Head of Finance | High-Growth Consumer Brand | London / Hybrid

Head of Finance | High-Growth Consumer Brand | London / Hybrid

The Client

Harmonic are delighted to be partnering with a high-growth consumer brand on the search for their first in-house Head of Finance. Selling to trade and direct customers across the UK, Europe and North America, the business is a close-knit team with a warm, sociable culture.

Founder-led and growing fast, the business grew by 40% last year and will turn over around £4m this year, with a target of £5.5-6m next year and a clear ambition to reach £10m within three years. New product launches, a second brand coming shortly and a recently built senior team across operations, sales and people are all driving that growth. Finance is the next piece.

The Role

Reporting to the founders, you will bring finance fully in-house and own it end to end across UK, US and EU entities, covering reporting, budgeting and forecasting, cash, payroll, tax, intercompany and stock. Transactional bookkeeping stays with an outsourced provider, so the focus is on control, insight and building a best-in-class function that can carry the business from £4m to £10m.

Just as important is the advisory side. You will be a true sounding board to the founders and senior team on pricing, investment, growth and risk, with the confidence to challenge and the ability to make finance something the whole business values. There is a clear path to Finance Director based on performance.

Responsibilities

• Act as a strategic adviser to the founders and leadership team, shaping decisions on pricing, investment, new markets and growth
• Build and lead a best-in-class finance function, defining the structure, systems and people needed to scale from £4m to £10m
• Own the budget, reforecasts and longer-term financial planning that underpin the growth plan
• Own the group cashflow forecast, partnering with heads of department to flag risks and opportunities early
• Drive commercial insight on margin and profitability by product, channel and territory, including the impact of raw material costs, currency and freight
• Deliver monthly management accounts across all entities and both brands, with clear commentary the leadership team can act on
• Lead the international finance agenda across UK, US and EU entities, including intercompany, transfer pricing, US tax, VAT and oversight of overseas accountants
• Own stock accounting, including valuation, goods in transit and landed costs, working closely with the Head of Operations
• Strengthen financial controls, own payroll, and manage the outsourced bookkeeping provider to clear standards

Essential Experience

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA)
• Background in a stock, consumer, lifestyle, food, beverage, luxury goods, interiors, fashion or product led brand
• Head of Finance, Financial Controller or similar in an SME or scale-up, owning finance end to end
• Hands-on stock and inventory accounting
• International, multi-entity experience, including intercompany and transfer pricing
• The confidence to challenge founders and explain the numbers clearly to non-finance people

Desirable Experience

• Experience of a business through a period of rapid growth
• Strong Xero experience
• Exposure to US tax and EU VAT on cross-border goods

Package

Salary: £90,000 - £110,000 + bonus and benefits
Location: West London (hybrid, 2-3 days in the office)
Start Date: Flexible

At Harmonic, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. We actively welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and assure you that every candidate will be thoughtfully considered for the roles we represent, without regard to race, religion, gender expression, disability, or sexual orientation.