Financial Controller in Leeds

Financial Controller (Progression to Head of Finance / FD), West Yorkshire, £90k-95K (DOE)

Are you an ambitious Financial Controller looking for a role where your work directly shapes business performance and offers a clear succession path into a Head of Finance role?

An exceptional opportunity has arisen with an established, fast-growing £80m+ turnover manufacturing business. Operating with an entrepreneurial, low-bureaucracy mindset, the organization values practical action, common sense, and fast decision-making over corporate red tape.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the CFO, you will take ownership of the day-to-day finance function while stepping up as a key commercial partner to the Senior Leadership Team.

This is a dynamic position balancing robust financial control with active business improvement. Over an 18-month horizon, the goal is to develop the junior finance team to absorb lower-level accounting duties—freeing up your capacity to drive automation, analyze customer profitability, and collaborate with executive directors on strategic growth and acquisitions.

Key Responsibilities

• Commercial Business Partnering: Partner with operational leaders to evaluate customer profitability, review manufacturing cost structures, and optimize product mix.
• Team Leadership & Development: Lead and mentor a small finance team, actively developing a trainee accountant to take on routine transactional tasks.
• Financial Control & Reporting: Deliver accurate monthly management accounts, rolling forecasts, annual budgets, KPI tracking, and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Process Automation & CI: Drive continuous improvement across systems and reporting—eliminating manual data reprocessing and strengthening internal controls.
• Working Capital & Compliance: Oversee AP/AR performance, cash flow, payroll administration, and statutory compliance (HMRC, Companies House, audit, tax).
• Strategic Projects: Support the CFO, CEO, and Managing Director on M&A, continuous improvement initiatives, and strategic investments.
  

What We Are Looking For

• Qualifications: Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA).
• Experience: Proven experience as a Financial Controller or Senior Finance Manager, within a UK based manufacturing business.
• Commercial Acumen: Strong management accounting and forecasting skills with the ability to influence senior non-finance stakeholders.
• Practical Mindset: Down-to-earth, resilient, and comfortable working hands-on in an owner-managed, fast-paced environment.
• Technical Proficiency: Advanced Excel skills combined with a passion for modernizing financial systems and automating processes.
  

The Type of Person Who Will Succeed

• Practical and down-to-earth.
• Visible around the business rather than office bound.
• Commercially curious.
• Resilient and proactive.
• Builds trusted relationships quickly.
• Challenges constructively and delivers change.
• Balances attention to detail with strategic thinking.

What Success Looks Like After 18m

• Trusted member of the Senior Leadership Team. (involved in improvement and investment decision making process, involved in cost analysis, reviews and discussions, customer profitability discussion from total costs on manufacture to maximise mix)
• Finance team developed with greater delegation to the trainee accountant. (bring him on so that he can pick up a lot of the lower-level accounting work, free up value add time for FC)
• Improved reporting, KPIs and forecasting accuracy. (Automate reporting, KPIs etc where possible, eliminating manual reprocessing of data and spreadsheets where it adds value).
• Streamlined finance processes and strengthened financial controls. (CI - better ways of working where they save time and money, but not for sake of it.)
• Finance recognised as a proactive commercial partner. (Must become part of the team and not be viewed as a service department in the back office).
• Capacity created to support strategic projects with the CFO, CEO and Managing Director. (Get away from the lower value day to day, ensure there is time for values add, if you’re entering JNLs in 12 months it has gone wrong).

Why Apply?

• Clear Career Path: Direct succession route into a broader Head of Finance / lead finance position.
• Agile Culture: Enjoy direct access to decision-makers without corporate friction or unnecessary bureaucracy.
• High-Impact Role: A platform to transition from transactional finance into true strategic leadership and commercial decision-making.
• £80m+ privately owned Yorkshire business.
• Growing through acquisitions and investment.
• Direct access to senior decision makers.
• Opportunity to shape the finance function.
• Genuine career progression.
• Fast-paced, entrepreneurial culture with minimal bureaucracy.

Interested in exploring this opportunity?

Grosvenor Talent is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.We are committed to ensuring that no applicant or employee is treated less favourably on the basis of a protected characteristic as defined under the Equality Act 2010.If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know and we will be happy to support you. Grosvenor Talent operates as both an Employment Agency and Employment Business in accordance with applicable legislation.

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