately. As a senior member of the Finance team, you’ll support, guide, and develop others, help improve our systems and processes, and work with teams across the business to remove roadblocks and ensure everything flows the way it should. Please note: due to the nature of our business, this role is fully office-based.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Work closely with the Management Accountants to oversee the timely closing of month‑end billing processes, bank reconciliations, and credit cards.
• Maintain and improve internal controls over the general ledger, sales ledger and AP with correct payment and sales receipt allocations by the team.
• Oversee general ledger maintenance, accruals, and key reconciliations.
• Ensure compliance with financial regulations and accounting standards.
• Responsible for overseeing the organisation's credit and collections process to ensure timely payment of outstanding debts, developing credit control policies, monitoring customer accounts, and implementing strategies to improve cash flow.
• Oversee financial transactions, including accounts payable, payroll, and general ledger.
• Take ownership of the aged debt report (30/60/90+ days), actively reducing debt and minimising bad debt.
• Personally handle escalated, complex, or high-value debtor queries to ensure timely payment.
• Develop and implement robust, effective debt recovery policies and procedures.
• Purchase Order management – ensuring all primary account POs are correctly allocated by the team, and processed and tracked correctly for all major accounts.
• Produce weekly cash collection reports and monthly debtor analysis for senior management.
• Initiate and manage legal proceedings for debt recovery in collaboration with solicitors if necessary.

LEADERSHIP & OPERATIONS:

• Supervise, train, and mentor the Finance team, including annual appraisals, development of the team and recruiting for staff as and when needed.
• Drive improvements in accounting systems to automate and enhance credit control processes.
• Liaise with wider teams to resolve disputes that delay payments.

SKILLS:

• Qualified Accountant: ACA, ACCA, or CIMA qualification.
• Strong ability to analyse complex data and provide meaningful financial insights.
• Proficiency in accounting standards, software, and financial systems.
• Ability to lead meetings, mentor staff, and work collaboratively across departments.
• Flexibility and willingness to travel to London.

As an equal opportunities employer, The Production Factory is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership. We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply.