View Vacancy – Head of Finance, Canada Network

Main purpose of job:

Based at the British High Commission, Ottawa, the Head of Finance will be responsible, under the direct supervision of the Director of Corporate Services and accountable for the overall financial management, analysis and reporting of all Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) budget streams for the British High Commission Ottawa and across the Canada Network, including the four Consulate Generals (CG) in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver,

 You will have a critical role in supporting the network and the Finance & Procurement teams to: deliver value for money in the pursuit of our objectives; utilise budgets effectively to deliver outcomes, and ensure tight financial controls of resources and contracts to meet strategic priorities. In addition, you will have a lead responsibility on the preparation of monthly financial management information and business performance data, for senior leadership board meetings. 

 With a Finance/Accounting Degree, and ideally experience of managing finance in the workplace, you would bring your existing knowledge of Canadian financial practice whilst learning how the British government implement this into the systems and processes used across its global footprint.  

 We are looking for someone who is proactive and can demonstrate an ability to plan and prioritise occasionally heavy workloads, as well as managing and motivating teams to deliver effectively.

• Excellent analytical and data processing skills.
• Professional Finance, Admin and/or Procurement qualifications, with completed university degree in Business Administration, Accounting or similar.
• Previous experience working in the finance/procurement field fora medium to large international organisation.
• Experience in managing budgets in an ERP system.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and IT skills, especially with Microsoft Excel. Very dynamic and proactive, result oriented, with excellent customer focus skills. Self-starter, confident and can-do-attitude.
• Presentation skills. Ability to communicate effectively technical subjects to different non-expert audiences. Knowledge of Canadian financial policies and laws.
• Understand and be able to demonstrate budget management and forecasting.
• Demonstrate an understanding of month-end reporting, analysing and presenting financial information.
• Excellent finance operational skills.
• Problem-solving, strategic and analytical capabilities and ability of knowing how to deliver measurable metrics and milestones.
• Clear plan of how to manage stakeholders and ability to engage and influence.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail.
• Advanced Excel skills and ability to quickly grasp financial management reporting tools.