About Humly

Humly is an education recruitment company that connects schools with teaching and support staff. The business operates across seven UK entities and Sweden and is under Swedish ownership.

Why the role exists

Humly's UK finance lead begins maternity leave at the end of September 2026 and will be away for the whole of the 2026 year-end close and audit cycle. This role holds the operational and technical finance line in the UK for that period, with a four week handover before the leave begins.

You will own the numbers day to day. That means month-end and year-end close, the external audit, cash and treasury execution, the budget and forecast build, and the technical accounting behind the group and cross-border position. You will also line-manage the four-person UK finance team. Financial strategy, board and lender communication, covenant policy and the approval of related-party and above-threshold transactions remain with the Group CFO.

The scope of the role

This is a hands-on Financial Controller position. The person appointed will close the books, lead the external audit and manage the team without day to day supervision, and will be the senior finance presence in the UK business and the first point of escalation for the team. Genuine technical confidence matters here, across FRS 102, group consolidation inputs, and intercompany and covenant mechanics.

It is not a CFO or Finance Director appointment. Strategy, board narrative, lender relationships and covenant policy sit with the Group CFO. Neither is it a processing role. The team handles the transactional work, while this position reviews it, exercises judgement and signs it off. The expectation is straightforward. The finance function should run better at the end of the cover than at the start.

What you will do

Year-end close and audit. Lead the 2026 year-end close from February to June, including statutory accounts, in-year adjustments and corporation tax. Run the external audit end to end as the primary contact, from the autumn interim through to full-year completion.

Month-end and technical accounting. Own month-end closure and the monthly reporting cycle, the nominal code structure across Xero and its mapping to BrightAnalytics and Staffology, right-of-use lease calculations, and the implementation of relevant UK reporting and payroll changes.

Cash, treasury and working capital. Keep sufficient cash in each entity within CFO policy, maintain a rolling cashflow to a three-to-six-month forward view, plan UK intercompany and Sweden to UK transfers with the Finance Lead in Sweden, prepare payment runs for authorisation, and support escalated credit control.

Budgeting and forecasting. Build the budget and forecast models, own the assumption set and its documentation, and provide the underlying analysis behind the CFO's board narrative.

Financial Control and Compliance. Maintain robust financial controls and accounting standards. Ensure compliance with UK accounting standards, Companies House and statutory obligations. Monitor corporation tax payment deadlines and other statutory submissions. Keep abreast of legislative changes affecting finance, payroll and employment, implementing changes when required.

Group and cross-border. Own the monthly Sweden to UK and intercompany reconciliations, transfer pricing and prepare group borrowing calculations, journals and covenant calculations for CFO review.

Team leadership. Line-manage the UK finance team, covering workload, holiday cover, quarterly reviews and target setting, and support the team's technical development.

About you

Essential

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) with post-qualification experience as a Financial Controller, Finance Manager or Finance Director.

• You have personally led a statutory audit and a year-end close for a UK trading company.

• Strong UK GAAP and FRS 102 grounding, including lease accounting under the periodic review.

• Multi-entity experience, including intercompany reconciliation and consolidation inputs.

• Cashflow forecasting and treasury execution in a business where cash timing matters.

• Line-management experience with a small transactional finance team.

• Available to start by End of August 2026 and to commit for the full term, including the year-end and audit peak.

• Comfortable reporting to a fractional CFO, able to run independently and bring decisions forward rather than problems.

Desirable

• Recruitment, staffing, marketplace or high-volume payroll experience.

• Experience within a foreign-owned group and of cross-border intercompany funding.

• Exposure to banking covenant reporting and lender relationships.

• Familiarity with Xero, BrightAnalytics, Staffology, Telleroo, Pleo, Metabase, Inflo or Breathe.

Systems

Xero, BrightAnalytics, Staffology, Metabase, Telleroo and Danske Bank, Pleo, Breathe, Inflo, and Companies House filing.

The practical detail

Salary: £72,500

Location: Birmingham (Edgbaston), office based, four days per week and one WFH day. Parking available on site.

Term: fixed-term, starting by End of August 2026 and running to November 2027.

Handover: four weeks with the outgoing finance lead before the end of September 2026.

Reporting line: Group CFO.

To apply

To apply, please submit your CV through the application form on this page.