Board Member / Fractional CFO in London

Level: Board level

Reporting to: Ed Whelpton, Co-founder

Location: Flexible, with regular time in London

Day Rate: Competitive, depending on experience

Hours: 1 day a week, flexing up over time

You'll sit alongside the founders and the board, lead our financial strategy, fundraising and coach our Head of Finance. You'll make sure every big decision we take is backed by the numbers, and that the numbers give us the confidence to be bold and brave, to make smart decisions. We need someone who diligently looks after the numbers AND uses them to push us forward.

Who Are We?

We believe that beans are, by every metric, the world’s best food. Bold Bean Co began in 2021 with the mission to make people OBSESSED with beans by giving them THE BEST of beans. Bold Bean Co started in 2021 with one heirloom butter bean, eaten straight from the jar. Five years on, our Queen, Organic and range of baked beans are in 12,000 stores across the UK, including Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Tesco, Ocado, Morrisons, Planet Organic and Whole Foods. Not to forget our wonderful range in independent stores across the country. And this year, we went international! You’ll now find us in Albert Heijn in the Netherlands and Tesco in Ireland, with one more big launch landing before the year is out. We didn’t get here with big budgets. We got here with beans that taste SO MUCH BETTER than anything else on the shelf, and a community of bean champs who can’t stop talking about them. Along the way we’ve become a certified B Corp and picked up the Startups 100 Marketing Award 2026. We’re as much a food media brand as a bean brand, with hundreds of free recipes, two Sunday Times best-selling cookbooks and almost 300,000 combined social media followers coming to us for their daily beanspo. We are a purpose-driven brand, but an ambitious one too, and you’d be joining us at a seriously exciting moment for beans as a whole.

Our Core Values

• BE BOLD: We are autonomous and entrepreneurial. We solve problems, are decisive and pragmatic. We take huge pride in pushing forward and taking risks. We are also decisive about where to focus, and back ourselves to ruthlessly prioritise.
• BE HUNGRY: We are hungry to continuously improve and develop ourselves and our processes and won’t give up or settle for second best. We have a growth mindset and view challenges as opportunities to develop our skills. We always operate out of our comfort zone in the pursuit of growth.
• BE ONE TEAM: We all believe in the same mission, which is bigger than any individual. We are inclusive with one another and bring a lightness, positivity and sense of perspective to challenging days at work.
• BE YOU: We prioritise our own wellbeing and happiness and celebrate our individual strengths and weaknesses, and aren’t afraid to be vulnerable or ask for help. We balance and integrate work and life seamlessly, show up authentically, welcome everyone so there is a strong sense of belonging.

The Opportunity

We are growing quickly, across more markets and with bigger decisions on the table: investing in our supply chain, setting up new entities, and preparing for corporate events, such as investment rounds. We have a strong Finance team in place who run the finance function day to day. What we are missing is someone who has overseen these big moments before, can challenge the board and the founders, and can help our Head of Finance grow into the next role.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategy and the board: Challenge and sharpen our 5 year plan with the founders. Attend board meetings, bringing the CFOs view, challenging on financial matters and being a trusted voice. Push back on the founders and the SLT when the numbers say so. Shape the finance strategy around the business strategy (eg if we need the best quality beans, how can finance make that happen?).
• Investment + JVs: Lead our investment strategy, including JVs into farms and with suppliers, and licensing opportunities. Lead investment rounds. Bring an external network of investors and advisors.
• Corporate Governance: Own board governance, ensure financial integrity and compliance at board level, including statutory, shareholder and company secretarial matters. Own the risk register and lead regular risk and mitigation reviews with the board. Oversee group governance across the UK and Spain, so that decisions, directors and documentation stand up for tax and substance. Make sure our governance, records and structure are up to scratch.
• Coaching and the finance team: Coach our Head of Finance to Finance Director level. Support the finance team with board-level thinking and prep. Help with strategic cover in a crisis, at board level rather than in day-to-day operations.

About You

We see the below as a guide for you to see whether you'd thrive at Bold Bean Co with regard to your strengths in behaviours, experience and passions. Of course you may not tick all the boxes (that's fine) but we'd still love to hear from you if you think you'd be great in our team.

• Behaviours: Challenger: you tell founders and boards what they need to hear, kindly and clearly. Coach: you get your energy from building other people up, rather than doing the work for them. Strategic: you start from the business strategy and build the numbers from there. Values aligned: Our values resonate with you and align with how you want to build. Bold with the numbers: you look after the detail, and you use it to open up opportunities and back brave calls, not just to manage risk.
• Experience: We don't ask for a set number of years in a role. We care about what you have done, not how long it took. Played a significant part in at least one major FMCG corporate event. Senior CFO/COO experience, experience at board level. Experience managing a business operating in different international markets with different entities. Experience of JVs and different investment mechanisms, and the legal side of each. Experience coaching or developing a finance lead. Challenger brand FMCG, including retail investment and marketing.

What You'll Get From Us:

• A seat at the table in a fast-growing, B Corp food brand.
• A great team who will really value your experience.
• A competitive day rate.
• Flexible working around your other commitments.
• Free beans!
• Invites to Workaway trips.

What Does the Recruitment Process Look Like?

We believe in keeping things clear and transparent. This process has five stages:

• Screening Call (30 mins): A short virtual call with our People Director to learn more about you and introduce you to Bold Bean Co.
• First Interview (45 mins): A conversation with our COO and Co-Founder and our Head of Finance to dig into your experience and how you’d approach the role.
• Case Study / Live Scenario: A chance to show us how you think, working through a real-life finance scenario.
• Final Interview (45 mins): A chance to meet our CEO and Co-Founder and a member of our board, to make sure we’re the perfect fit for each other.
• References: We’ll speak to a couple of people you’ve worked with.

Applications close on Wednesday 18th November 2026. This is our process, but if you'd prefer to showcase your skills in a different way, we'd love to accommodate - just let us know! We'll keep you updated every step of the way and aim to make the process as smooth and enjoyable as possible!

Everybody is welcome to apply! We know not everyone is the same (and we wouldn't want them to be). Bold Bean Co welcomes everyone with equal enthusiasm – regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, or veteran status. All united by our common obsession for BEANS.