Project Finance Manager

Location: London, New Bond Street (with essential travel)

The Role

We are seeking an enthusiastic and capable individual who can work confidently with colleagues at all levels. You will stay calm and effective under pressure, work in an organised and efficient way, and show consistent attention to detail and presentation. You will also collaborate well and make a positive contribution to the team. The Project Finance Manager will need to be organised, as they will be supporting the Senior Project Finance Manager and Acquisitions & Director of Project Finance across a portfolio of strategic development projects.

A number of key characteristics form our definition of a first class Project Finance Manager:

• Proactive, methodical and highly organised.
• Strong verbal and clear written communication skills.
• Extremely trustworthy and able to work with the utmost confidentiality.
• Excellent people skills, with a team ethos.
• Reliable, organised, diplomatic, energetic, sociable and presentable.
• Confident, self-motivated and proactive.

Role Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Update and present project cashflows to development teams, including inputting actual receipts and costs (using reports provided by the accounts team).
• Reforecast workstream cashflows with budget holders and produce variance analysis and outputs.
• Coordinate funding drawdowns (internal, JV and lender), recycling claims and payment runs.
• Lead monthly project performance monitoring, reporting and approvals, communicating adverse variances clearly and promptly to the relevant stakeholders.
• Produce debt funding requests and compliance reporting in line with facility agreements, coordinating internal, JV, monitoring surveyor and lender documentation and approvals.
• Coordinate commitment and payment approvals in line with delegated authorities, maintaining an up-to-date log of authorisations to commit project expenditure.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly reports showing actual performance against budget, including variance analysis, graphics and commentary for Development Directors, committees, Executive Management, the Board, JV partners and other stakeholders.
• Support Project Directors with the production of internal and JV project annual business plans.
• Liaise with the finance team to ensure financial records are accurate, up to date and reflect agreed coding structures and accounting treatments, acting as a link between the finance and development teams to ensure financial records and business plans reconcile.
• Work with the Acquisitions & Director of Project Finance to ensure project cashflow reporting reconciles to Group business plans (including opening balance reconciliations).
• Updating sales tracker information with new housebuilder contracts, numbers of housing reservations, exchanges, completions and land payments matched against bank statements.
• Produce analysis and dashboard presentation of housing sales data and housebuilder deal benchmarking.
• Liaise with the Director of Financial Planning and Reporting to provide accurate and timely project forecast information to the Group’s valuers, along with summary of observations from the output valuations.
• Refine and improve project cashflow models and the monthly update process.
• Undertake scenario planning, sensitivity analysis, cost-benefit analysis and other modelling to support project decision-making.
• Support the Group Finance Director in monitoring and improving revenue and expenditure controls.
• Support Board reporting, including Group risk overviews, helping ensure the Group’s risk management framework is applied consistently.
• Support the Group Accountants to ensure credit checks are processed in a timely, proportionate and accurate manner.
• Liaise with property managers to ensure rental income is managed effectively, recorded accurately and remains commercially sensible.

What We’re Looking For

• Proactive, with the ability to anticipate and fulfil the needs of the role.
• Understanding of the technical aspects of accounting for property development (advantageous), including VAT and CIS implications, investment vs trading classification, long‑term contract accounting and lease accounting.
• Strong MS Office skills, particularly Excel (preferably with modelling experience), and to a lesser extent PowerPoint and Word.
• Familiarity with the SUN accounting package.
• Professional and confident manner in meetings.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage conflicting priorities and work effectively under pressure.
• Flexibility to work longer hours when required and attend meetings at development sites.
• Ability to work autonomously and as an integral part of a team.
• A relevant accounting qualification (ACA or similar).

Urban&Civic is committed to being an equal opportunities employer.