Head of Finance

Full-time; a 4-day week will be considered. London / hybrid, with a minimum of 3 days a week in the office

About Hawthorn

We are an independent and agile strategic communications consultancy. For over 10 years, we’ve delivered exceptional work for individuals and organisations worldwide, from Forbes, Maybourne Hotels and Kering, to DAZN, Aegon, and News UK.

We’re small enough to give clients our full attention, yet big enough to handle the most ambitious and high-stakes briefs. Our dynamic and deeply connected team works across corporate communications, crisis management, and public affairs.

Our structure lets us deliver fully integrated, data- and behaviour-driven campaigns, working regularly with blended client teams spanning comms, marketing, sales, and the most senior decision-makers and strategists. We’re committed to a team atmosphere fuelled by learning, unafraid to take new paths and ask hard questions, while always putting our clients' commercial objectives first.

No templated thinking, no assumptions, just smart, expansive thinking and creative solutions that make an impact.

We believe in empowering our people with freedom and autonomy, supporting innovation, providing tailored growth opportunities and having fun along the way. Diversity of thought and background fuels our creativity and collaboration, and we’re committed to building an inclusive, connected culture where everyone can belong and thrive.

At Hawthorn, we focus on delivering exceptional outcomes for clients by fostering a culture where our people can thrive. We provide the trust, resources, and flexibility they need to innovate and deliver excellence. If you’re seeking a dynamic environment that values creativity, ambition, and entrepreneurial spirit; offers diverse, challenging opportunities; fosters continuous learning; and encourages collaboration among big thinkers, Hawthorn is the place for you.

Our Values

• Creative: You are an innovative thinker who brings originality and flair to every challenge.
• Ambitious: You are driven and passionate, with an unwavering commitment to achieving both your personal goals and the company’s objectives.
• Entrepreneurial: You are a proactive self-starter, always looking to build networks and capitalise on new opportunities.
• Collaborative: You are a dedicated team player who supports colleagues, builds strong partnerships, and helps others succeed while delivering impactful results.
• Connected: You excel at forging and maintaining strong relationships, ensuring that ideas and opportunities flow smoothly within the team and with clients.

Head of Finance

The Head of Finance owns every aspect of the company’s finances and is a key commercial partner to the COO/CEO. In a consultancy of around 100 people split across the UK and Abu Dhabi, that means running a tight finance function while helping leaders understand which clients, services and people make money.

This is a hands-on role, supported by one Accounts Assistant. You will set strategy and present to the Partners but also roll up your sleeves on month-end, cash and systems. You will turn timesheet, project, and billing data into clear insights on utilisation, margins, and pricing.

You will also oversee the finance operation of our Abu Dhabi office, now up and running, making sure local compliance, payroll, reporting and group consolidation run smoothly as the office grows

There is scope to broaden the role into wider operations over time. We want a self-starter who will challenge how things are done and use AI and automation to make finance faster, leaner and more insightful.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and business partnering

• Act as a trusted adviser to the COO/CEO, Partners and Management Board on financial performance, strategy and risk.
• Respond promptly and confidentially to ad hoc requests for financial information from the CEO and other shareholders.
• Lead the annual budget and rolling forecasts, working with practice and team leads.
• Advise on pricing, rate cards, fee proposals and the commercial terms of major client contracts.
• Support growth initiatives, including new offices, new service lines, investment cases and any M&A due diligence.

Financial reporting and control

• Own the monthly management accounts and deliver a clear pack for each Partner and Management Board meeting within an agreed timetable, as well as reporting requested on a regular basis by the CEO / COO.
• Produce statutory year-end accounts and manage any external audit and auditor relationships.
• Maintain a robust control environment, with documented policies for approvals, expenses, and purchasing, including authorising supplier payment runs, verifying new suppliers, overseeing the expense card (Soldo), and reviewing monthly bank and control account reconciliations.
• Oversee the balance sheet, including accruals, deferred and accrued income, prepayments and fixed assets.

Project and people economics

• Report on the metrics that drive consultancy profitability: utilisation, realisation, revenue per head, project and client margin, and WIP and lock-up.
• Oversee resourcing data in Float, our timesheet system, including time scheduling, timesheet completion monitoring, project and staff set-up, and data cleansing and archiving.
• Work with leaders to fix overruns, write-offs and underpriced work.
• Model headcount plans and the cost impact of hiring, pay reviews and bonus schemes.

