Finance Drector in Leeds

A specialist search and recruitment group operating across multiple international offices in the UK, US, and Australia is seeking a Finance Director / CFO to join on a permanent basis, reporting directly to the owner and taking full leadership of the finance function.

This is a high-impact leadership role with three clear priorities:

• To ensure the finance function is robust, scalable, and operating at a best-in-class level — covering financial reporting, compliance, controls, systems, and team leadership.
• To act as a strategic partner to the business at group level, providing commercial insight, shaping decision-making, and working closely with the owner and senior leadership team to drive performance and growth.
• To support and prepare the business for a potential transaction, ensuring financial readiness and helping manage any transition process with precision and control.

This is a hands-on, board-level role that demands someone equally comfortable deep in the detail as they are operating at a strategic level. The successful candidate will bring strong technical finance capability, commercial acumen, and the credibility to influence at the highest level, while keeping the operational finance engine running smoothly day to day.

Key responsibilities

• Planning & forecasting
  • Annual budgeting and quarterly rolling forecasts
  • Cashflow forecasting and optimisation
  • Banking, treasury and cost control
• Leadership & management
  • Direct management and development of the finance team
  • Day-to-day finance business partner to the business owner and senior stakeholders
  • Support and guidance to overseas teams across the US and Australia
  • Management of external relationships; lawyers, banking and finance providers, auditors, tax advisers and corporate finance advisers
• Reporting & analysis
  • Management accounts, KPIs and commercial analysis
  • Internal and external reporting
  • Identification of process improvements and sustainable profit optimisation
• Compliance
  • Audit and statutory accounts
  • Tax, company secretarial and internal controls
  • Board meeting preparation
• Systems & infrastructure
  • Ensuring finance systems are fit for purpose and continuously improved
  • Reducing over reliance on spreadsheets through better data collection and system integration
  • Equipping the team with the tools to work as efficiently as possible

What we’re looking for

The successful candidate will bring a rare combination of technical excellence, commercial instinct, and strong interpersonal presence — someone who can operate seamlessly across the detail of finance operations while also stepping confidently into board-level conversations and strategic decision-making.

We are seeking a leader who not only understands the numbers but uses them to influence direction, challenge thinking, and drive performance across the wider business. Specifically, the ideal candidate will bring:

• Proven experience leading a finance function within a fast-paced B2B services environment, ideally within professional services, recruitment, or a similarly people-driven, performance-led sector.
• A strong track record of modernising finance operations, including implementing or significantly improving finance systems, reporting frameworks, and controls — transforming manual, spreadsheet-heavy processes into scalable, efficient, and insight-driven finance functions.
• The confidence, presence, and credibility to operate at board level; someone who does not simply report results but interprets them, challenges assumptions, and contributes meaningfully to strategic discussions with senior stakeholders.
• Direct experience supporting or guiding a business through a transaction lifecycle, whether that be a sale, acquisition, investment round, private equity event, or broader ownership transition, bringing structure, clarity, and commercial insight throughout the process.
• A genuine growth mindset, underpinned by intellectual curiosity and a continuous improvement mentality. This individual will be energised by change, motivated by opportunity, and excited by the prospect of helping shape a business that continues to evolve.
• The ambition and drive to make a lasting impact, taking ownership of the role and helping define the future of the finance function while contributing to the broader strategic success of the organisation.
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage, influence, and collaborate effectively across all levels of the business.
• The ability and willingness to be present and embedded within the organisation, with a commitment to working from the Leeds office a minimum of four days per week to maintain close alignment with leadership and operational teams.

This opportunity is ideally suited to an ambitious Finance Director or CFO who is looking for more than a traditional finance leadership role. It offers the chance to be a key strategic partner to the ownership and leadership team, play an influential role in a potential transaction, and help shape the future of a growing international business during a pivotal stage of its journey.

What we’re about

The business is built on four core principles: excellence in its chosen markets, a people-first culture, accountability and pace in delivery, and a long-term approach to relationships and growth. The successful candidate will be comfortable operating in an environment where these values are embedded in everyday decision-making and play a meaningful role in shaping how the business operates.