Finance Manager

The Digital Fairy Limited; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A creative consultancy firm in the United Kingdom is seeking a Finance Manager to oversee financial operations across its agencies. The ideal candidate is a qualified accountant with strong knowledge of Xero and a proactive approach to problem-solving. This role offers the opportunity to significantly impact financial strategies while working in a hybrid environment in York and London.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in a standalone or SME finance lead role.
• Strong working knowledge of financial reporting systems.
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Maintain supplier onboarding and invoice control.
• Prepare full monthly management accounts with variance analysis.
• Deliver weekly cash flow and revenue updates to the Founder.

Skills

Proactive problem solving

Communication skills

Financial reporting

Cash flow management

Organizational skills

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)

Tools

Xero

Excel

Synergist

Job description

Fairy Inc is a next generation strategy and creative consultancy group who through our agencies; The Digital Fairy and PACER, partner with a select roster of partner brands to help them establish, maintain or regain category distinction. Our complimentary but independent agencies are fuelled by 13+ years of industry leading insights, creativity & execution, we leverage our proximity to audiences, platforms & digital creatives to help our brand partners grow their reach and relevance with diverse and nuanced global communities.

The Role

This is a standalone Finance Manager position with full ownership of the finance function across both group agencies. You\'ll be the sole in-house finance professional, responsible for everything from financial operations to commercial insight—helping guide strategic growth while ensuring best-in-class financial hygiene.

You’ll collaborate closely with the Founder and senior leadership team, offering real-time financial analysis, modelling, and reporting to support effective decision-making. You’ll also be the main liaison with external accountants and play a pivotal role in shaping financial systems, workflows, and planning as the business scales.

We operate a hybrid coworking/remote set up at present and the successful candidate will be expected to have one day per week working at a co-working space in York with the Founder and Ops Director, as well as one day per month in London with the wider team.

Key Success Measures

• Timely, accurate financial reporting to support leadership decisions
• Strong cash flow management and debtor control (<10% overdue)
• Robust, audit-ready ledger and reconciliation processes
• Scalable systems and processes embedded across the business

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain and manage supplier onboarding, purchase order tracking, and invoice control using Synergist and Xero
• Oversee expense claims, subscriptions, and credit card reconciliations
• Raise all client invoices and manage debtor tracking and communication
• Own payment run scheduling and supplier communication regarding remittances

P&L and Balance Sheet Management

• Prepare full monthly management accounts with variance analysis
• Monitor revenue recognition, accruals/deferrals, and project profitability
• Deliver monthly balance sheet reconciliations and flag discrepancies proactively
• Manage year-end preparation and coordination with external accountants
• Lead on cash flow forecasting, scenario modelling, and budget planning
• Reporting & Strategic Insight
• Deliver weekly cash flow and revenue updates to the Founder
• Present insights to inform pricing, investment, and commercial decisions
• Create and evolve internal dashboards and performance metrics
• Support operational efficiency and procurement tracking alongside the Group Operations Director

What We’re Looking For

• A qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) with demonstrable experience in a standalone or SME finance lead role
• A proactive, commercially minded operator confident working independently
• Strong working knowledge of Xero and Excel; experience with Synergist is a bonus
• An exceptional communicator with experience engaging senior stakeholders
• A hands-on problem solver, highly organised and detail-oriented
• Thrives in a fast-paced, creative environment with evolving workflows