Finance Director

Kitchen/Bathroom/Bedroom Supplier
c£100-125,000 plus bonus and package


This is an amazing opportunity to join one of the UK’s leading Home Improvement/Kitchen/Bathroom suppliers, a highly entrepreneurial group currently seeing significant growth. A career-defining chance for a senior sales professional to take a seat on the board and take their career to the ultimate level.

Reporting to the CEO and the board as a whole of this Private Equity Backed group, this is an exciting opportunity for a highly ambitious professional to take on a critical role within this impressive business.

The business has enjoyed years of great success on a national scale. Their product range and constantly developing routes/channels to market has seen unprecedented growth and seen them morph into a true market leader.

In recent years their success and growth has accelerated and led to a Management Buy Out, backed by one of the countries most respected and high-profile Private Equity houses. Having built and solidified the foundations of this business, the board now seek to guide the business through its next exciting phase, providing the expectation for far greater success and growth to come.

A key element to that growth, strategic vision, entrepreneurial drive and market positioning is the recruitment of a highly commercial Finance Director.

The role as Finance Director is an outstanding opportunity to not only take a key role in an exciting, market defining business, but one that offers the chance to lead a critical central-function right at the heart of the business’s performance.

The Finance Director assumes overall control and accountability for all financial aspects of company strategy and delivery, taking responsibility for the planning, implementation and control of all financial related activities for the business.

They will be fully accountable for all financial activity and tracking of the company strategy including communication and delivery for both finance and non-finance professionals, as well as input on acquisitions, investment appraisals, commercial initiatives, and the delivery of the broader strategy to deliver ongoing stated organic growth, and as part of the senior leadership team the FD is expected to demonstrate both a strategic and an operational mindset.

They will lead the finance function through an established team, the coaching, development and mentoring of whom will be of key importance, through the provision of learning and training opportunities that support development, retention and refinement of necessary skills, knowledge and expertise.

They will promote commercial understanding and develop initiatives to positively impact financial and commercial performance, and will seek to re-engineer existing practices to eliminate low or no value activities, ensuring efficient work flows.

This is a strategic leadership role, not just financial management. This is a very fast-paced, high-change, customer focused business. Responding to that pace and focus and driving it, is a critical function of the Finance Function. The Finance Director will provide dynamic leadership to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness of all processes, refining and re-designing where necessary; crucially whilst seeking to gain commercial advantage.

Understanding and successfully managing the finance function will be vital for the long-term success of both the role and the business – not only in helping to ensure the business continues on it’s commercial trajectory, but also to ensure the values, mission and vision of the organisation as it continues to be at the forefront of decision-making and strategy, along with resolute customer service and satisfaction. Strategic and operational intelligence will be critical, as will a natural solution finding demeanour.

Maximising the Financial and Commercial performance of the business will be the primary task for the Finance Director, driving the best route to high growth and continued success.

Team development, leadership and inspiration are critical aspects of this role. Quality of the human resource, and overall staff retention is high across the group through operational, strategic and above all, personal leadership input and direction. The business has a strong ‘team’ ethos and culture, and is known as a very employee engaged business. This role will be critical to that reputation as the business continues to grow.

The Finance Director will be one of the most influential people, and personalities within the business.

Responsibilities

• Transform financial data into commercial insights that support the CEO and Senior Leadership Team in making commercial decisions that will delivery of the Company Strategy
• Oversee the administrative, financial and risk management of the operation
• Provide the in-house expertise on treasury, insurance, duty and tax legislation and compliance
• Operate as company secretary
• Overall accountability for the provision of the payroll and benefits package, including the pension provision
• Ensure total compliance with all relevant UK legislation
• Management of the property portfolio and business leases
• Work in partnership with the Senior Leadership Team to objectively evaluate investment projects across all functions, ensuring clear objectives, performance measurements and ROI
• Work in partnership with Sales and Marketing to create a robust forecasting process that delivers accurate monthly, quarterly and annual financial predictions
• Embed processes and protocols that drive first class cost controls across all the European business units
• Recruit, lead and develop a highly skilled, engaged and commercially focused team that is recognised as a centre of commercial excellence by the internal customers it serves

The Person

This is a high-profile leadership position as the Director responsible for the business’s Financial and Commercial performance. The appointee will have a proven Finance Leadership (FD) background within a relevant PE-backed Manufacturing/Supply business, leading a dynamic, entrepreneurial and commercial finance function. They will have experience on sitting on a strategic leadership team.

