Finance Officer

About BrightLocal Behind every search for a café, dentist, plumber or restaurant is a local business working hard to serve its community. BrightLocal is a leading local SEO platform trusted by thousands of agencies, brands, and businesses worldwide. Our tools help track rankings, manage online reputation, audit performance, and turn complex search data into actionable insight — transforming online visibility into real-world growth. We’re a growing SaaS business with a collaborative, ambitious team and a strong focus on innovation, continuous improvement, and doing great work together. About the Role We’re looking for a proactive, tech-savvy Finance Officer to join our Brighton-based team. This is a junior role with broad exposure across finance - ideal for someone building their career who wants to learn how a modern tech finance function really operates. In this role you’ll work across multiple areas - payroll, payables, month-end, reporting, systems, and process improvement - supporting the smooth day-to-day running of finance while developing strong technical foundations. Reporting to the Financial Controller and working closely with the wider finance team, you’ll gain hands-on experience with modern systems, automation initiatives, and month-end processes. If you’re naturally curious, enjoy working with technology, and want to grow your finance expertise (whether studying AAT, ACCA, or planning to), this role offers real development and responsibility from day one. Responsibilities As a key support across the finance function, you’ll be involved in a wide range of activities, including: Supporting monthly UK payroll processing and coordinating with international payroll providers Assisting with employee payroll queries, pensions administration, and payroll-related record keeping Processing supplier invoices, managing payment runs, and resolving invoice queries Supporting customer billing and responding to finance inbox queries Performing bank reconciliations and reconciling credit cards and expenses Assisting with month-end close activities, including balance sheet reconciliations, prepayments, and accruals Supporting VAT return preparation and maintaining accurate financial data in Xero Helping monitor aged payables and receivables, escalating issues where needed Acting as a key user of finance systems, troubleshooting and supporting colleagues Maintaining accurate supplier and customer master data Supporting financial reporting, cash flow monitoring, and budget tracking Assisting with audit preparation and ad-hoc finance projects Identifying opportunities to improve, streamline, and automate processes across the finance function This is a varied role where no two weeks look exactly the same. You’ll gain exposure across the full finance cycle while developing strong technical, analytical, and systems skills. About You You’re organised, detail-oriented, and genuinely enjoy working with systems and data. You’re curious about how things work and you’re motivated to improve them. You’ll likely have: Previous proven experience in a finance, accounts, or payroll role (including, junior positions, internships or placements - Ideally 1 to 2 years+ experience) Experience with - or a strong desire to learn - UK payroll processes Strong Excel or Google Sheets skills (lookups, pivot tables, formulas) Experience with cloud accounting software (Xero preferred, though Sage or QuickBooks experience is transferable) A solid understanding of core accounting principles and reconciliations AAT/ACCA/CIMA studies underway, planned, or a desire to begin with company support You’re proactive, collaborative, and comfortable working to deadlines - particularly around month-end. You communicate clearly with both finance and non-finance colleagues and handle sensitive financial and payroll information with discretion and professionalism. Most importantly, you’re eager to learn and excited to build a long-term career in finance within a modern, tech-enabled business. The Perks (The Important Bit) Salary : Dependent on experience Performance-based bonus : Up to 20% of base salary (10% company performance + 10% team performance) Hybrid working : 2 days per week in our Brighton office (full-time team members) Holiday : 25 days + bank holidays + your birthday off Duvet days : 3 per year Healthcare : Vitality Healthcare Learning & Development : £1,000 annual personal learning budget + support for AAT/ACCA studies + additional development opportunities Our commitment to inclusion At BrightLocal, we believe the best ideas come from diverse perspectives. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a team where everyone feels welcome, supported, and able to do their best work. When people feel they belong, great things happen. We strongly encourage applications from women and underrepresented groups in our industry. If this role excites you, but you do not meet every single requirement, we would still love to hear from you. Research shows that some people are less likely to apply unless they meet 100% of the criteria. Your experience, perspective, and potential matter more than ticking every box. We are open to flexible working arrangements and are happy to make reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. If you need anything to feel comfortable and confident applying, just let us know. We are here to help.