Director, Finance Operations in London

The Director, Finance Operations is a senior leadership role responsible for designing, running, and continuously improving the finance operating model across Europe. Acting as the execution engine for CFO Europe priorities, this role brings structure, pace, and discipline to how the Europe Finance Leadership Team operates — ensuring priorities are translated into action, decisions are made effectively, and cross-functional outcomes are delivered at scale. You will own the mechanics, cadence, and follow-through that enable Europe Finance to operate consistently across clusters and functions.

Finance Operating Model & Leadership Cadence

• Design, run, and evolve the operating rhythm for Europe Finance, ensuring leadership forums and business reviews are focused, consistent, and action-oriented.
• Own Europe Finance leadership forums end to end — including agenda design, inputs, decisions, actions, and follow-through.
• Standardize how priorities, risks, and performance are reviewed across clusters and functions.
• Ensure planning, forecasting, and business performance reviews are delivered consistently and on time.
• Create and maintain core operating tools, including calendars, standard agendas, dashboards, action trackers, and decision logs.

Initiative & Portfolio Execution

• Translate strategic priorities into clear execution plans with milestones, owners, dependencies, and outcomes.
• Introduce and drive Finance BIG Rocks, ensuring focus on the most critical priorities.
• Manage risks, trade-offs, and interlocks across finance and partner teams.
• Escalate issues early and drive them through to resolution.
• Maintain roadmaps, status updates, dependency trackers, and delivery reporting.
• Ensure rapid progress, clear ownership, and timely delivery against committed outcomes.

Executive Materials & Decision Readiness

• Develop leadership decks, written briefs, and decision papers.
• Integrate inputs from multiple finance functions into a single, coherent executive view.
• Ensure materials clearly articulate:
• Decisions required
• Options and trade-offs
• Risks and implications
• Actions and owners

Performance, Transparency & Follow-Through

• Track CFO Europe priorities and key initiatives.
• Maintain visibility of risks, issues, decisions, and actions.
• Ensure follow-through is sustained across the organization.
• Provide clear dashboards, risk logs, and decision/action tracking to support leadership visibility and accountability.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Convene leaders, align stakeholders, and request the inputs needed to move work forward.
• Manage dependencies and reduce handoff friction.
• Enable progress across organizational boundaries.
• Build strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means Europe Finance operates with greater clarity, consistency, and execution discipline.

You Will Be Successful When

• Finance leadership forums are focused, efficient, and decision-driven.
• Priority initiatives are delivered on time with fewer escalations.
• Executive materials consistently raise the bar on clarity, rigor, and decision readiness.
• Leaders have clear visibility of priorities, risks, commitments, and follow-through.
• Cross-functional execution is smoother, faster, and less dependent on escalation.
• The finance organization operates with less friction and greater consistency across Europe.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of 3 days in the office.

Qualifications

• Experience in finance, strategy, or operating roles within a complex, matrixed organization.
• Strong exposure to performance management, planning cycles, or executive governance.
• Experience in payments, financial services, or high-growth environments (preferred).
• Proven ability to drive cross-functional initiatives at speed and scale.
• Prior experience working with or close to senior executives.
• Excellent synthesis and executive-level communication skills.
• Strong judgment and ability to operate independently in ambiguous environments.
• High processing speed and intellectual agility – able to quickly absorb complexity, cut through noise, and identify what matters.
• Execution intensity – strong bias to action, with relentless focus on delivery and closure.
• Structured thinking under pressure – able to operate at pace without losing clarity or rigor.
• Judgment & prioritisation – understands trade-offs and focuses on highest-value outcomes.
• Influence without authority – able to drive alignment across senior stakeholders.
• Resilience and stamina – thrives in a high-demand, high-visibility environment.