Financial Controller

About us: Spectrum.Life is a whole-of-health digital partner that guides organisations and their people to thrive, delivering clinically backed digital health, mental health and wellbeing solutions. Our HealthTech delivers digital transformation for Insurers, Educators and Employers through Co-creation or seamlessly integrated out-of-the-box solutions, that decrease digital fragmentation and engage, empower, and transform their people’s lives. Established in 2018 by Stuart McGoldrick and Stephen Costello, Spectrum.Life provides services internationally to over 7.2m insurance members, 3,000 corporate clients, 60 universities and 650,000 university students. Spectrum.Life currently employs over 450 people. Our vision is to change and save as many lives as possible. Role Brief: The Financial Controller will play a key role in supporting the financial performance and operational effectiveness of the business. Operating within a dynamic and fast-evolving environment, the Financial Controller will lead and develop a finance operations team, oversee core finance processes and drive the team's adoption of AI-enabled and agentic ways of working. This is an excellent opportunity for a qualified accountant who enjoys working in a collaborative, fast-paced setting and who is motivated to help build scalable finance processes, lead a team through a period of change, and shape how the function adopts new technology within a growing organisation. Schedule: Full-time role. Hybrid, with on average 1-2 in-office days per week for team collaboration and continuous learning on business operations. Responsibilities: Team Leadership • Directly manage and develop a team covering payables, billing, collections, payroll etc. • Own workload prioritisation, performance management and development plans across the team. • Provide a stable management layer ensuring continuity of service across all finance operations. Financial Control and Reporting • Coordinate the month-end close timetable with the finance team to ensure timely and accurate reporting. • Prepare monthly financial reporting, including variance analysis against budget and prior periods. • Support the preparation of board reporting packs and cash management reporting. • Support the maintenance of strong financial controls, ensuring the integrity and accuracy of financial records. • Prepare and review balance sheet reconciliations, investigating and resolving variances. • Assist with cash flow reporting and monitoring of working capital. • Support the preparation of annual statutory financial statements and audit process, acting as a key contact for auditors and coordinating supporting documentation. • Manage indirect tax compliance, including preparation and submission of VAT returns and related filings. • Own the monthly payroll process end to end and the relationship with any external support and the People team, with direct accountability for payroll accuracy and compliance. • Review payroll reports and ensure payroll journals and reconciliations are accurately recorded as part of the month-end close. • Support and increasingly own intercompany accounting and group reporting processes across multiple entities and jurisdictions (currently Ireland, UK, Australia). • Document and enhance financial policies, procedures and internal controls. • Take ownership of designated Finance SOPs as part of the team's SOP library, including maintenance of current SOPs. Cost and Margin Analysis • Own gross margin reporting, ensuring accurate cost allocation within the monthly financials. • Perform detailed variance analysis of operational costs and cost of sales, identifying key drivers and trends. • Partner with People and functional leaders to ensure accurate classification of company resources by business line. • Manage accruals and prepayments relating to operational and overhead costs. • Partner with commercial teams to analyse partner commissions and delivery costs. • Assist departments in identifying cost optimisation opportunities and operational efficiencies. • Contribute to budgeting and forecasting processes, through partnership with commercial finance. Process Improvements and Digital Transformation • Lead the identification and rollout of AI-enabled and agentic tools and workflows across the finance function, working closely with the CFO and technology stakeholders. • Take ownership of finance systems currently in transition - including completion of the in-house billing platform rollout and the procure-to-pay systems implementation - before leading the next phase of process automation for the team. • Work with the wider finance team to improve the quality and usability of financial data, enabling better management reporting and decision-making. • Act as the finance team's primary point of contact for evaluating new finance technology and agentic AI tooling, balancing efficiency gains with data governance and control requirements. Business Partnership • Build strong relationships with stakeholders across the business to ensure finance is viewed as a trusted advisor and strategic partner. • Prepare monthly function-specific reporting and work closely with budget owners to support financial decision-making. • Provide insights on cost management, margin performance and operational efficiency. Requirements: Qualifications and Experience • Qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent). • 4-6+ years post-qualification experience, ideally in industry, with prior experience managing a team of three or more people (required). • Experience working within a growing company or operational business environment. • Strong understanding financial controls, management accounting and financial reporting and principles, including IFRS and Irish GAAP. • Experience supporting audit and statutory reporting processes. • Knowledge of indirect and direct tax compliance and financial regulations. • Exposure to multi-entity or international organisations (required, not desirable, given the group's Ireland, UK and Australia footprint). • Experience with, or strong demonstrable interest in, process automation and AI-enabled finance operations. Skills • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities. • Highly organised with strong attention to detail. • Ability to work independently and take ownership of finance processes. • Strong understanding of financial controls, balance sheet management and the monthly close process. • Strong communication skills with the ability to explain financial information to non-finance stakeholders. • Strong ownership mindset with the ability to manage deadlines and deliver high-quality outputs in a fast-paced environment. • Advanced Excel skills and experience working with ERP systems (e.g. Xero, Tipalti and similar AP/expense platforms). • Ability to leverage technology and automation to improve finance processes and reduce manual work. • Comfortable leading a team through change, including adoption of new systems and ways of working, with sensitivity to a team that has recently been through process and headcount change. • Confident managing and developing people, including performance conversations and workload prioritisation across a small team. Desirable: Experience in healthcare, technology or services sectors. What are the benefits of working at SPECTRUM.LIFE? • Full-time permanent contract. • Competitive salary, dependent on experience and scope. • Remote or hybrid working options. • 25 days of annual leave. • 24/7 EAP and a wide range of health and wellbeing supports. • Extensive list of employee perks and benefits. https://app.box.com/s/zo4f2ipvf5gsnfnbhe0w2439zqk4rdhn Your profile