The appointee will already possess ‘Corporate’ experience, and as a component of that know what good structure, robust processes and sound financial rigueur looks like, but they will also have had exposure to smaller, more lithe organisations, bringing in the broader commerciality of a smaller business and operating in an entrepreneurial environment.

He/she will possess excellent interpersonal skills, be adept at mixing strategic planning & direction whilst retaining a hands-on capability, possessing strong process management abilities, and be a robust decision-maker and a ‘finisher’. The role involves providing strategic and operational leadership as well as practical support not only to the Commercial and Finance functions, but also to the business as a whole.

The successful candidate will have strong influencing skills and be able to put across his or her ideas and views clearly to both peers, team members and the fellow members of the Leadership Team. In addition, he/she will have strong communication skills and be capable of liaising with a broad cross-section of departments, skillsets and capability levels to discuss all financial matters, particularly to assist the compilation of, and adherence to budgets.

The appointee will exude enthusiasm and demonstrate an outstanding work ethic – this is a culture where hard work is expected, celebrated and rewarded. This is not a 9-to-5 job. They will be constantly questioning those above and below them, but more importantly, constantly questioning (and challenging) themselves….

…..but the appointee will have gravitas. It will be immediately obvious to all around them why they have been selected and appointed. They will have the behavioural and technical skills to earn and retain respect.

Alongside their astute leadership capabilities, they will be an ‘action’ style manager. Their attention to detail will be second to none, and will be contagious. They will never see themselves as ‘too big’ for any task within the department, and will gain huge satisfaction from developing the team in every regard, form and function.

Person Spec:

• Director level team leadership exposure within a Commercial Finance Function
• Professionally qualified (ACA, ACMA or ACCA) with significant financial and team management experience, including coaching and development, minimum of 3 years as Finance Director.
• Ability to explain financial controls and management to non-finance colleagues
• Exceptional team player with proven ability to lead through influence
• A strategic thinker and able to communicate effectively (both written and verbal).
• Adept at balancing intense short-term pressures with overall long-term goals.
• Experience presenting to and working with other senior management team members.
• Natural control orientation but with the ability to judge risk profile against commercial opportunity
• Strong executive presence, polish and commercially savvy.
• Experience at mentoring and personal development.
• Demonstrable ability to understand and simply communicate complex concepts in a compelling, concise, and creative way.
• Measured, but fun and dynamic in their management style, instilling a co-operative, high-energy, motivated team-oriented culture.

Competencies/Behaviours:

• Operates within the entrepreneurial leadership framework and role models leadership behaviours
• First-class commercial acumen and a real change agent.
• Strategic thinker who challenges conventional thinking and brings new commercial ideas and concepts to the table
• Strong influencer, able to actively listen, evaluate and influence a course of action that is right for the whole business
• Expert relationship builder who has the confidence, courage and conviction to confront reality, challenge others and right wrongs
• Proven track record in a strategic leadership role
• Experience of delivering excellent results through leading and influencing a matrixed/remote team

Personal Characteristics:

• The ideal candidate will already have a reputation and track record of success as an exemplary Finance Director.
• Bright, dynamic, and possessing superior verbal and written communication skills, the successful candidate will have the engaging personality to inspire and create excitement with their team, as well as across the entire organisation.
• The successful candidate will also be strategic and innovative with an external awareness to understand the nuances of complex processes and procedures within a regulated environment.
• Utilising a highly solution based, consultative style; Be experienced in teaching and developing their team(s) to identify and define business needs and develop innovative solutions.
• They will be a tireless, high-energy professional with an entrepreneurial flair and will possess a brand of confidence, which allows for delegation and empowerment to his/her team.
• He/she will be a team player that has experienced a broad-reaching but largely non-hierarchical structure.
• The individual must have demonstrated an ability to achieve or exceed his/her objectives while working in concert with other managers/directors. He/she must possess excellent interpersonal skills, the highest level of integrity, and be able to inspire trust and confidence.
• Finally, this executive must have a level of business maturity, flexibility and the instincts to adapt to a young, exciting, high-energy, dynamic environment characterised by high growth expectations and a collaborative culture…..and have a sense of humour and fun at all times.

For further information and to formally apply, please email gary@garychaplin.com including your CV and current remuneration.

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