Creating original and innovative luxury soft toys, Jellycat combines luxurious fabrics with quirky and cute designs and sells its products online and via stockists throughout the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

The Group Financial Controller is a newly-created position who will be responsible for delivering financial control and reporting practices at a Group level and co-ordinating delivery with operating entities. This role involves developing Group-wide financial policies and procedures, preparing Group management accounts, ensuring compliance with global accounting and tax needs and supporting treasury requirements. They will also play a key role in developing the Group’s risk management framework. The Group Financial Controller will work closely with other Finance functions in particular Global FP&A, Global Commercial Finance, Global Tax and the finance leads in each trading entity, plus external stakeholders including auditors and banks. 

You'll be;

1. Financial control and policy development
• Developing, implementing and managing the Group Finance Manual to deliver robust and proportionate financial controls for a fast-growing agile business.
• Working with entity finance teams to agree on variations to the group policies.
• Agreeing on suitable delegations of authority with Legal and other teams to deliver control and flexibility, updating to reflect changes in business needs.
• Leading risk management across Finance and supporting the CFO and Group Head of Legal in managing the Group’s risk management framework.

2. Group reporting
• Delivering the group management accounts, working with FP&A to provide insight and owning the consolidation and assurance processes for the group accounts.
• Setting the group reporting timetable in consultation with FP&A.
• Reviewing entity accounts and recommending improvements to insight.
• Leading audit processes for the Group, ensuring working papers are delivered timely and effectively, and that timetables are adhered to.
• Delivering financial statements for Group trading and holding companies and ensuring filings are made on time.
• Supporting FP&A in developing and maintaining effective KPI sets and working with business owners to drive effective reporting.

3. Accounting policy and guidance
• Owning the chart of accounts for the Group and working with relevant parties in Group Finance and trading entities to ensure it captures and delivers data at a suitable level for reporting and insight.
• Developing accounting policies for the Group and agreeing on local variations required for GAAP and legal purposes.
• Maintaining updates of technical knowledge and advising finance teams on accounting treatments.
• Supporting business projects to advise on and anticipate accounting and control requirements arising from new opportunities.

4. Financial strategy
• Reviewing the group structure, ensuring the relationship between entities is optimized, and ensuring suitable clarity between global and local roles.
• Working alongside Group Tax, you’ll be maintaining and updating the Group’s transfer pricing arrangements and agreeing on changes with entities, including product costing, service charges, and royalties.
• Managing FX profiles of the Group and agreeing and maintaining effective hedging profiles.
•Overseeing cash management requirements in the business to ensure effective movements and optimize returns on surplus cash.
• Reviewing payment practices across channels and entities to ensure effective cash flows and controls are applied.
• Supporting group insurance placement and ensuring proper coverage is in place in all entities.
• Ensuring all insurance claims are pursued effectively.
• Working with Logistics, Global Tax, and local entities to ensure imports are being effectively processed and accounted for in stock, duty arrangements, and transfer pricing.
• Reviewing the corporate structure and proposing and delivering any changes beneficial for group operations.

5. Systems development
• Driving process changes in Finance facilitated by system implementation, process simplification, and standardization.
• Identifying and delivering opportunities to enhance business controls through embedded system processes.
• Enhancing reporting capabilities of accounting systems and BI tools to deliver the above.

You'll have;

• Strong experience as a qualified accountant with a minimum of 5 years’ post-qualification.
• Experience gained in delivering external and internal reporting requirements in a large multinational business.
• Confidence in using and identifying developments in accounting systems; experience of delivering system implementations will be an advantage.
• Previous finance transformation experience to change processes, reporting frameworks, and outputs.
• Experience in developing and maintaining a proportionate control framework for a rapidly growing business.
• A demonstrable understanding of treasury, intercompany relationships, and transfer pricing needs of a multinational business.
• Microsoft Dynamics experience, which is desirable but not essential.

Skills and behaviours;