Head of Finance

The Scottish Football Association exists to inspire the nation and transform lives through the power of football.

The Association oversees our national game at all levels, from the men’s and women’s international teams to the development of football at grassroots level, and the organisation of one of the oldest knockout competitions in the world, the men’s Scottish Cup, to one of the newest, the Women’s Scottish Cup.

It owns and operates Hampden Park, oversees the implementation of VAR and Referee Operations, and also supports members and affiliated associations across the country.

The Power of Football is the ambitious five-year strategic plan created to enhance the game’s impact at all levels – including elite performance, girls’ and women’s football, participation, coach education, infrastructure development and equality and diversity.

The 6 key strategic pillars of the Association are to:

• Qualify consistently for and compete in major tournaments
• Accelerate the growth of girls’ and women’s football
• Inspire the nation through lifelong participation
• Deliver a world-leading coach education and development system
• Grow and modernise Scotland’s football facilities
• Connect Scottish football’s diverse communities

In a newly created position, The Scottish FA is seeking to appoint a Head of Finance, to report directly to the recently appointed Chief Operating Officer.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a commercially astute and technically capable finance leader to join the organisation at the centre of Scottish Football.

The new Head of Finance will assume responsibility for the operational finance team and deliver a robust and accurate financial governance regime for the organisation. They will be a key member of the COO’s team, managing a small team of qualified and part qualified finance professionals. Within this structure, it is vital that the individual has the ability to work in a close-knit team in a collaborative and autonomous manner, ensuring that finance works in a collaborative way across the business to drive a strong environment of financial control, and business partnering.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Responsibility for all technical and regulatory oversight of all financial matters including statutory accounts, tax, insurance, pensions and payroll.
• Overall management and development of the finance function with regards to people, process and systems.
• Leadership of the management accounting team in the preparation and delivery of annual and 5-year financial planning budgets including cash flow and capital expenditure considerations.
• Leadership of the evaluation and implementation of a new cloud-based accounting system.
• Ensuring the organisation complies with all external finance regulations from UEFA and FIFA with regards to club licensing and other.
• Delivery of appropriate financial reporting and intelligence to the Board.
• The management and delivery of a fit-for-purpose funding strategy for the organisation and management of all external funding relationships.
• Ad-hoc support to the COO in additional projects as appropriate.

We are seeking to appoint an experienced finance leader who has experience of leading medium sized finance teams in a complex operating environment. 

We will consider candidates from a variety of business sectors but would expect candidates to possess most of the following; 

• Demonstrable, all-round experience of leading a financial and management accounts team in a busy, complex small to medium sized business. 
• Relevant finance qualification (e.g. CA, ACCA, CIMA). 
• Significant experience of leading an annual audit, budget and financial forecasting 
• Experience in complex areas such as VAT, insurance, corporate tax, payroll, pensions and investments. 
• Ideally, they will have experience of implementing finance systems. 
• Experience of driving financial governance and improvement within a regulated environment. 

In terms of character and attitude, we would expect the successful candidates to have: 

•  An interest in the development of our national game across all demographics including all ages, genders and abilities, with the ability and desire to drive an inclusive culture. 
• The ability to constructively challenge and evidence of a growth mindset. 
• A strong personal value set with the ability to act with integrity and honesty in all areas. 
• An engaging and personable style of communication with the ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner. 

The Scottish FA is committed to supporting inclusion and diversity, everyone is welcome and supported at all stages in their journey with us. Applications are welcomed from candidates from groups currently underrepresented on company boards including age, disability, gender, race/ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.