Finance Director

Job Description

Our client, a leading, fast-paced, and private equity-backed, European service provider, is seeking to appoint a Finance Director for its continuously expanding UK region. The company’s UK head office is in Felixstowe but the role foresees a hybrid model including the possibility to work remotely.

Finance Director UK & Ireland, Felixstowe, UK, Remote/Hybrid working

Reporting to the Group CFO in the Netherlands, as Finance Director you are accountable for the UK & Ireland Finance department.  The company considers both regions to be one of its major growth markets and actively expanding its presence organically and via M&A. The main challenge for the future UK FD will be the integration of the current companies from a finance perspective, including setting up supporting processes, and procedures as well as one consolidated system across the UK. Given the PE environment, it is of the utmost importance that financial processes operate smoothly, within tight timelines and are of superior quality. At the same time, a unified and high performing UK finance team needs to be formed from the various (past and future) acquisitions that currently comprise our client’s UK & Irish business.

When new acquisitions take place, the UK FD will be part of the deal team responsible for the acquisition process.  Once acquired, the UK FD will be accountable for the financial part of the integration.

Key aspects of this appointment

With the current expansion taking place across Europe and the UK, the UK FD will find him/herself in an exciting international environment whereby strict finance guidelines to report into the head office in the Netherlands are to be adhered to, whilst at the same time building the UK Finance Team and setting up all the groundwork still (people, processes, systems).  Given the essential nature of this role, a cultural fit with the UK team and the Group Finance team is paramount.

The candidate:

The ideal candidate will be an experienced strategic individual with sound technical skills, analytical ability, good judgement and an ability & willingness to drill down into the operational details of the business.

We are seeking an individual with operational and commercial finance experience, who understands what it means to set-up and integrate a new finance department and who is a credible leader with outstanding interpersonal skills.

Duties of the Finance Director:

• Set-up & run an efficient and well-structured UK Finance department from a people, process and systems perspective
• Accountable for all aspects of running the UK Finance department, including but not limited to:
  • Reporting cycle including ad-hoc reporting when demanded
  • Budgeting process
  • Financial & Business Control incl. performance measurements & analytics
  • Optimizing liquidity and cash management
  • Tax compliance
  • Accounting of all business transactions and managing internal & external stakeholders

Integrate the current UK finance teams into one team, supported by standardised, to be set-up, systems and processes (which support the Group process within the requested timelines and of the required quality)

• Responsible to drive M&A processes from a UK finance perspective and, if successful, integrate the newly acquired companies within UK finance team (people, process, systems)

Requirements;

• Minimum 10 years’ experience as end responsible for the Finance department, preferably in a strongly growing, high demanding and dynamic environment
• Experience of working with or within a private equity setting
• In-depth knowledge of financial accounting & business controlling
• Knowledge of tax processes and requirements
• Experience setting-up and integrating a UK finance department (M&A)
• Intellectual ability to critically review business results and future acquisitions

Personal characteristics;

• Flexible with ability to (re-)prioritize in a constantly evolving & strongly growing environment
• Driven by a desire to continuously improve and reach higher levels of standardization
• Cross-cultural influencing capabilities
• Great communication skills, naturally choosing for full transparency
• Entrepreneurial approach, willing to do the work and deep-dive as needed
• Charismatic leader with high levels of energy, coaching & empowering others to higher levels of success
• Passionate, hard-working, decisive with proper attention to detail, yet also a strategic thinker, leading the department towards the best performing Finance department of the Group
• Down to earth, stress-immune and with a good sense of humour 

If you are interested in applying for this Finance Director role, please register your interest using the link below. Alternatively, please send your CV to jenny.callum@emearecruitment.com or for a confidential conversation please call Jenny Callum in our Amsterdam office on +31 20 241 73 60