Global Finance Director

We are seeking a Global Finance Director to lead and integrate Kennedys financial planning and analysis, consolidated financial reporting and audit functions across all regions. This is a critical senior finance role with direct impact on profitability, growth, and governance, reporting directly to the CFO and partnering with executive leadership and regional finance leaders.

Kennedys is operating a hybrid working policy offering the opportunity to work from home and the office 

Team

Kennedys Finance supports the firm globally through the delivery of timely, accurate financial and management information, commercial insight, reporting solutions and operational support that underpin decision-making across the business. The team plays a key role in enabling sustainable growth, improving performance and maintaining the high standard of service provided to the firm's internal and external clients.

Our Finance function includes Financial Reporting, Tax, Treasury, Business Intelligence, Business Partnering and Analytics, Procurement, Finance Systems and Financial Operations, working in partnership with practice and business services leaders across the firm's international network.

Kennedys operates across the UK, EMEA, LATAM, APAC and the US, and this role will play a key part in delivering consistent, high-quality financial operations across the firm's international office network.

Key Responsibilities 

Global Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)

• Lead global budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning processes.
• Deliver consolidated financial insights to the CFO, Executive Committee, regional Managing Partners and the Partnership.
• Provide scenario modeling and performance analysis to support strategic decision-making.
• Establish consistent KPIs across regions (e.g., revenue growth, profitability, realization, leverage, working capital).
• Drive data quality, reporting automation, and analytical capability across the firm.

Group Financial Reporting

• Oversee preparation of consolidated global financial statements.
• Ensure accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of financial reporting across jurisdictions.
• Maintain compliance with relevant accounting standards and partnership reporting requirements.
• Standardize reporting frameworks and ensure alignment across regional finance teams.
• Provide clear, partner-focused reporting tailored to a legal services environment.

Client Reporting

• Oversee timely and accurate data, reporting and insights to meet Partner and client needs, exceeding or meeting deadlines, SLA and other expectations
• Influence, develop and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders including local managing partners, team leaders and divisional heads and business services teams globally to understand data issues and ensure data integrity.

Audit & Internal Controls

• Lead global external audit processes and auditor relationships.
• Ensure strong internal control frameworks across all regions.
• Oversee risk assessment processes related to financial governance.
• Drive continuous improvement in compliance, control effectiveness, and financial transparency.
• Ensure adherence to regulatory and statutory financial obligations globally, including the SRA.

 Global Governance & Standardization

• Alongside the Global Finance Operations Director, develop and implement global finance policies, systems, and controls.
• Assume the designated Compliance Officer for Finance Administration role to ensure the firms, its managers, and employees comply with SRA accounts rules. 
• Drive consistency in financial processes across regions while respecting local requirements.
• Partner with the CFO on finance transformation initiatives.
• Ensure effective use of global financial systems and reporting platforms.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Provide functional leadership and guidance to Regional Finance Directors.
• Partner closely with the Global Finance Operations Director on performance alignment.
• Present financial results and insights to senior leadership and partner forums.
• Build strong relationships with external advisors, banks, and auditors.

Team Leadership:

• Lead a high-performing, globally distributed team.
• Foster a culture of commercial excellence, innovation, collaboration and accountability.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and business partnering
• Strong technical accounting knowledge
• Financial modeling and analytical expertise
• Strong change leadership and process improvement skills and experience
• Ability to influence senior partners and cross-functional teams
• High ethical standards and strong governance mindset

Required Experience 

• Professional qualification such as ACA, ACCA or CIMA strongly preferred.
• Extensive post qualified senior finance experience, ideally within an international law firm, insurance-focused professional services business or other complex global partnership environment.
• Proven expertise in financial control- including global consolidation and audit management and FP&A.
• Strong executive presence with experience engaging senior partners and board-level stakeholders
• Comfortable leading complex, multi-entity, multi-currency global finance operations
• Deep understanding of partnership financial structures and capital models.

This is a developing role and the job description is not exhaustive and may vary in line with changes in the team's objectives and firm policy.

About Kennedys

Kennedys is a global law firm with expertise in dispute resolution and advisory services. With over 3,000 people in 45 offices across 18 countries around the world we have some of the most respected legal minds in their field.

Our lawyers handle both contentious and non-contentious matters, and provide a range of specialist legal services, for many industry sectors but we have particular expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, especially in defending insurance and liability claims.

We're a fresh-thinking firm, and we're not afraid to bring challenging new perspectives to the table way beyond the traditional realm of legal services. We empower our clients with a diverse range of ideas, tools and technology to make their lives easier, as well as delivering exceptional results, every time.

What do we have to offer?

We welcome high-performing lawyers, business services professionals, secretaries, graduates and apprentices to join our rapidly expanding global firm. Whatever your role at Kennedys, you'll be involved in exciting and stimulating work, where your input will make a difference.

Our culture and values form a big part of who we are and we take them seriously. We make a difference by being approachable, straightforward, supportive, distinctive and ambitious. Our values are at the core of who we are and what make us a great firm to work with and for.

The Firm recognises the value of investing in our people's development and believes our culture and values contribute to the quality of our work and of our client relationships. With a culture of on-the-job and experiential learning, peer to peer learning, mentoring, resources and tools that enable you to drive your career, we can support your development in your current and future roles.  A variety of other opportunities are available including secondments to clients and our global offices.

We strive to celebrate diversity, empower our people and ensure everyone can bring their authentic selves to work.  We've created a culture based on client service, professional excellence, hard work and trust, where diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a key priority.  We recognise that many of our people want to work for an employer that is aligned to their values, which is why we are building an inclusive culture, decarbonising our operations and supporting our people to thrive at work.  Our people are the key to driving this change and helping us to make a difference to our clients, our people and the communities in which we live and work.

Kennedys is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. We expect all employees to be aware of and comply with all relevant policies and procedures within their jurisdiction, including those relating to Information Security, Data Protection and Quality Management, refer any breach promptly to Risk & Compliance and to complete all mandatory training when requested.