Finance Manager - Highland Sporting Estate
Salary: £50,000 | Location: Scottish Highlands (Speyside area), office-based | full-time, permanent
Our client is a well-established Highland sporting estate, offering fishing, shooting, and stalking, alongside farming, forestry, residential property and lodge and holiday cottage lets. The estate has recently come under new ownership and is entering an exciting new phase of investment and development. The estate's name and exact location will be shared with shortlisted candidates.
This is a brand-new role, created to sit within the estate's Senior Management Team, with day-to-day responsibility for the Estate's financial management. The main focus is smoothing out cash flow and putting new procedures in place for financial efficiency, with regular reporting to the Estate Director and Owner's representatives. This position will work closely with a small, close-knit team - no two weeks look the same.
What you will be doing:
- Manage the Estate’s day-to-day finance function using Xero, including invoicing, bank reconciliations, payables and receivables, and oversee monthly payroll and related reporting.
- Prepare monthly management accounts, budgets and forecasts, with clear analysis of performance and key variances.
- Maintain rolling cash flow forecasts and proactively highlight funding requirements, risks and cash flow shortfalls.
- Manage tax compliance and statutory reporting, including VAT, PAYE, Corporation Tax, ATED and P11Ds, working with external advisers as required.
- Track and analyse income, costs and profitability across the Estate’s activities, identifying opportunities to grow revenue, improve margins and increase efficiency.
- Support capital expenditure decisions through business cases and financial analysis, and maintain appropriate financial controls and approval processes.
- Provide regular financial and commercial insight to the Estate Director and Owner’s representative, supporting wider business planning and strategic decision-making.
You will bring:
- Solid bookkeeping experience and/or a relevant qualification; a recognised accounting qualification (e.g. ACCA, ACA or CIMA) is beneficial.
- Numeracy, with a strong eye for detail, and knowledge of accounting principles and tax filings.
- Excellent computer literacy, including confident use of spreadsheets (e.g. Microsoft Excel) and accounting software (Xero or similar).
- Good communication skills, both written and verbal, and a genuinely adaptable, organised approach.
- Discretion, given the private nature of the estate's affairs, and, ideally, a sense of humour.
- Flexible and willing to support the wider team beyond core duties when required, This is a small estate where everyone contributes across a range of tasks.
- A full, clean UK driving licence - helpful, given the rural location.
- The right to work in the UK.
What's on offer:
- Salary circa £50,000 per annum.
- Pension, holiday entitlement, and other benefits to be discussed in interview.
- The chance to shape a brand-new role and its processes from the ground up, as part of the Senior Management Team.
- The chance to work in one of the most beautiful settings in Scotland, as part of a small, dedicated team.
To apply, in confidence, please send your CV and a covering letter by 10th September 2026
Pay: £50,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
