Finance Director in Manchester

Salary: £110,000 per annum plus 20% performance bonus

Location: Hybrid – London or Manchester (minimum 2 days a week in office)

Hours: Full Time

About Us: Williams, Stanley & Co is a leading accountancy firm catering to a diverse range of clients within the hospitality industry, from high street chains to family-run cafes. Our company began with a mission to provide accurate and actionable financial insights to businesses, drawing from our founders' own experiences in managing multiple rapidly growing ventures. Driven by a commitment to customer-first accounting, we've assembled a team of experienced and trusted accountants who share our vision for excellence.

About You: We are hiring a Finance Director to take full ownership of the accounts division and the client delivery underneath it. The successful candidate will work in the way of a Divisional MD position, running multi-million pound revenues, an international footprint, and a leadership layer of Financial Controllers, AP, and offshore delivery in the Philippines. The ideal candidate will have already operated as a Finance Director in a multi-site hospitality / Leisure or professional services environment. You will be commercially aggressive, technically credible, and confident running a P&L with full margin and growth accountability. You will be ready to grow the business.

You Are:

• A qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) with significant post-qualification experience.
• An operator who has run a finance function with full P&L responsibility.
• Experienced in financial control, management reporting, and compliance across multiple entities.
• Proficient in Xero, Netsuite and other financial management systems.
• Commercially aggressive – comfortable pushing back on decisions and defending margin.
• A strong communicator, confident sitting in front of client CFOs and senior stakeholders.
• Tech-savvy enough to set the direction on automation and systems, not just approve the spend.
• Experienced in hospitality, leisure, or another high-volume service business.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Own client delivery across accounts, AP, and management reporting – monthly close inside agreed windows, on‑time delivery above 95%, and error and rework rates held to the standard set with Quality and Compliance.
• Run the divisional P&L, with monthly accountability for revenue, gross margin, EBITDA contribution, and year‑on‑year growth.
• Set and own the growth strategy for the accounts division – services, capacity, geography, and revenue mix.
• Hold client retention above 90% annually, protect revenue concentration across the book, and own the commercial relationship with the top‑tier client portfolio.
• Lead client budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and cash flow and working capital monitoring across the book.
• Hold statutory compliance across the client base – audit, tax advisors, regulatory bodies – and the WS‑side relationships with them.
• Set, refresh, and enforce the financial policies, controls, and operating standards that delivery runs on.
• Sit alongside clients as the senior accounting and commercial adviser, owning the “how” and “why” behind the numbers.
• Build, lead, and develop the team – from senior delivery leadership through to delivery staff – with accountability for retention, succession, capability, training, and career path.
• Run delivery to a single standard across the UK, Philippines, and Dubai, including capacity planning, team productivity, and the growth targets agreed for the international book.
• Sit on the Senior Leadership Team and own divisional risk and compliance jointly with the Quality and Compliance lead.
• Hold the senior client relationship at CFO and Founder level, with personal accountability for retention and growth of the top‑tier book.
• Lead pricing, scope, write‑offs, and bad debt across the division.
• Lead new client onboarding in partnership with the Commercial Director.
• Drive adoption of WS technology – Teampay, Troncmaster, OpsDesk, and WS Insights – across the client base, in partnership with the Product function.

Skills And Qualifications:

• Experience setting and delivering financial strategy at FD level.
• Qualified Accountant (ACCA, ACA, CIMA…)
• Strong understanding of UK tax regulations and compliance requirements.
• Proven ability to improve operating margin through process and automation.
• Experience working in the hospitality, leisure, or wider service sector.
• Strong working knowledge of automation, technology, and process design.

What We Offer:

• Competitive base salary of £110,000 with 20% performance bonus.
• Membership on our Employee Recognition platform Hospitality Rewards - with numerous free perks and access to counselling services and training providers.
• Ongoing career progression, training and support in gaining nationally recognised qualifications (including Education Scheme and ACCA Support).
• 30 days holiday entitlement pro rata (including Bank Holidays) with an additional day for each year of service.
• Great pension scheme (Penfold).
• Fun company socials and events.
• Flexible hybrid working model (2 days minimum in the office).
• Employee Assistance Programme and coaching for personal and professional development.
• Enhanced parental leave policy (subject to length of service requirements).
• Birthday leave – an additional day of leave to be taken on or around your Birthday.
• Mental Health Half Days – celebrating the power of ‘Me Time’.
• Annual Pay Reviews and Biannual Appraisals – career progression is everything!
• Perks and benefits on our HR platform Employment Hero.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.