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About the Role

The Finance Operations Manager oversees payroll, banking, cash activities, VAT compliance, and operational finance controls across the Group. This role coordinates internal stakeholders and outsourced providers in multiple jurisdictions, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant delivery of payroll, payments, VAT, and regulatory processes. It requires strong operational finance capability, experience managing outsourced providers, international finance operations, and financial controls in a multi-entity environment. The focus is on coordination, review, control, and operational oversight, with line management responsibility for junior finance team members. The finance function is also undergoing systems and process improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

Oversee end-to-end payroll operations across the Group, working closely with outsourced payroll providers and internal HR teams
Coordinate monthly payroll inputs, approvals, reconciliations, and reporting across UK, China, Germany and Spain
Ensure accurate and timely submission of payroll-related information including starters, leavers, benefits, bonuses, pensions, and statutory payments
Act as the key finance contact for payroll providers and employment tax matters
Review payroll reconciliations, journals, and supporting documentation prepared internally or by external providers
Ensure payroll processes remain well controlled, compliant, and audit-ready
Support continuous improvement and automation of payroll-related workflows and controls
Oversee day-to-day banking, payments, and cash operations across the Group
Coordinate domestic and international payment runs and approval workflows
Maintain oversight of banking platforms, mandates, signatories, and user access controls
Support short-term cash flow visibility and liquidity monitoring
Support FP&A with cash flow forecasting
Coordinate operational banking activities with overseas teams and external banking providers, including local banking coordination in China
Ensure robust controls and governance over cash movements and payment authorisations
Collaborate with Project Accounting on Receivables, remittances and allocations
Coordinate UK VAT return preparation and submission processes with external advisors and internal stakeholders
Manage information flows with external VAT and tax advisors across overseas jurisdictions where the Group holds VAT registrations
Support VAT registrations, de-registrations, and ongoing compliance requirements
Coordinate KYC requests, residence certificates, tax forms, and banking compliance documentation required for international projects and operations
Maintain organised and audit-ready compliance documentation across multiple jurisdictions
Support internal and external audit requests relating to payroll, banking, VAT, and operational finance processes
Collaborate with Project Accounting on Compliance Certificates for their projects (TRC, IC etc)
Manage and support the junior finance team member involved in: Accounts payable processing, Payment runs, VAT support information, Operational finance administration
Work closely with the Head of Financial Reporting & Control on systems improvement and with the Senior Management and FP&A team on projections and forecasting
Collaborate with HR and wider finance teams to ensure accurate data flows and efficient operational processes
Contribute to process documentation, controls development, and operational best practice across the finance function

Requirements

Part-qualified or qualified (ACCA, CIMA, ACA or equivalent) with a strong operational finance background
Experience in finance operations, payroll coordination, treasury operations, or operational finance roles within a multi-entity business
Strong understanding of UK payroll processes and employment tax principles
Experience working with outsourced payroll providers and external advisors
Practical experience overseeing banking, payments, and operational financial controls
Experience coordinating VAT and compliance processes across multiple jurisdictions
Strong organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple operational workstreams simultaneously
Excellent attention to detail and a strong control mindset
Confident communicating with senior stakeholders, external providers, and international teams
Experience supervising or reviewing junior team members’ work
Experience within architecture, professional services, consultancy, or international project based businesses
Exposure to international payroll operations and overseas banking processes
Experience supporting finance systems improvements or automation initiatives
Language skills
Familiarity with ERP/project systems such as Deltek and Sage
Practical and solutions-oriented approach
Strong sense of ownership and accountability
Calm under pressure and able to manage competing priorities
Reliable and trusted with sensitive financial information
Collaborative and approachable communication style
Strong organisational skills and attention to detail
Process-improvement mindset with sound operational judgement

Skills

Payroll Operations
Employment Compliance
Banking Operations
Payments Operations
Cash Operations
VAT Compliance
International Compliance
Financial Controls
Team Management
Systems Improvement
Process Improvement
Communication
Organisational Skills
Attention to Detail
Control Mindset
Problem Solving
Ownership
Accountability
Collaboration

Location

Work Type

Full-time
Permanent contract
Monday to Friday
40 hours per week

Experience Level

Part-qualified or qualified (ACCA, CIMA, ACA or equivalent)
Experience in finance operations, payroll coordination, treasury operations, or operational finance roles within a multi-entity business
Experience working with outsourced payroll providers and external advisors
Practical experience overseeing banking, payments, and operational financial controls
Experience coordinating VAT and compliance processes across multiple jurisdictions
Experience supervising or reviewing junior team members’ work
Experience within architecture, professional services, consultancy, or international project based businesses
Exposure to international payroll operations and overseas banking processes
Experience supporting finance systems improvements or automation initiatives

Education Level

Part-qualified or qualified (ACCA, CIMA, ACA or equivalent)

About the Company

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) redefined architecture for the 21st century with a repertoire of projects that have captured imaginations across the globe.
Creating buildings uniquely tailored to the communities they serve, ZHA has been awarded the highest honours from professional and academic institutions worldwide.
Founded by Zaha Hadid in 1979, ZHA is one of the world’s most consistently inventive architectural studios—and has been for four decades.
These decades of pioneering research are inscribed within our architecture to become more spatially inventive, more structurally efficient, more technologically advanced, and more environmentally considerate with every new design.
Combining innovative architectural solutions with ecologically sound materials and sustainable construction practices, we do not look at the disparate parts, but work to understand them as a whole to meet the aspirations of each new generation.
As an employee-owned business, we reinvest all profits back into our people and our company; continually enhancing our multidisciplinary research to address the challenges impacting communities around the world.