Finance Director

‘St Andrews – the Home of Golf’ is recognised as one of the most iconic venues in sport. St Andrews Links Trust operates as an independent charitable trust and is responsible for the management and maintenance of the seven links courses at St Andrews. These include the world famous Old Course, host of the Open Championship a record 30 times. Today more than 250,000 rounds are played every year over these seven courses.

The Links Trust manages a number of additional facilities including three clubhouses, a golf academy and five shops, and the facilities attract visitors from around the world to follow in the footsteps of the worlds greatest golfers and become a part of golf’s rich history.

With global business partnerships, fantastic ambition and exciting commercial opportunities, revenue streams are driven largely through golf revenue, retail, hospitality, merchandising, royalties and commercial licencing arrangements.

Reporting to the Chief Executive, the Finance Director has overall responsibility for leading the finance team, providing strategic input based on robust financial planning and the provision of timely and accurate financial information to the Executive team and Trustees.

The Trust has embarked on a significant period of investment and infrastructure development. The Finance Director will play a key role in providing careful scrutiny, oversight and financial control as these exciting projects develop. The role oversees risk management, governance and operational efficiency and helps drive a culture of high performance, financial accountability and commercial awareness throughout the organisation.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leadership of the finance and procurement teams, coaching and developing team members to foster a culture of professional growth, ensuring financial information, insight and analysis provided is aligned with overall business strategy and objectives.
• Oversight of robust long-term financial planning, annual business budgeting and forecasting processes to support and optimise strategic decision making.
• Provide detailed financial models and analysis of new opportunities including possible M&A activity and taking appropriate action to mitigate risk.
• Ownership of timely and accurate management information, financial reporting, governance, compliance, taxation and treasury.
• Act as key liaison with external stakeholders including auditors, regulators and financial institutions, maintaining strong relationships to support the financial health and growth of the group.
• Foster a collaborative and positive working environment within and across teams, encouraging innovation and continuous improvement.

We are looking to appoint an extremely commercial, strategic and highly credible finance leader, with excellent communication skills and the confidence to innovate, drive change and add value in all areas of the business. The Finance Director will have in the region of ten plus years’ experience in a senior finance leadership position across a range of industry sectors that reflect the variety of income streams at the Trust.

Strong leadership within St Andrews Links Trust, clear business goals, an ambition to think big and build for the future all make this an extremely exciting time to join the business.