Location: Dorset / Wiltshire, with flexibility.
Salary: Competitive, commensurate with experience, circa £60k – £70k
Contract: Full-time, permanent.
Accommodation: Potentially available if required.
Our client, a Rural Estate enterprise is seeking a highly experienced and commercially astute Finance Director to lead and modernise all financial operations. The Finance Director will be a dynamic and results driven leader with a proven track record of promoting business growth and stability through strong financial management.
The Rural Estate enterprise encompasses two estates of a combined approx. 9,000 acres with wide range of ventures, including arable and livestock farming, commercial and residential property, forestry, sporting interests, and a public house.
Reporting directly to the Trustees and Beneficiaries and working alongside the Estate Manager, the Finance Director will take ownership of the financial management and reporting across both estates. Initiate and control the process of streamlining and developing financial practices and administrative functions across the estates to promote business growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead on financial strategy, planning, and reporting for both estates
- Produce accurate monthly management accounts, budgets, forecasts and financial analysis to agreed timescales
- Accurate cashflow forecasting for the multiple estate entities to ensure the robustness of long-term forecasts
- Monitor and challenge performance of the estates against budgets and forecasts
- Oversee statutory accounts, audit preparation, and compliance
- Advise on financial implications of commercial decisions and estate diversification
- Management of banking relationships, inc. Estate lending restructuring
- Support investment planning and risk management strategies
- Drive the integration and streamlining of administrative and finance systems across two estates, identifying opportunities for improvement
- Continuously monitor and analyse financial performance across all enterprises to challenge viability
- Liaise with trustees, beneficiaries, and professional advisers at agreed timescales to advise on financial and commercial activity and issues
- Provide consistent and clear leadership for finance staff and support the wider estate teams
Key Requirements
- Professional accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)
- Must have strong experience of Xero accounting systems
- Ability to formulate robust financial plans and manage their performance
- Experience of fund management and inter-estate loan management
- Experience in rural estate finance, landed estates, or multi-enterprise businesses
- Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to understand diverse business operations
- Exceptional communication skills and ability to confidently and accurately report at trustee/board level
- Experience with estate management software an advantage
- Strategic thinker with a hands-on, solutions-focused approach
- A collaborative and discreet working style
What We Offer
- The opportunity to shape the financial future of a prestigious and diverse rural estate
- A high level of autonomy and direct engagement with trustees and beneficiaries
- A varied and challenging role within a values-led, heritage-rich organisation
To Apply:
Please send a CV and covering letter to enquiries@fowlerfortescue.co.uk or apply via the Fowler Fortescue Indeed page – – https://uk.indeed.com/cmp/Fowler-Fortescue-1 by 27th June 2025. For further information, please contact via email, in confidence, in the first instance.
