Finance Director - dnata

dnata is more than a global air and travel services provider. We connect people with possibilities and opportunities across 130+ airports in 34 countries through ground handling, cargo, travel, and catering & retail services. Our purpose is clear: to deliver on the promises our customers make. We are powered by a bold vision to be the world’s most admired air and travel services provider, which guides our strategy, culture, and every role across our teams.

Our core values fuel everything we do: we are safe, we play to win, we respect everyone and work together as a team, and we are future thinking. At dnata, we foster diversity, nurture ambition, and celebrate achievement. If you’re inspired by purpose and motivated to be part of a global team shaping the future of aviation and travel, we’d love to have you onboard.

As Finance Director, dnata Travel UK you will play a pivotal role in shaping the financial strategy and performance of Gold Medal Travel. Reporting to the Managing Director, with a dotted line to the VP Business Finance, you will act as a trusted strategic partner to the leadership team, providing commercial insight, robust financial control, and clear governance. You will lead and develop a high‑performing finance function, ensuring strong cash stewardship, accurate financial reporting, and compliance with group, regulatory, and statutory requirements, while supporting sustainable and profitable business growth.

• Act as a strategic and commercial partner to the Managing Director and leadership team, influencing investment decisions, growth strategy, and business priorities.
• Lead the end‑to‑end financial planning cycle, including budgets, forecasts, and long‑range plans, aligned to business objectives.
• Own delivery of EBITDA, PAT, and cash flow targets, providing insightful analysis of performance drivers, risks, and opportunities.
• Oversee accurate, timely, and insightful management reporting, including monthly management accounts, forecasts, variance analysis, KPIs, cash flow reporting, and quarterly balance sheet reporting.
• Ensure a strong financial control environment in line with Group Policy, supporting clean internal and external audits and timely statutory reporting.
• Act as the primary interface with Group Finance, internal and external auditors, and regulatory bodies, including ownership of the CAA relationship and ATOL licence requirements.
• Maintain balance sheet integrity, regulatory, legal, tax, and HMRC compliance, including Senior Accounting Officer (SAO) sign‑off responsibilities.
• Lead treasury, cash flow forecasting, liquidity management, working capital optimisation, and banking relationships.
• Identify and mitigate financial risks, including liquidity, credit, and foreign exchange exposure.
• Lead delivery of an efficient Finance function, overseeing end‑to‑end Order‑to‑Cash (O2C) and Procure‑to‑Pay (P2P) processes.
• Drive standardisation, automation, and continuous improvement across finance operations and systems.
• Own the Finance systems strategy, ensuring effective use, development, and governance of ERP and reporting tools.
• Lead Finance input into wider business transformation initiatives.
• Set clear objectives, develop talent, and build a high‑performance, accountable, and collaborative finance culture.

• Professional accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent).
• Significant post‑qualified experience, including proven success in a senior Finance leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience leading multi‑functional Finance teams.
• Strong background in financial control, reporting, FP&A, and cash management.
• Experience operating at senior leadership level, with exposure to board‑level engagement.
• Experience working within a large, complex, global matrix organisation and shared services environment.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to translate financial data into clear business insight.
• Proven stakeholder management and influencing capability across senior leaders and corporate teams.

• Experience with in the travel, aviation, or broader services sector.
• Prior responsibility for regulatory engagement and statutory licensing environments.
• Experience leading finance transformation, automation, or ERP enhancement programmes.
• A track record of improving profit‑to‑cash conversion and capital efficiency.

Join our growing team and enjoy a competitive remuneration package. Find out more about working with us on our website