Finance Systems Manager
Walker Morris LLPOverview
We are seeking a Finance Systems Manager to join our team in a newly created role that is key to shaping the future of our finance operations. Acting as the product owner, you will take responsibility for managing, maintaining, and enhancing the firm’s Practice Management System, Aderant, ensuring it delivers optimal performance, compliance, and an exceptional user experience.
This position is integral to driving system improvements and leading technology upgrades that support the firm’s strategic objectives. You will work closely with colleagues across Finance, IT, and Legal Operations, as well as external stakeholders, to deliver robust, innovative solutions. If you are passionate about leveraging technology to improve processes and have the expertise to lead system development, this is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact.
As the Finance Systems Manager, you will be responsible for:
- Collaborate closely with the CFO and CIO to shape the strategic vision for the firm’s Practice Management System (PMS), ensuring alignment with business objectives and regulatory requirements.
- Translate strategic goals into a detailed, actionable roadmap that prioritises system enhancements, integrations, and process improvements.
- Take ownership of the delivery phase, managing timelines, resources, and stakeholder expectations to ensure successful implementation of roadmap initiatives.
- Coordinate cross-functional teams, including Finance, IT, Risk and Legal Operations, to drive seamless execution and adoption of PMS changes.
- Monitor progress against milestones, proactively addressing risks and dependencies to maintain project momentum.
- Champion continuous improvement by gathering feedback, analysing performance metrics, and recommending future enhancements to maximize system efficiency and user experience.
- Take full responsibility for the administration, configuration, and optimisation of the firm's PMS, serving as a primary contact for stakeholders and working with the Finance Systems Analyst to resolve issues, ensuring accuracy, reliability, and compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Lead the day-to-day management of the firm's PMS, delegating tasks as appropriate to the Finance Systems Analyst, such as user setup, system configurations, system/software updates, and troubleshooting.
- Act as a point of escalation for the Finance Systems Analyst in troubleshooting and resolving system-related issues, ensuring timely resolution and stakeholder satisfaction.
- Lead ongoing system upgrades, patches, and integrations, coordinating with IT and external stakeholders to minimise disruption and maintain data integrity.
We are looking for:
- Minimum 5 years’ experience managing and maintaining financial systems in a professional services environment (law firm experience desirable).
- Proven expertise with Aderant (ideally Aderant Expert or Sierra) or similar systems (desirable).
- Strong understanding of accounting principles and legal finance operations.
- Proven track record of leading system implementations, migrations, or major upgrades, including stakeholder management.
- Excellent project management, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Strong understanding of data structures, reporting tools, and ensuring compliance with financial controls and audit requirements.
- Technical proficiency in SQL, Excel, and reporting tools (Power BI, SSRS).
- Understanding of cloud-based finance systems and emerging technologies in automation.
Some of our benefits include:
- Salary circa £60,000 - £70,000 per annum, dependent upon experience.
- Earn up to 10% of your salary with our annual bonus scheme.
- Minimum of 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays per year increasing to 31 days with length of service, with the opportunity to buy/sell up to 5 days holiday per year.
- Auto enrolled into the workplace pension scheme, and we'll contribute a minimum of 6% of your salary.
- 4x your annual salary in the event of a death in service.
- Hybrid and flexible working options available, we are able to consider occasional office attendance for this role.
Find out more about working at Walker Morris here.
Company Values
Our shared values represent our culture and the things that are important to us. They define who we are as a Firm, as an employer and what we expect of our people. They provide direction and purpose by influencing the decisions that we make and the actions that we take. It’s really important that all candidates and employees demonstrate these values in their day-to-day activities:
- Embrace the fact everyone is different and unique.
- You can be serious without wearing a suit.
- Never lose sight of the bigger picture.
- Two heads are better than one.
- Take the bull by the horns.
- We win & lose together.