Finance Director - Product Development

As the Finance Director of Product Development, you are the senior finance partner to the Product Development leadership team. The team leads the Product Development finance organisation, with responsibilities for product-related business planning and control, cost engineering, billing of material and product-related capital expenditure. The role provides integrated financial and commercial leadership across the end‑to‑end vehicle portfolio, from product concept and business‑case approval through vehicle concept, engineering development, industrialisation and launch phases.

You will own the financial planning, product‑cost intelligence and performance framework required to safeguard value, govern programme investment and support timely decisions. Through leadership of a multidisciplinary team, it enables informed decisions that protect the distinctive performance, technology, craftsmanship and quality expected of a luxury, high‑performance automotive brand while delivering sustainable returns.

Lead the financial evaluation and governance of the product portfolio including the programme financials, ensuring vehicle, derivative, platform, powertrain and technology business cases are robust, comparable and aligned with corporate strategy, brand positioning and shareholder value. Own financial oversight of engineering and programme investment, including capital and revenue expenditure, tooling, prototype, validation and supplier‑development costs; maintain clear baselines, forecasts, contingencies and delegated approvals.

Improve finance processes, models and digital reporting so that programme decisions are based on timely, consistent and traceable data with clear ownership and a single source of truth. Provide independent financial assurance at programme gateways and design reviews; quantify the cost, margin, cash and return implications of scope, specification, timing and technical trade‑offs before commitment. Maintain disciplined financial risk and opportunity management across the portfolio, including supplier exposure, foreign exchange, commodity movements, obsolescence, late engineering change, launch delay and warranty risk.

Partner with Product Strategy, Engineering, Design, Programme Management, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Quality, Commercial and Supply Chain to resolve competing requirements and secure an executable, value‑led product plan. Ensure strong financial controls, accounting treatment, audit evidence and governance for programme expenditure, capitalisation, supplier commitments and product‑cost reporting.

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) with substantial post‑qualification experience in senior finance leadership.
• Significant experience in automotive product development, advanced engineering, technology or another complex, capital‑intensive manufacturing environment; luxury or high‑performance automotive experience is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of the vehicle‑development lifecycle, programme gateways, engineering change, tooling, prototypes, validation, supplier nomination, industrialisation and start‑of‑production readiness.
• Demonstrable leadership of multi‑year product business cases, investment governance, target costing, bill‑of‑materials management, lifecycle profitability and return‑on‑investment analysis.
• Advanced financial modelling, scenario analysis, forecasting and management‑reporting capability, with the ability to connect technical assumptions to cost, cash, margin and enterprise value.
• Commercial understanding of low‑volume, high‑complexity vehicle economics, including option‑rich product mixes, constrained volumes, specialist suppliers, long lead‑time tooling and global market…