Finance Director - Product Development in Surrey

b Overview /b p As Finance Director for Product Development, you will act as the senior finance partner to the Product Development leadership team, guiding financial planning, cost intelligence, and performance governance across the end-to-end vehicle portfolio. You will lead a multidisciplinary finance group to safeguard value, support strategic investment, and enable timely, data-driven decisions. Your role shapes product-cost strategy and investment governance in a luxury, high-performance brand context. This is a chance to drive financially disciplined, value-led product plans that balance technology, quality and profitability. /p b Pay / Benefits /b ul li Structured career development framework /li li 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays /li li Enhanced company pension scheme /li li Discretionary annual bonus /li li Private medical insurance and health cash plan /li li Life assurance benefit /li /ul b Responsibilities /b ul li Oversee portfolio financial governance for vehicle-related programmes, ensuring robust business cases aligned with corporate strategy and shareholder value /li li Manage engineering and programme investment including capex, tooling, prototypes, validation and supplier development costs with clear baselines and approvals /li li Improve finance processes and digital reporting to provide timely, traceable data and a single source of truth for programme decisions /li li Provide independent financial assurance at gateways and design reviews, quantifying cost, margin, cash and ROI implications before commitment /li li Maintain financial risk and opportunity management across the portfolio (currency, commodities, obsolescence, changes, delays, warranty) /li li Partner with Product Strategy, Engineering, Design, Programme Management, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Quality, Commercial and Supply Chain to align requirements and secure an executable plan /li li Ensure strong financial controls, accounting treatment, audit evidence and governance for programme expenditure, capitalization and reporting /li /ul b Key requirements /b ul li Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) with substantial post-qualification senior finance leadership experience /li li Extensive automotive product development or capital-intensive manufacturing background; luxury/high-performance automotive preferred /li li Solid understanding of vehicle-development lifecycle, gateways, tooling, prototypes, validation and start-of-production readiness /li li Proven track record in leading multi-year product business cases, investment governance, cost management and ROI analysis /li li Advanced financial modelling, forecasting and management reporting; ability to link technical assumptions to cost and enterprise value /li li Experience with FP A, budgeting, rolling forecasts, scenario modelling and executive performance reporting /li li Strong stakeholder influence with ability to challenge assumptions and present at senior governance forums /li li Knowledge of financial controls, capitalization principles, audit requirements and risk management in a programme-led environment /li li Experience leading multidisciplinary teams across Cost Engineering, Business Planning and FP A /li li Proficiency with ERP and planning/BI tools; experience in improving programme-finance data and reporting /li /ul ul li Influential leadership /li li Strategic thinking and analytical reasoning /li li Clear and assertive communication with executives /li li Advanced financial modelling /li li Scenario analysis and forecasting /li li Management reporting /li /ul