Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

posted on Jul 9, 2024
closing date: 2024-07-26

CFO

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We have an exciting and unique opportunity for an experienced Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to join us as one of six executive members of the IOPP Board of Directors. Reporting to the CEO, the CFO will lead IOP Publishing Ltd (IOPP) in achieving sustainable business success and is integral to developing and driving the company’s overall strategy and decision-making. Promoting innovation and new thinking in the way you build high performing delivery teams, while promoting diversity and inclusiveness in all you do.

What will you be doing?  

As IOPP’s most senior finance leader, you will be accountable for ensuring that IOPP’s group companies and the executive fulfils all its statutory obligations across the globe and delivers results to plan and to budget. Through the financial shared services team you will provide seamless and timely financial reporting and planning, including to IOPP’s sole owner, the Institute of Physics, which is a member body and registered charity. You should have a deep understanding of international accounting, tax and legal compliance. Over 90% of our business is outside the UK, and you will play a critical role enabling the business to carry out its activities and operations in over 130 different countries, as well as supporting colleagues working in 13 countries across the globe. Covering all aspects of finance, sales tax, accounting and legal compliance for overseas entities.

Key job accountabilities include:  

  • Strategy and direction: As a senior executive and member of the IOPP Board, play a leading role in the development of company strategy and the supporting planning process.

  • Governance: Carries out a key governance role as a member of the IOPP Board, and attends the Group Audit & Risk Committee and Group Finance & Investment Committee meetings. As well as working closely with the Compliance Manager to ensure we fulfill our statutory obligations for our global entities in the UK, US, China, India and Russia.

  • Business and financial planning: Lead on the provision of all aspects of financial management ensuring resources are controlled, budgets and plans are defined and prioritised to deliver the highest valued outcomes and ultimately enable IOPP to achieve its strategy aims. Through the team, support the Group CFO on group cash flow, accounting, audit, investments and reserves, pension management, governance, compliance and risk.

  • Business performance: Define and implement systems that track and manage business performance, ensuring we deliver near, mid-term and long-term strategic outcomes.

  • Financial operations: Accountable for finance in its broadest sense, providing assurance to the IOPP CEO, the Group CEO and the Group CFO that group companies meet their statutory obligations, that risks are managed and that services, systems, process, policy and procedure is fit-for-purpose and sized to fit.

  • Leadership: Live and champion IOPP’s ways of being and deliver on our executive team charter. Provide strong and inspiring leadership to finance colleagues, providing a sense of purpose, engaging colleagues with the broader aims of the business and promoting diversity and inclusiveness in all they do.

About you:  

We are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced Finance Director/Chief Financial Officer who is able to work as part of a cross-functional leadership team, forming strong working partnerships. The ideal CFO will be Someone who is able to add value above and beyond the finance remit with experience and diplomacy to advise colleagues and stakeholders across our global offices.

The successful candidate will demonstrate:  

  • An undergraduate degree or equivalent experience

  • Qualified Accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA)

Knowledge & previous experience:

  • Experience in group company management accounting and statutory reporting

  • Strong evidence of technical leadership and thought leadership on finance matters

  • Strong experience of international business including accounting, tax and legal compliance

  • Strong experience of business and charity governance, including statutory reporting and risk management

  • Evidence of strategic thinking and strategy leadership, managing and modelling complex industry changes

  • Evidence of commercial acumen, creative thinking and innovation in business and business operations

  • Demonstrates leading edge, modern thinking in management and leadership

  • Lives equality, inclusion and diversity; passionate about sustainable business environments

  • Exceptional communication skills, able to explain technical detail in plain English

We know it is unusual for someone to tick every box so, if you don’t meet all the criteria, but demonstrate most of the skills and experience we are looking for, and have the enthusiasm to work with us, go ahead and apply.  

We aim to review applications soon after they are received and will arrange interviews when there’s someone we’re keen to meet, therefore we may conduct interviews prior to the closing date and reserve the right to close the advert early.  

Why work with us at IOP Publishing:  

Purpose: We are a world leader in the development of electronic publishing for the scientific community – working in the interests of science and scientists, we aim to maximise the impact of the research we publish;  

Culture: We offer a truly international culture with offices in Europe, Asia and the US and our reach is global. Our culture is the perfect blend of dedicated and intelligent professionalism, informal, friendly collaboration and authenticity with a social conscience.  

Financial benefits: A competitive salary from £150,000 to £160,000 depending on experience, an excellent pension scheme (up to 12% company contribution), a discretionary annual bonus scheme, a £200 stipend payment on completion of the probation period, and a range of other useful and cost-saving benefits available through our benefits platform;  

Health and Wellbeing: 33+ days holiday (including bank holidays), a 35-hour working week, life assurance, cycle-to-work scheme, dental insurance, health care cash plan, and a great positive working environment in our brand new office in central Bristol – modern airy and designed with all of our colleagues in mind – for work and social time.  

Flexible Working: The contractual location of this role is our Bristol office, but we have recently moved to a hybrid working model with a dynamic and blended combination of office and remote working, dependent on business and team requirements.  We are looking for someone to attend the Bristol office on a weekly basis (1-2 times per week). Any travel to our Bristol office is at the employees own expense.

To apply, please submit your CV through our careers site.  

IOP Publishing is an equal opportunity employer. Our goal is to ensure that diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) are built into our identity in a way that is natural and sustainable, visible through the work we produce, our company branding, our professional networks and the communities we serve and support, which includes our employees, talent communities and candidates. We particularly welcome applicants from under-represented backgrounds.  

We make recruitment and workplace adjustments wherever we can, so please let us know if there’s anything that we can do to support you.