Location: Derby
Hours: Full-time, Monday to Friday
Reporting to: CEO
Role Purpose
The Head of Finance will lead the financial management, reporting and commercial analysis for the organisation. This role ensures the business has robust financial controls, accurate reporting, and forward‑looking insight that supports decision‑making, growth and operational performance.
This is both a strategic and hands‑on position, responsible for overseeing day‑to‑day finance operations while contributing directly to long‑term planning and business leadership.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Management & Controls
1. Lead the finance function, ensuring accurate and timely month‑end and year‑end close
2. Maintain strong financial controls, policies and processes
3. Oversee balance sheet integrity, reconciliations and audit readiness
4. Manage treasury, cash flow, banking relationships and working capital cycles
Management Reporting
5. Prepare monthly management accounts with insightful analysis
6. Present financial performance to senior leadership
7. Develop dashboards, KPIs and performance metrics
8. Ensure reporting is consistent, timely and decision‑ready
Budgeting, Forecasting & Planning
9. Lead annual budgeting and quarterly reforecasting
10. Partner with operational leaders to build robust financial plans
11. Provide variance analysis with clear commercial explanations
12. Identify risks, opportunities and financial impacts
Commercial Finance & Business Partnering
13. Support pricing, margin analysis, cost reviews and investment decisions
14. Work with operations, sales and projects to improve financial outcomes
15. Provide financial modelling for business cases, capital spend or new initiatives
Cash Flow & Working Capital
16. Own cash flow forecasting and liquidity management
17. Drive improvements in debtor management, inventory and supplier terms
18. Monitor cash conversion and support funding requirements where needed
Systems, Processes & Continuous Improvement
19. Improve finance systems and reporting tools
20. Strengthen processes to support scalability and growth
21. Lead upgrades or transitions to new accounting/ERP systems
22. Drive automation and efficiency across finance operations
Candidate Profile
Qualifications
23. Fully qualified accountant (ACCA / CIMA / ACA or equivalent)
24. Strong technical grounding in financial and management accounting
Experience
25. Proven experience in a senior finance role, ideally Head of Finance or Finance Manager ready to step up
26. Background within SME environments
27. Experience in manufacturing and engineering
28. Demonstrable ability to lead a finance function end‑to‑end
Robert Half Ltd acts as an employment business for temporary positions and an employment agency for permanent positions. Robert Half is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Suitable candidates with equivalent qualifications and more or less experience can apply. Rates of pay and salary ranges are dependent upon your experience, qualifications and training.