CFO

Stanton House; Manchester; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

A private equity-backed consulting group in Manchester is seeking a Chief Financial Officer to lead the financial function and drive a sustainable growth strategy. The successful candidate will have significant experience as a CFO in a PE environment, strong commercial acumen, and proven M&A expertise. This leadership role entails building a capable finance team and overseeing compliance, reporting, and strategic planning.

Qualifications

• Extensive post-qualification experience as CFO in a PE-backed leveraged environment.
• Experience with M&A activities, including negotiation and integration.
• Strong ability to support and lead successful exit processes.
• Experience leading exits.
• On-site presence required three days a week near Manchester.

Responsibilities

• Lead the financial function and support the CEO in delivering a sustainable strategy.
• Oversee reporting, planning, and forecasting across business units.
• Manage audit, tax, risk, and statutory obligations.
• Manage banking covenants and lender relationships; ensure cash and working capital discipline.
• Oversee audit, tax, risk, and statutory obligations; ensure scalable systems (NetSuite).
• Prepare the business for an exit within the current investment cycle.

Skills

Financial discipline

Commercial acumen

M&A experience

Leadership

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA)

ACCA

CIMA

Tools

NetSuite

Job description

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Base pay range

Private Equity-Backed Consulting Group | Manchester

Stanton House has been exclusively retained to appoint a Chief Financial Officer for a high-growth, PE-backed consulting group based in the North West. Backed by a respected mid-market investor, the business is entering a new phase following a successful restructuring and now requires a strategic, commercially focused CFO to lead the finance function and support the next chapter of growth.

The Opportunity

This is a critical leadership role for a CFO who can bring financial discipline, challenge assumptions, and work closely with the CEO, board, and investors to drive value. You’ll be responsible for building a high-performing finance function, executing the PE growth plan, and preparing the business for a successful exit within the current investment cycle.

The ideal candidate will bring not only strong technical and commercial acumen but also experience navigating change and creating alignment in dynamic, fast-paced environments.

Responsibilities:

• The business has recently undergone a restructuring phase and needs a proactive CFO to instil financial rigour, drive accountability, and support the leadership team in delivering a clear, sustainable strategy.

Finance Leadership & Control

• Lead a finance function, with a clear mandate to reassess structure, strengthen capability, and ensure best-in-class controls.
• Own group-level reporting, planning, and forecasting across multiple business units.
• Implement insightful dashboards, performance metrics, and board-level reporting packs.
• Maintain compliance with banking covenants and manage lender relationships.

Strategic Planning & M&A

• A clear M&A strategy is in place, targeting 3–4 bolt-ons over the next 2–3 years.
• You’ll lead the full deal lifecycle: SPA negotiation, due diligence (legal and operational), cultural integration, and post-deal optimisation.
• Lead on refinancing activities to fund future acquisitions.

Cash & Operational Efficiency

• Take full ownership of cash flow and working capital via a 13-week rolling forecast.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities, improve margin performance, and support pricing and contract optimisation.
• Work cross-functionally with commercial and operational leaders to drive performance.

Governance, Infrastructure & Systems

• Oversee audit, tax, risk, and statutory obligations.
• Ensure finance systems and processes are scalable and aligned to growth, currently on NetSuite

Exit Prep

• Lead on all aspects of the exit, which is likely to occur in the next 2-3yrs (if not sooner)

What We’re Looking For

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) with extensive post-qualification experience.
• Demonstrable success as CFO in a PE-backed leveraged environment.
• Strong commercial acumen and M&A experience, ideally across both integration and execution.
• Previously supported or led on a successful exit process
• Comfortable in fast-paced, multi-site, or project-based business models.
• Collaborative, hands-on, and delivery-focused.

To be considered for this role, you must have prior experience as a Private Equity CFO, with a strong track record of leading M&A activity, driving bottom-line growth, and supporting successful exit strategies. Candidates who do not meet these criteria will not be progressed.

The business is headquartered in the North West, near Manchester, and requires a physical presence on site three days per week. Occasional travel to other locations may be necessary. As such, the client is specifically seeking candidates who are already based in the North West region.

If your experience closely aligns with the above, we encourage you to apply. Please note that, due to the volume of applications, we may not be able to respond to all unsuccessful candidates.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Executive

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Accounting/Auditing

• Industries

  Business Consulting and Services

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