Head of Finance

About the Company

Our client is a long-established UK SME manufacturing and engineering business operating in a specialist industrial sector. With decades of heritage and a strong reputation for well-engineered, high-quality products that offer genuine value for money, the business is regarded as one of the go-to names within its niche. All design, manufacture and assembly are carried out in-house, giving the company full control over quality, lead times and bespoke customer requirements.

Now backed by a long-term investment group, the business is entering a significant period of transition. Founder-led operations are gradually being replaced with more structured, data-led ways of working, supported by major investment in systems, processes and leadership capability.

This Head of Finance role is a senior, hands‑on, leadership position at the heart of the business operating as number 1 in Finance deputising the MD. The role exists to bring clarity, control and commercial discipline to an organisation that has historically relied on experience and intuition rather than robust financial insight. With outdated systems being replaced and a full ERP implementation about to begin, the successful candidate will take ownership of finance end‑to‑end.

From core financial control where robust management information needs to be built, through to costing, pricing, procurement and commercial performance.

A critical element of the role will be working in close partnership with the Operations Director, who brings deep technical and operational expertise but limited exposure to working alongside a finance leader. The Head of Finance will play a key role in building this capability, embedding commercial thinking into operational decision‑making. This is not a corporate finance role. It suits someone who enjoys rolling their sleeves up, building structure where little exists, getting ‘stuck in’ to the detail and leading a business through meaningful and significant change.

• Qualified finance professional (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or QBE with strong manufacturing experience)
• Significant experience in a manufacturing or engineered environment
• Hands‑on exposure to inventory, WIP, project costing and margin analysis
• Experience leading or heavily involved in systems or ERP change
• Strong commercial mindset with the confidence to challenge operational decisions
• Ability to work effectively in a traditional, operationally led environment
• Calm, resilient and credible leadership style with a low‑ego approach and coaching mindset.

Salary for this position is negotiable between £80,000 and £100,000 with a discretionary but significant bonus based on performance along with all other usual benefits to be discussed.

More importantly, it offers the opportunity to step into a genuinely pivotal role within a business at a major point of its journey. The successful candidate will shape how the company measures performance, prices work, controls cost and manages risk, while playing a central role in the leadership transition and long‑term future of the organisation.

A detailed and thorough Job Details document will be provided following role discussion.

• Director

• Full-time

• Finance
• Manufacturing