CSG is a specialist search and recruitment business operating across six offices in the UK, US, and Australia. We are looking for a Finance Director / CFO to join the business on a permanent basis, reporting directly to the business owner and leading the finance team. The role has three core priorities: ensuring the finance function is fit for purpose and running effectively, covering everything from reporting and compliance through to systems and team management; adding strategic value in decision‑making at group level, acting as a genuine commercial partner to the business owner and board; and ensuring the business is well‑positioned to navigate a transaction and that any transition is managed smoothly. This is a hands‑on role that requires someone comfortable operating at both a strategic and operational level, with the credibility to influence at board level and the attention to detail to keep the engine running underneath it.
Key responsibilities
- Planning & forecasting
- Annual budgeting and quarterly rolling forecasts
- Cashflow forecasting and optimisation
- Banking, treasury, and cost control
- Spend approval governance
- 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 combination of technical rigour, commercial awareness and the interpersonal skills to operate effectively at every level of the business.
- Experience leading a finance function within a B2B service business, ideally in a professional services or recruitment context
- A track record of implementing and improving finance systems, and moving businesses away from spreadsheet-heavy ways of working
- Confidence and credibility in a board environment; someone who will constructively challenge peers and the leadership team where needed, not just report the numbers
- Experience managing or supporting a business through a transaction, whether that is a sale, acquisition, or investment process
- A genuine growth mindset; intellectually curious, always looking to improve, and comfortable in a business that is still evolving
- The drive and ambition to make this role their own, and the passion to be a meaningful part of what CSG builds next
- The ability to commit to the Leeds office a minimum of four days per week
What we're about
CSG is built on four principles: a commitment to excellence in our specialism; a people‑first approach with genuine care for candidates, clients, and colleagues; a drive to deliver with accountability and pace; and a long‑term mindset when it comes to relationships and growth. The right person for this role will be comfortable operating in a business where those things matter in practice, not just on paper.
