Job Description
6-month interim role starting in February 2026
1. Job title: Interim Commercial Finance Manager – German Speaking
2. Contract: 6 months initially (February 2026 start)
3. Context: SME scale-up, PE-backed / PE-ready
4. Bristol-based role (Hybrid / flexible working available) – with occasional travel abroad
Role purposeThe Interim Commercial Finance Manager will support the leadership team through a critical scale-up phase, improving financial visibility, forecasting accuracy and commercial decision-making. The role is hands-on and delivery-focused, ensuring the business has robust, investor-grade financial insight and is well-prepared for future PE or exit activity. This is a short-term, high-impact role focused on clarity, control and value creation.
Essential skills & experience
5. Qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent)
6. Proven experience in SME scale-ups, PE-backed or fast-growth environments
7. Strong commercial finance / business partnering background
8. Comfortable operating hands-on with limited structure or resource
9. Able to simplify complexity and move quickly without over-engineering
10. Strong stakeholder management skills at leadership level
11. German language skills (written & verbal)
Key responsibilities
12. Commercial partnering & insight
13. Act as the primary finance partner to senior operational and commercial leaders
14. Provide clear, actionable insight into revenue, margins, costs and profitability drivers
15. Support pricing, investment and resource decisions with robust financial analysis
Forecasting, budgeting & planning
16. Own and improve short-term and medium-term forecasting (monthly, quarterly, annual)
17. Reduce forecast volatility and improve confidence in numbers
18. Build or refine simple, scalable models suitable for a growing SME
Management reporting & KPIs
19. Design and deliver concise management reporting packs focused on key value drivers
20. Define and standardise KPIs across revenue, margin, cash and operational performance
21. Ensure consistency between management accounts, forecasts and board reporting
EBITDA quality & cash focus
22. Improve understanding and transparency of EBITDA performance and movements
23. Identify and implement margin improvement and cost control opportunities
24. Support working capital optimisation and cash flow forecasting
Exit readiness / PE hygiene
25. Ensure financial information is well-structured, explainable and diligence-ready
26. Support preparation of financial narratives and data for investors or advisors
27. Improve documentation, assumptions and controls to reduce key-person risk
Interim delivery & handover
28. Deliver tangible improvements within the 6-month period
29. Upskill internal teams where appropriate and leave clear tools, processes and documentation
30. Ensure a smooth handover to permanent or extended finance leadership
What success looks like after 6 months
31. Forecasts are reliable, explainable and trusted
32. Management reporting is concise, consistent and decision-useful
33. Clear visibility of EBITDA drivers and cash performance
34. Leadership is better equipped to make commercial decisions.
35. The business is materially more “investor-ready” than at day one
What you need to do now If you're interested in this role, available in the coming weeks & feel you meet the criteria, reach out to Charles Maidment from Hays Bristol senior finance contracts team. If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career. # 4766150