Financial Director in London

Are you an experienced Finance Director with a strong background in international finance, strategic business partnering and multi-entity financial leadership? This is a senior leadership opportunity to lead the finance function across London and Paris, acting as a key advisor to the CEO and Group CFO while driving financial performance, governance and business growth across an international organisation. Reporting directly into executive leadership, you'll combine hands-on financial management with strategic commercial insight, helping shape business decisions at the highest level.

About the role

As Finance Director, you will oversee all aspects of financial management, reporting, forecasting and compliance across multiple international entities. You will play a pivotal role in guiding strategic decision-making, supporting business expansion and ensuring robust financial governance. This role requires both strategic vision and operational execution. You'll lead international finance teams, partner with executive stakeholders and build financial frameworks that enable sustainable growth and profitability.

What you'll be doing

• Financial Leadership & Reporting
  • Deliver monthly financial reporting across UK and international entities, including:
  • Profit & Loss statements
  • Balance Sheets
  • Cash Flow reporting
  • Consolidated group reporting
  • Perform detailed variance analysis against budgets, forecasts and prior periods.
  • Provide executive-level reporting and financial insights to senior leadership and parent company stakeholders.
  • Drive financial transparency and data-driven decision-making throughout the organisation.
• Strategic Business Partnering
  • Partner closely with the CEO, Board members and executive leadership team.
  • Develop financial models that support strategic planning and business growth.
  • Build scenario analyses and forecasts to support investment and operational decisions.
  • Support pricing strategy development and project profitability analysis.
  • Advise on financial performance across key business initiatives and projects.
  • Provide commercial insights that improve business scalability and operational efficiency.
• International Finance & Compliance
  • Lead finance operations across multiple jurisdictions.
  • Manage management reporting and statutory reporting requirements.
  • Oversee quarterly reviews and regulatory reporting obligations.
  • Coordinate annual audits and manage external audit relationships.
  • Ensure compliance with taxation, accounting and corporate governance requirements.
  • Manage banking relationships and financial service providers.
• Team Leadership
  • Lead and develop international finance teams across multiple locations.
  • Manage distributed and cross-functional finance resources.
  • Establish clear reporting structures, processes and performance expectations.
  • Drive continuous improvement across finance systems and workflows.
  • Build a high-performance finance function capable of supporting future business growth.
• Financial Planning & Controls
  • Support annual budgeting and forecasting processes.
  • Monitor company performance against strategic objectives.
  • Strengthen internal financial controls and governance frameworks.
  • Support tax planning, incentives and R&D-related financial opportunities.
  • Ensure financial risks are proactively identified and managed.

What we're looking for

• Experience
  • 8–10 years of senior finance leadership experience.
  • Previous experience as a Finance Director, Head of Finance or Senior Financial Controller.
  • Experience managing international finance functions and multiple entities.
  • Track record operating within growth-stage or project-based businesses.
  • Experience partnering directly with executive leadership teams and boards.
• Qualifications
  • ACCA or ICAEW qualified.
  • Strong technical accounting expertise and statutory reporting knowledge.
• Skills
  • Advanced financial modelling and forecasting capabilities.
  • Strong commercial and strategic business acumen.
  • Experience with multi-entity consolidations and international accounting requirements.
  • Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
  • Strong leadership experience managing distributed teams.
  • Ability to translate complex financial information into actionable business recommendations.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Nice to have
  • Experience within VFX, creative, technology or project-based industries.
  • Familiarity with Indian listed-company reporting requirements.
  • Experience working with international parent-company structures.
  • Knowledge of international tax incentives and R&D relief programmes.

Working style / behaviours

• Commercially minded and strategically focused.
• Hands-on leader who is comfortable operating at both detailed and executive levels.
• Trusted advisor with strong business partnering skills.
• Highly organised and able to navigate complex international environments.
• Collaborative and influential across multiple stakeholder groups.
• Results-oriented with a strong ownership mentality.

Why join?

• Executive-level role with direct exposure to the CEO and Group CFO.
• Opportunity to shape financial strategy across international operations.
• Lead and build high-performing finance teams across multiple countries.
• Significant influence on business growth and strategic decision-making.
• Exposure to international markets, projects and stakeholders.
• Opportunity to drive meaningful operational and commercial impact.

Location: London & Paris

Employment Type: Full-time

Salary Range: 90,000 - 120,000 GBP per annum

If you're a senior finance leader who combines strong technical expertise with commercial insight and international leadership experience, we'd love to hear from you. Apply now or email Joe McKernan - jm@skillsearch.com

Years of experience and salary levels are shown purely as a guide. We will only consider applications from candidates that can demonstrate the skills or experience required for the role. Please be aware that while we would love to respond to every application we receive, due to high numbers we cannot guarantee this. We do however appreciate any time you invest into the application and will make sure to get in touch should anything in future more closely fit your skillset.