Deputy Director, Management Accounts and Reporting

Ivy Rock Partners is proud to be supporting King’s College London in the recruitment of a new Deputy Director, Management Accounts and Reporting.

King’s College London is at the forefront of education, research, and societal impact. As we continue to grow and expand, our Finance team is undergoing an exciting transformation to support the university’s strategic ambitions. With a turnover approaching £1.5 billion, we are modernising our financial operations, enhancing our capabilities, supporting King’s to grow sustainably and fostering a culture of excellence to meet the demands of a rapidly changing landscape.

This is an exciting time to be part of King’s Finance. Our finance development programme focuses on delivering innovative solutions, improving processes, and enhancing a high performing, forward-thinking finance function. We are expanding Financial Strategy, Planning & Performance with dynamic, talented individuals in new areas of work who will contribute to this journey, helping us ensure the university’s financial sustainability while driving value for money.

The Deputy Director, Management Accounts and Reporting, is part of the FP&A function management team, and will provide leadership to transform King’s College London’s financial reporting outputs and accessibility, ensuring it meets the needs of the university’s strategic and operational priorities. Reporting to the Director of Financial Planning & Analysis, this role will lead a team to deliver timely, accurate, and insightful management accounting and reporting, underpinned by robust governance, innovative tools, and efficient processes. This will include the use of data integration tools such as Power BI. The Deputy Director will play a central role in redesigning and delivering on King’s financial management reporting framework, leveraging systems such as Power BI and Agresso, and enhancing the reporting structures to align with the scale and nature of the university’s activities (including review/adjustments to the Chart of Management Accounts). The role will ensure that reporting outputs provide actionable insights, drive compliance with financial policies, and empower budget holders with accessible, quality-assured data, thereby also enabling the business partnering function to refocus. This role is pivotal in building a culture of accountability, consistency, and efficiency across the university’s financial management practices.

Key responsibilities

Strategic Reporting Framework

• Lead the design, implementation and operation of a new management reporting framework that aligns with King’s strategic and operational goals.
• Lead the development of a suite of consistent, quality-assured monthly and quarterly reporting products, accessible to stakeholders including through user friendly interfaces such as Power BI.
• Collaborate with Finance Business Partners to ensure reporting outputs align with the needs of faculties, directorates, and other key areas of activity. Process and Efficiency Improvements
• Identify and take forward opportunities for automation and process efficiency in month-end accounting, including goods received not invoiced (GRNI) recognition and other ledger adjustments.
• Lead the implementation of a refreshed Chart of Accounts, ensuring the income and expenditure (I&E) management reporting structure reflects the university’s key activities.
• Review the utilisation of financial systems, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and value in management reporting activities.
• Develop a month-end timetable, working with relevant teams to enhance the reporting cycle, facilitating meaningful, risk-based financial reviews. Governance and Compliance
• Monitor financial management activities across faculties and directorates, ensuring consistency and adherence to standards.
• Develop and manage a financial controls framework, providing assurance over the accuracy and reliability of management reporting.
• Working with the Finance Business Partnering function, support the transition to new financial management practices, including in the roll-out of updated policies and training for budget holders. Team Leadership and Development
• Lead the central management accounting team, ensuring they are empowered, motivated, and effectively aligned with the department’s vision and goals.
• Provide professional development opportunities for team members, fostering a high performing, collaborative culture.
• Build strong links with other finance teams, ensuring alignment and integration across the Financial Strategy, Planning, and Performance service.

Stakeholder Engagement and Insight Delivery

• Act as a key advisor to senior leaders, providing insights on financial performance, risks, and opportunities.
• Build relationships with budget holders, ensuring they have access to meaningful, actionable financial information.
• Collaborate with IT and Finance Systems teams to enhance data quality, reporting tools, and user interfaces.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Our expectations

There are a number of duties and responsibilities that we ask all employees to be familiar with and adhere to. We ask that the successful candidate:

• Positively contributes to an environment at King’s that truly represents Our Principles in Action and where every individual feels safe, secure and supported.
• Always complies with the requirements of health and safety regulations to ensure their own wellbeing and that of their colleagues.
• Has an understanding of sustainability, including its impact on the University and the work we do, and engages in sustainable practices in the workplace.
• Ensures they are working in a safe environment, where they comply with our Health and Safety regulations and ensure confidentiality, only releasing confidential information obtained during the course of employment to those acting in an official capacity.
• Complies with King’s protocols on the appropriate use of telephone, email and internet facilities

If you would like more information about the role, please contact Phil Southern for a confidential discussion.