Overview
Head of Accounting Jobs in London Area, United Kingdom at Baker Charles
Title: Head of Accounting
Company: Baker Charles
Location: London Area, United Kingdom
We are partnering with a Private Equity-backed, scaling business to appoint a Head of Finance Operations. This is a pivotal role sitting at the centre of the finance function, combining operational ownership, reporting oversight, and the delivery of transformation initiatives. It will suit an individual who is equally comfortable operating at a detailed level while maintaining a broader strategic perspective, with a strong focus on execution, continuous improvement, and adaptability.
The business is a high-growth, multi-entity organisation undergoing ongoing expansion and investment, including international operations. As such, the environment is dynamic and fast-evolving, requiring someone who has previously operated within a global business and is comfortable navigating change, ambiguity, and shifting priorities. The focus is on building a robust and scalable finance infrastructure to support continued growth.
The role takes ownership of core finance processes across payables, payroll, and transactional accounting, ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the function with a high degree of accuracy, timeliness, and data integrity. You will oversee balance sheet reconciliations and the broader financial control environment, while remaining hands-on to ensure delivery across key deadlines and multiple concurrent workstreams.
You will lead the monthly close process and oversee the production of management reporting, analysis, and commentary, ensuring outputs are both accurate and insightful. The position will also play a key role in year-end activity, including audit coordination and statutory reporting requirements.
A key aspect of the role is strengthening the control framework, identifying operational risks, and implementing practical, scalable solutions. You will ensure compliance with both internal policies and external reporting obligations, while supporting the ongoing evolution of finance processes.
Alongside this, you will lead and develop the finance operations team, driving accountability, performance, and continuous improvement. There is a strong emphasis on transformation, including automation, standardisation, and systems optimisation, with the expectation that you will play a central role in embedding new processes and improving overall efficiency.
We are looking for a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) with significant experience across finance operations, reporting, and controls. You will have a proven track record of improving processes within a growing or evolving business, ideally within a global setting, and be confident leading teams while remaining close to the detail. Strong systems experience, including ERP and payroll platforms, alongside advanced Excel capability, is essential.
This is an excellent opportunity to take ownership of a critical finance function within a high-growth, PE-backed environment, offering real scope to shape how finance operates and supports the wider business as it continues to scale.
