Salary - £100,000 - £120,000 + car, bonus, comprehensive package
We are delighted to be exclusively partnering our new client, a large International business as they look to appoint a Head of Finance/UK Finance Director in a newly created role. Reporting to the CFO and working closely with SLT, The Head Of Finance is responsible for the financial management, operational performance insight, and cost discipline across the UK.
The role provides financial leadership to operational management, ensuring that performance is clearly understood, key drivers are actively managed, and financial accountability is embedded across the business.
Working closely with the Head of Commercial Finance, Head of FP&A and the Financial Controller, the role ensures operational performance management, commercial strategy, financial planning, and financial control frameworks are aligned to support effective decision‑making across the business.
The role also provides leadership oversight of the UK procurement function, ensuring effective cost management and supplier governance across the operating platform.
In addition, the role plays an important part in developing the next generation of finance leaders, providing development opportunities across operational finance, business partnering, and commercial exposure within the finance team. Given its breadth of responsibility and exposure to the operational and financial management of the business, the role also provides a number of potential development pathways over time.
Core responsibilities
Financial Performance Management
- Lead financial performance management across UK operations.
- Ensure operational performance is clearly understood through robust financial and operational MI.
- Identify key drivers of profitability and support initiatives to improve financial performance.
- Prepare high quality reports and presentations for the CFO and other Directors, translating financial data into actionable insights. These will need to be prepared for both internal and external review meetings.
Finance Business Partnering
- Lead the operational finance and finance business partnering teams supporting UK operations.
- Provide financial challenge and insight to operational leadership.
- Embed strong financial accountability across operational management.
Procurement Oversight
- Provide leadership oversight of the UK procurement function.
- Ensure disciplined cost management, effective supplier engagement, and appropriate procurement governance.
- Support initiatives that improve cost efficiency and operational resilience.
Planning & Forecasting
- Lead the annual business planning process and rolling forecasts to support business growth, providing insight and challenge.
- Work with the Operations Directors to ensure operational assumptions underpin budgets, forecasts, and strategic plans.
Commercial Alignment
- Work closely with Commercial Finance to ensure operational performance management aligns with commercial strategy and margin management.
Capital & Investment
- Provide financial oversight of operational investments including site developments, equipment investment, and improvement initiatives.
- Ensure disciplined financial appraisal and capital allocation.
- Own the standard financial appraisal model and ensure its consistent application across the organisation. Continuously review and enhance the model where necessary.
- In collaboration with Group Treasury, selectively utilise financial leasing as a tool to finance new equipment.
Skills, Experience & Requirements
Experience
- At least 10–15 years’ experience in relevant finance roles, preferably within a larger business, with a strong understanding of the dynamics of a complex business.
- Significant finance leadership experience within a large, operational or multi-site business environment.
- Strong background in operational finance, finance business partnering or commercial finance.
- Experience supporting operational leadership teams and influencing performance outcomes.
- Proven ability to lead and develop high‑performing finance teams.
- Experience contributing to strategic decision‑making, investment appraisal, and performance improvement initiatives.
Skills
- Strong commercial and financial acumen with the ability to translate operational activity into financial outcomes.
- Excellent analytical capability and the ability to identify key performance drivers.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively across operational and commercial leadership teams.
- Ability to communicate complex financial information clearly and succinctly.
- High standards of financial governance, control and professional integrity.
This position is best suited to candidates who can demonstrate a history of sustained tenure and long‑term commitment in their previous roles. Frequent job changes within the past five years may affect a candidate's suitability for this position.
