Chief Financial Officer

Browne Fairchild - Human Capital Acquisition; Manchester; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A high growth litigation law firm in Manchester is seeking a Chief Financial Officer to lead financial stewardship and governance. The ideal candidate will hold COFA responsibility, have prior experience as a CFO or Finance Director in a regulated professional setting, and excel in strategic financial decision-making. This role requires regular onsite presence and offers an opportunity to influence financial strategy and operational growth in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Operated as a CFO or Finance Director in a regulated professional services or litigation environment.
• Comfortable holding COFA responsibility and engaging with regulators.
• Experienced in scaling organizations in complex financial environments.

Responsibilities

• Overall financial stewardship of the business, including COFA responsibility.
• Ensure governance, controls, and audit readiness.
• Provide board level financial insight and commercial support.
• Lead and develop the finance function.

Skills

CFO experience

Financial governance

Commercial mindset

Regulatory compliance

Leadership

Job description

Board level appointment within a high growth litigation led consumer law firm

Manchester UK

This is a build role, not a maintenance hire.

Our client is appointing a Chief Financial Officer, holding COFA responsibility, to design and scale the financial and governance framework of a rapidly growing consumer law firm operating a high-volume long duration litigation model.

This is a senior leadership mandate with genuine influence over financial strategy, regulatory confidence, cash flow resilience and board level decision making.

The Role

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, you will be fully accountable for the financial stewardship of the business, including COFA responsibility, governance, controls, audit readiness and long-term financial planning.

You will operate at board level, partnering the executive team to ensure the firm can scale safely, compliantly and profitably through its next phase of growth.

What you will own

• COFA responsibility and full compliance with Solicitors Accounts Rules
• Cash flow resilience across extended litigation cycles
• Financial governance, audit readiness and regulatory confidence
• Board level financial insight and commercial decision support
• Leadership and development of the finance function

This role is for you if:

• You have already operated as a CFO, Finance Director or equivalent in a regulated professional services or litigation environment
• You are comfortable holding COFA responsibility and being visible to regulators
• You enjoy scale, complexity and accountability
• You are commercially minded, not just technically strong

This role is not for you if:

• You are seeking a first step into CFO or Director level responsibility
• You prefer narrow reporting roles without board exposure
• You are uncomfortable operating in high volume, long duration revenue models

Location

Manchester, UK

This role requires regular on-site presence and is not a remote CFO position.

Due to the seniority and regulatory nature of this appointment, initial discussions will be confidential. A full candidate briefing document will be shared following direct engagement. Please note that this role is being prioritised as primarily a targeted executive search.