Cash, billing and treasury

• Manage cash flow forecasting and banking relationships, keeping a 13-week cash view.
• Oversee timely, accurate client billing, including retainers, milestones, time-and-materials work, and rechargeable costs, and ensure client contracts, renewals, and RPI-linked fee increases are actioned on time.
• Drive credit control and reduce debtor days.
• Manage supplier payments and any foreign currency exposure, including AED/GBP, across the two offices.

Tax, compliance and payroll

• Ensure compliance with UK corporation tax, VAT, PAYE and other filing obligations, working with external advisers.
• Oversee payroll, pensions, benefits, and employee share or incentive schemes alongside the Head of Talent, including relationships with payroll and pension providers, P11D and benefits reporting, salary sacrifice schemes, and the finance side of pay and bonus reviews.
• Manage company secretarial matters, insurance renewals, ONS surveys and financial information for RFPs, where these sit with finance.

Abu Dhabi office

• Oversee the Abu Dhabi entity's day-to-day finance operations, working with local advisers to keep licences, banking, and registrations current.
• Ensure ongoing UAE corporate tax and other relevant compliance and filings, and oversee local payroll, end-of-service gratuity accruals, and employee visa and benefits administration.
• Manage intercompany arrangements, recharges, transfer pricing and group consolidation between the UK and UAE.
• Review and strengthen the processes and reporting set up since launch so the office can keep growing with clear visibility into performance.

Systems, AI and team

• Manage and develop the Accounts Assistant, act as the escalation point for staff finance and pay queries, and plan how the function grows with the business.
• Own the finance systems stack (e.g. accounting, timesheet/PSA, expenses and reporting tools) and drive automation, including practical use of AI tools across reporting, reconciliations and forecasting.
• Improve processes so the function scales as the firm grows without a matching rise in headcount.

Wider operations (scope to grow)

• Take on broader operational responsibilities over time, such as office and facilities, IT and supplier management, insurance and legal admin.
• Lead change projects that improve how the business runs, not just how finance runs.

Candidate specification

Preferred profile, skills and experience

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) with at least 8 years’ post-qualification experience.
• At least 3 years leading a finance function or team in a business of a similar size (roughly £10–30m turnover); a similar or agency environment is preferred.
• Experience in a professional services or other people-based business; agency experience strongly preferred.
• Strong grasp of project accounting, revenue recognition, WIP and utilisation reporting.
• Track record of producing clear management information and presenting it to senior, non-financial audiences.
• Hands-on experience of month-end, year-end, audit and UK tax compliance.
• Confident user of modern cloud finance systems and advanced Excel.
• Experience of multi-entity or international finance is desirable, ideally including the UAE or wider GCC.
• Experience of overseeing and running wider business operations would be an advantage.

Personal qualities

• A self-starter who takes ownership, spots what needs fixing and gets on with it.
• Drives change with energy and is curious and confident about using AI to improve how work gets done.
• Commercially minded: sees finance as a tool to help the business win and deliver profitable work.
• Clear communicator who can challenge senior colleagues constructively.
• Comfortable switching between strategy and detail, with high standards of accuracy.
• A supportive manager who develops others.

Our benefits

We offer competitive salaries that fully reflect your skills and experience, and benefits that support your mental, physical, financial, and social wellbeing, including:

• Benefits include pension, salary exchange, a nursery salary sacrifice scheme, medical and life insurance, plus cycle-to-work and technology schemes.
• Hybrid working options based around home and office locations (minimum 3 days in the office), with flexible working patterns.
• Time off including annual, parental, sabbatical, and volunteering leave.
• 25 days annual leave in year one, 26 days thereafter.
• Annual charity day where an employee can volunteer their time to a charity of their choice
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth and tailored training opportunities.
• Proactive wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), sick leave provision, and mental health first-aiders
• Office perks including breakfasts, lunches, snacks and drinks
• A packed social calendar, including sports and cultural activities, charity bike rides, and must-attend summer and Christmas parties each year.