Finance Manager

Help shape the future of a growing, dynamic business.

Alchem Partners is excited to be partnered with a growing, flexible and privately owned chemical business with a well established market position and a consistent record of profitable growth.

We are seeking to appoint an experienced and hands on Finance Manager to lead the finance function and act as the Managing Director's financial and commercial advisor.

This is a broad role for a commercially minded finance professional who enjoys the variety and breadth of working within a privately owned SME. The successful candidate will provide financial leadership, commercial insight and constructively challenge, whilst ensuring robust financial control, improvement of existing processes and the leading and development of the existing finance team.

• Support business-wide financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting alongside ethe Managing Director.
• Provide commercial insight to drive pricing, margin, and profitability decisions.
• Oversee compliance, audit preparation, and financial governance.
• Enhance reporting systems, dashboards, and KPIs for better decision-making.
• Manage and develop the finance team to achieve operational excellence.
• Commercial and financial reporting, including variance analysis against budget and prior year.
• Cash flow, treasury and working capital management, including oversight of receivables, payables and inventory performance.

• Qualified Accountant with a recognised UK Accountancy Body (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent).

• Strong understanding of financial regulations, systems, and processes.
• Proven finance leadership experience in an SME environment, ideally in chemical manufacturing, food production, agriculture, or similarly fast-paced sectors.
• Proven expertise in management accounting, including budgeting, forecasting, board-level reporting, margin analysis, and financial modelling.
• Skilled in stakeholder management, including auditors, banks, HMRC, and external advisers.
• Proficient in finance systems with advanced Excel, Dynamics and other systems skills.
• A hands-on leader with a 'doer' approach.
• Excellent leadership, influencing, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong organisational skills, with the capacity to manage multiple priorities under pressure.
• Tenacity, drive, and determination to deliver results.
• Willingness to challenge established processes and drive change.
• Confident communicator, able to engage effectively at all levels of the organisation.

In return our client is offering c £60,000 - £70,000pa, company car, bonus and benefits, flexible and hybrid working.