Head of Finance (Venues)

TRAFALGAR ENTERTAINMENT

Founded by Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire in 2017, Trafalgar Entertainment is an award-winning global live-entertainment business focused on new productions, venue operations, live music and comedy, events and hospitality, Performing Arts education, ticketing, the distribution and filming of event cinema and TV live-streaming (from David Tennant in Macbeth to Taylor Swift) and the provision of great spaces where people can come together to share in the experience of live entertainment. With a growing international footprint, we are fast paced and evolving, driven by a desire to deliver world-class experiences to audiences globally.

Role Purpose

The Head of Finance plays a key leadership role within the venues division, leading the financial operations of a dynamic, multi-site live entertainment business. The role is responsible for delivering strong financial control, high-quality reporting, and commercially focused insight to support performance and growth across the estate.

Working closely with the divisional leadership team, the Head of Finance will lead a small, capable finance team, embed consistent processes and controls, and act as a trusted partner on programming, operations, and strategic decisions.

This is a hands-on leadership role in a fast-moving environment, requiring strong judgement, pace, and the ability to balance financial discipline with commercial opportunity.

This is an opportunity to play a central role in a growing, entrepreneurial venues business, working at the intersection of finance, live entertainment, and commercial decision-making.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership and Team Development

Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing finance team, supporting capability building and succession.
Create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Act as a senior member of the divisional leadership team, contributing to business planning and decision-making.
Ensure clear priorities, strong delivery discipline, and effective workload management across the team.

Financial Planning, Reporting and Insight

Lead the annual budgeting process and in-year reforecasting, aligned to commercial and operational objectives.
Oversee the production of timely, accurate monthly management accounts, KPIs, and variance analysis.
Provide clear financial insight and recommendations to support programming, pricing, and cost management decisions.
Support long-term planning, capital decisions, and performance improvement initiatives.

Financial Operations and Control

Oversee day-to-day accounting operations across the venues, including:

Accounts payable and receivable.
Payroll oversight and analysis.
Month-end and year-end close.
Journals, accruals, prepayments, and balance sheet reconciliations.
VAT and statutory returns.

Maintain strong balance sheet control and clear audit trails.
Monitor and manage cash flow, supporting working capital discipline and capital planning.
Ensure accurate financial records and effective use of the general ledger and chart of accounts.

Compliance, Risk and Governance

Ensure compliance with UK accounting standards, tax regulations, and internal policies.
Lead the year-end audit process and preparation of statutory accounts.
Design and maintain effective internal controls and risk management practices.
Keep abreast of regulatory changes and advise on potential business impacts.

Systems and Process Improvement

Drive continuous improvement in financial systems, reporting tools, and processes.
Lead or support system upgrades, integrations, and process redesign.
Work closely with programming, operations, and box office teams to improve data quality and reporting consistency.
Simplify and standardise processes across multiple venues.

Stakeholder Engagement and Commercial Support

Act as the primary finance partner to the divisional leadership team.
Present financial performance, risks, and opportunities clearly to senior stakeholders.
Support commercial initiatives including:

Show costing and investment decisions.
Pricing strategies.
Partnership and contract evaluations.
Margin and cost-efficiency analysis.

Build strong relationships with auditors, advisors, and internal stakeholders.

Essential Qualifications and Experience

Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
Significant post-qualification experience in a senior finance role.
Experience in a multi-site, customer-facing or transactional business, ideally within live entertainment, arts, leisure, or hospitality.
Proven experience leading and developing finance teams.
Strong technical grounding in UK accounting standards and financial controls.
Experience delivering clear, commercially focused financial insight.
Experience working with multiple finance systems; experience with Business Central desirable.

Key Competencies

Strong commercial judgement and strategic awareness.
Effective business partnering with operational leaders.
Clear, confident communication with finance and non-finance stakeholders.
Analytical, structured, and solutions-focused.
High attention to detail with strong delivery discipline.
Resilient, adaptable, and comfortable in a fast-paced environment.

Reporting Structure:

Reports to: Finance Director (Group Level)
Direct Reports: Finance Managers
Indirect Reports: Assistant Management Accounts, Assistant Accountant.

Location and Hours:

Primarily Woking with some need to visit the London office and occasional visits to venues around the country. Flexibility for hybrid working arrangements as appropriate.

Package:

Competitive salary and benefits package, including private medical, life cover, contributory pension and critical illness cover.