Interim Financial Controller


The Royal Kennel Club

Full-time, temporary contract – 3 months
Hybrid (London office, minimum 2 days per week)
Gross Pay Rate (PAYE) – up to £400 per day (including rolled up holiday pay)


The Royal Kennel Club is one of the UK's most recognised membership organisations, dedicated to protecting and promoting the health, welfare and future of dogs. With a rich history spanning over 150 years, the organisation plays a leading role in canine health, education and responsible dog ownership, while delivering world-renowned events, supporting breeders and owners, and investing in initiatives that improve the lives of dogs across the UK.

The Royal Kennel Club is a complex organisation with a diverse range of income streams, combining membership, events, registrations, commercial activities and charitable initiatives. As the organisation continues an exciting programme of transformation, investment and operational improvement, an opportunity has arisen for an experienced Financial Controller to join the finance leadership team.

Reporting to the CFO, you'll lead the financial control function, ensuring robust governance, accurate reporting and strong financial stewardship across a complex, multi-site organisation. You'll also play a pivotal role in developing the finance function, improving processes and supporting strategic decision-making.

This role comes at a critical time for the Royal Kennel Club and a key priority will be leading on the external audit. The expectation is for the successful candidate to hit the ground running, quickly establish credibility and ensure the organisation is well positioned to deliver a high-quality, clean audit.

This is a highly visible leadership role suited to someone who enjoys combining technical excellence with hands-on delivery, people leadership and business partnering.


Key responsibilities

• Lead all aspects of financial control, statutory reporting and month-end/year-end close.
• Take immediate ownership of the external audit, acting as the principal contact for external auditors and leading the organisation through a timely, efficient and high-quality audit process with the objective of delivering a clean audit opinion. Ensure strong internal controls, governance and compliance across the finance function.
• Lead treasury, cashflow management and financial risk activities.
• Partner with colleagues across the organisation to provide insightful financial analysis and constructive challenge.
• Lead the business-wide adoption and optimisation of the newly implemented D365 enterprise finance system, embedding improved processes, automation, reporting and user engagement to maximise value and consistency across the organisation.
• Develop high-quality financial reporting, dashboards and management information to support business performance.
• Lead, coach and develop a high-performing finance team, fostering a collaborative, accountable and commercially focused culture.

About you

We're looking for a qualified accountant (ACA, CMA, CA or equivalent) with significant financial control experience gained within a complex organisation. You'll be technically strong but equally comfortable operating in a hands-on environment where you can influence, improve and deliver.

You'll bring:

• Proven experience leading audits from planning through to completion, managing external auditors and delivering clean audit outcomes, alongside financial control and statutory reporting.
• Proven experience leading financial control, management accounts, statutory reporting and annual audits.
• Experience implementing or leading finance workstreams for ERP systems such as Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite or similar.
• Strong knowledge of financial controls, governance, compliance and risk management.
• Excellent cashflow management and financial planning experience.
• Experience leading and developing finance teams.
• Confidence presenting financial information to senior stakeholders and non-finance audiences.
• Advanced Excel and strong analytical capability.
• Experience within a commercial, membership or multi-revenue stream organisation. Experience across both commercial and not-for-profit environments would be advantageous.

We're particularly interested in people who are calm, credible and emotionally intelligent; straightforward communicators who build trust quickly; collaborative leaders who enjoy mentoring others; and individuals who thrive on improving processes, implementing change and solving complex operational challenges.

In return, you'll join an organisation with an outstanding heritage and a clear vision for the future. This is an opportunity to play a key role in shaping the finance function, influencing strategic decision-making and supporting the continued success of one of the UK's most iconic membership organisations.


Interested?

To arrange a confidential conversation with FJWilson Talent, the Royal Kennel Club’s recruitment partner for this role, before applying, you can email us at resourcingteam@fjwilson.com



Please note, we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.


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The services advertised by FJWilson Talent Services are those of an employment business.

We encourage applications from all sections of the community. Furthermore, qualifications and/or experience identified are indicative. We will consider applications from candidates who have comparable qualifications and/or experience for the role advertised.