The Business
Hawthorn One are currently working exclusively with a private equity backed business with continuous and ambitious growth plans, this heavily regulated business based in Manchester has scaled fast, and it isn't slowing down. New systems, new markets, new headcount: the business is being rebuilt for the next stage of its journey, and that means real investment in the people and functions that will get it there.
The business has recently developed a Finance Operations function, being built from the ground up. A high-calibre Finance Operations Manager has recently been appointed to lead it, and the team is now expanding, including this newly created role. It's early enough that nothing is fixed yet, the processes, the controls, the way the team works together, all of it is still being shaped, and the people who join now will be the ones who help shape it, and can add real value very quickly.
Culture is a high priority and this hasnt changed as the business has grown its a people-first, supportive environment where high-performing teams are built deliberately. This is a company that knows its growth is only as good as the people driving it.
The Role
As Cash Allocation Analyst, you'll be the person who makes sure every customer payment lands exactly where it should. You'll ensure all incoming customer cash is correctly allocated to the right accounts, resolving exceptions quickly and maintaining an accurate cash position, the kind of control work that underpins everyone else's confidence in the numbers. Reporting into the newly appointed Finance Operations Manager, you'll join a team that is still being built and is now expanding, with genuine scope to help shape the future of this team, its processes, and its controls, rather than simply follow a playbook someone else wrote.
Your Duties
- Review daily incoming cash feeds from banks and payment providers.
- Allocate payments to the correct customer accounts, both manually and via automated processes.
- Investigate and resolve unmatched or unallocated cash.
- Maintain, reconcile and clear down suspense accounts.
- Work with Customer Support to resolve queries such as misapplied references or over/underpayments.
- Support the Payments & Collections Manager with customer refunds and adjustments.
- Produce daily allocation reports and escalate aged unallocated items.
Experience
- Experience in transactional finance, accounts receivable, or banking operations.
- High attention to detail and the ability to handle large volumes of transactions.
- Familiarity with reconciliation and allocation systems is desirable but not essential.
- A strong, proactive problem-solving mindset.
Why Join
This is a chance to join a private equity-backed business mid-growth story, at the point where its investment in people and process is ramping up rather than winding down. You'll report into a newly appointed, high-calibre Finance Operations Manager who is building this function, and this team, from scratch, and you'll be the person who makes sure every customer payment is recognised correctly, a role with real, visible impact.
There's genuine scope to help shape the future of a growing Finance Operations team, its processes, and its controls, and to add value quickly rather than wait to be told how things are done. You'll work across genuinely varied, high-volume, high-stakes data, including multi-million-pound cash flows, within a people-first culture that's building high-performing teams deliberately, with real support to match the pace of growth, and a clear path to grow your technical and analytical skills along the way.
Hawthorn One are running this search on a confidential basis and, full details will be shared with shortlisted candidates.
Pay: £26,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
