Head of Finance Operations – 4 Month FTC

Advert Close date: 10/11/2026

Purpose of Role:

At The Crown Estate, our purpose is to create lasting and shared value for the country. As Head of Finance Operations, you will lead the delivery, performance and continuous improvement of Finance Operations, ensuring efficient, well-controlled and customer-focused financial services that support one of the UK’s most diverse property portfolios.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced finance operations leader to drive operational excellence, strengthen financial controls, develop high-performing teams and help shape a modern, digitally enabled finance function during a period of transformation.

Context of opportunity / Main accountabilities:

Reporting into the Finance leadership team, you will be responsible for leading the end-to-end delivery of Finance Operations, ensuring services are accurate, timely, resilient and aligned to business priorities.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading the delivery of accounts receivable, accounts payable, service charge accounting, client accounting and operational close activities.

• Ensuring robust financial controls, governance standards and service levels are consistently achieved.

• Providing leadership and direction across Finance Operations, maintaining high service quality while managing change and competing priorities.

• Leading, coaching and developing managers and colleagues to build capability, accountability and long-term succession plans.

• Driving process standardisation, automation and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational performance and customer outcomes.

• Working closely with Finance Transformation and Digital teams to support testing, implementation, adoption and benefits realisation of new systems and processes.

• Using operational data and performance insights to identify risks, improve efficiency and strengthen service delivery.

• Maintaining a strong control environment covering fraud prevention, reconciliations, segregation of duties, audit readiness and business continuity.

• Overseeing billing, collections, supplier payments, expenses, client money stewardship and service charge reporting activities.

• Managing relationships with outsourced providers and managing agents, ensuring performance, compliance and continuous improvement.

• Building effective partnerships across Finance, Procurement, business units and external stakeholders to deliver operational excellence and resolve complex challenges.

• Providing clear, concise reporting and recommendations to senior stakeholders, supporting informed decision-making across the business.
  

Most important skills based requirements:

We are looking for a collaborative and resilient finance leader with a strong track record of delivering high-quality operational finance services within a complex organisation.

Essential experience and skills include:

• Significant leadership experience within Finance Operations, operational finance, property finance or a large-scale shared service environment.

• Proven ability to lead multiple transactional finance functions while maintaining service excellence through periods of change and transformation.

• Strong service charge accounting experience, with a comprehensive understanding of accounts receivable, accounts payable, client accounting, credit control and month-end operational processes.

• Experience managing outsourced service providers, managing agents or third-party operational partners.

• Strong understanding of financial controls, operational risk management, audit requirements, client money responsibilities and fraud prevention.

• Demonstrable experience delivering process improvement, digitisation, automation and operational transformation initiatives.

• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex operational data and translate insights into clear business actions.

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with confidence influencing and partnering at all levels.

• Ability to balance strategic priorities with hands-on operational leadership in a fast-paced environment.

• A collaborative, inclusive and customer-focused leadership style that enables teams and colleagues to perform at their best.

• Resilience, adaptability and sound judgement when managing complex challenges and competing priorities.

• Professional accounting or operational finance qualifications are advantageous but not essential.

Join The Crown Estate and play a key role in delivering efficient, resilient and future-focused finance operations that support our people, customers, partners and wider purpose.

Our Offering / benefits:

As well as a competitive salary, pension and performance related bonus offering, we have a wealth of benefits available ranging from flexible working; market leading family policies and shopping discounts in the West End, to private healthcare; life and critical illness cover and 28 days holiday with the option to buy more. We value work life balance and your wellbeing highly, enabling you to be your best self to work.

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Disability Disclaimer:

We are a proud disability confident employer and operate the offer of interview scheme Disability Confident employer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We are happy to offer alternative application methods or formats and can be flexible on our process to enable you to have the best opportunity.

If you have any questions about our recruitment process or would like to talk about adjustments, please contact us directly, or at [email protected]

Please note that if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close this advert early. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.