Finance Manager / Head of Finance (m/f/d)

Adlicious; Hamburg; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Leadership role

Direct collaboration with MDs

Bonus potential

Growth opportunities

Job summary

Adlicious is seeking an experienced Finance Manager to lead budgeting, forecasting, and long-term planning in Hamburg, Germany. You will partner with the Managing Directors, drive KPI reporting, and improve financial processes across the organization.

The role combines strategic finance, business partnering, cash management, and governance, with exposure to acquisitions and growth initiatives. A strong background in private equity-backed or technology-driven environments is highly valued.

Qualifications

• 5-10+ years of relevant professional experience in finance or related field.
• Experience in a Finance Manager, Head of Finance, Controlling, Transaction Services, Corporate Finance, or similar role.
• Strong financial modeling, analytical, and reporting capabilities.
• Experience in budgeting, forecasting, and management reporting.
• Experience in a project-based business, agency, technology company, or PE-backed environment is desirable.
• Exposure to M&A, due diligence, integrations, or value creation initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead the annual budgeting, forecasting, and long-term planning processes.
• Prepare monthly management reporting packages and financial analyses.
• Monitor actual performance versus budget and forecast.
• Develop actionable insights and recommendations for management.
• Establish and improve KPI dashboards and performance metrics.
• Drive profitability analysis across clients, projects, teams, and service lines.
• Support management in resource planning and capacity utilization.
• Coordinate banking relationships and financing activities.
• Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual closing processes.
• Support acquisitions, due diligence processes, and integration activities.
• Act as sparring partner to the Managing Directors and department heads.

Skills

Financial modeling

Analytical thinking

Budgeting & forecasting

Management reporting

Stakeholder management

M&A exposure

Private equity exposure

Education

University degree in Finance/Accounting/Economics/Business Administration

Tools

Excel

Job description

Abous us:

adlicious is one of Europe’s leading independent advertising solutions provider. With our unique and proprietary ad delivery technology, we help leading brands deliver their message to their target audiences in real-time, personalized across the entire digital customer journey.

Founded in 2014 in Hamburg, Germany, and with a constantly growing team of currently over 90 experts, we serve leading brands from all industries.

The Position

As Finance Manager, you will be responsible for overseeing and continuously improving the financial management of the business. You will work closely with the Managing Directors, department heads, shareholders, banks, accountants, and external advisors.

This is a highly visible role at the heart of the organization, combining strategic finance, business partnering, operational finance, reporting, cash management, and M&A support. The successful candidate will help transform finance into a proactive business steering function and establish best-in-class financial processes and reporting capabilities.

The Finance Manager will be a key member of the management team and an important contributor to the company's growth and value creation agenda.

Tasks

Key Responsibilities:

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Lead the annual budgeting, forecasting, and long-term planning processes.
• Prepare monthly management reporting packages and financial analyses.
• Monitor actual performance versus budget and forecast.
• Develop actionable insights and recommendations for management.
• Establish and continuously improve KPI dashboards and performance metrics.

Business & Project Controlling

• Drive profitability analysis across clients, projects, teams, and service lines.
• Improve project controlling and project margin transparency.
• Support management in resource planning and capacity utilization.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency and profitability.
• Build data-driven decision-making processes throughout the organization.

Cash Flow & Treasury Management

• Manage cash flow planning and liquidity forecasting.
• Monitor working capital performance and optimize cash conversion.
• Coordinate banking relationships and financing activities.
• Ensure compliance with financing agreements and reporting requirements.

Financial Reporting & Governance

• Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual closing processes.
• Coordinate external accountants, auditors, tax advisors, and other service providers.
• Ensure accurate and timely financial reporting.
• Continuously improve financial processes, systems, and internal controls.
• Support implementation of scalable finance tools and automation initiatives.

Strategic Projects & M&A

• Support acquisitions, due diligence processes, and integration activities.
• Assist management and shareholders in evaluating strategic growth opportunities.
• Participate in business cases, investment analyses, and value creation initiatives.
• Support post-merger integration and performance tracking of acquired businesses.

Business Partnering

• Act as a sparring partner to the Managing Directors and department heads.
• Translate financial data into meaningful business insights.
• Challenge assumptions and support data-driven decision-making.
• Contribute actively to strategic discussions and operational improvement initiatives.

Requirements

Candidate Profile

We are looking for an ambitious and entrepreneurial finance professional who combines analytical excellence with a pragmatic, hands-on mindset.

Professional Experience

• 5-10+ years of relevant professional experience in finance, controlling, transaction services, corporate finance, private equity, consulting, or a comparable environment.
• Experience in a Finance Manager, Head of Finance, Controlling, Transaction Services, Corporate Finance, or similar role.
• Strong financial modeling, analytical, and reporting capabilities.
• Experience in budgeting, forecasting, and management reporting.
• Experience in a project-based business, professional services environment, agency, technology company, or PE-backed company is highly desirable.
• Exposure to M&A, due diligence, integrations, or value creation initiatives is a strong plus.
• Experience working in a private equity-backed environment is advantageous.

Personal Attributes

• Highly analytical with strong business acumen.
• Entrepreneurial and proactive mindset.
• Hands-on and execution-oriented.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced growth environment.
• Able to switch seamlessly between strategic and operational topics.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Naturally curious and eager to challenge the status quo.
• High degree of ownership and accountability.

Education

• University degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Professional qualifications (CFA, CPA, ACCA, Wirtschaftsprüfer, Steuerberater, etc.) are beneficial but not required.

Language Skills

• Fluent in German and English, both written and spoken.

Benefits

What We Offer

• A highly visible leadership role in a fast-growing digital marketing platform.
• Direct collaboration with the Managing Directors and shareholders.
• Significant responsibility and influence on the strategic direction of the business.
• Exposure to acquisitions, integrations, and value creation projects.
• An entrepreneurial, dynamic, and collaborative work environment.
• Attractive compensation package including performance-based bonus.
• Long-term development opportunity towards a CFO-level position.

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Compensation: Competitive fixed salary + performance-based bonus + long-term growth opportunities.