Finance Director

Distinct Recruitment; Nottingham; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

4 day week

Hybrid work

Pension

Mobile phone

Equity option

Job summary

Distinct Recruitment is recruiting a Finance Director for a Nottingham-based SME transitioning from R&D to commercial production. The role offers a 4-day week with hybrid working, £70,000–£90,000, and potential equity participation.

You will own budgeting, cash flow and reporting to the board as the business scales. The candidate will work closely with the founder, board and investors, shaping finance infrastructure, forecasting and investment strategy while managing relationships with external

Qualifications

• Must have owned all finance functions in an SME
• Experience in engineering/manufacturing or an RD-led business is useful
• Ability to build scalable finance processes and reporting

Responsibilities

• Own budgeting, forecasting and cash flow management
• Oversee compliance and management/investor reporting
• Prepare board and investor information and liaise with external accountants

Skills

Strategic finance leadership

SME finance experience

Tools

Xero

Fathom

Job description

Finance Director

£70,000 to £90,000 + potential equity participation 4 day working week Nottingham | 2 days in the office

There are not many Finance Director roles where you can join a business at this point in the journey. For the last few years, this company has been heavily focused on R&D. The product is developed, the technology is proven and they are now moving properly into commercial production. Over the next six months alone, they already have around £4m to £5m of orders to deliver. And that is really only the start. The expectation is for significantly more growth next year, further investment and a much bigger commercial operation as the business scales. Until now, finance has largely been managed by the founder alongside external accountants and some fractional support. That has worked while the business has been smaller and predominantly focused on development. It will not work for where they are going next. They now want a Finance Director who can take full ownership of finance and help build the business through its next phase.

This is a broad role. You will be working closely with the founder, board and investors, helping shape budgets, cash flow, commercial decisions, future funding and the financial infrastructure needed to support growth. You will also be preparing board and investor information, improving reporting and making sure the business has much better visibility as production and revenue increase. But this is not a role where you will sit above the detail. The business is still relatively small, with around 15 to 20 people, so you need to be comfortable getting into Xero, managing cash flow yourself, improving processes and dealing with the underlying finance when needed. That balance is important. They do not need another external adviser telling them what should happen. They want somebody inside the business who will take ownership and make it happen. There is a real opportunity here to shape how finance works from the ground up. The current setup is relatively simple, which means there is plenty of scope to improve reporting, automate processes, introduce better forecasting and build a finance function that can scale without becoming overly complicated. Xero is important and they are particularly interested in using technology and automation wherever possible. Tools such as Fathom have already been discussed for reporting. You will take ownership of budgeting, forecasting, cash flow, compliance, management reporting, board reporting and investor reporting, while also managing relationships with external providers including the accountants and the business supporting them with R&D tax credits.

The background is flexible. You might already be a Finance Director in a smaller business, or you could be a Head of Finance or Financial Controller ready to take the step up. What matters more is that you have worked in an SME environment where you have genuinely owned all of finance rather than just one part of it. Experience within engineering, manufacturing, technology or another R&D led business would be useful, particularly if you have seen a business move from development into commercial scale. This is probably not one for somebody coming from a large corporate environment with a big team underneath them. It will suit somebody who likes being close to the business, likes getting things organised and wants the chance to build something rather than inherit a finished finance function.

• 4 day working week
• hybrid working
• standard pension
• mobile phone
• potential equity participation

The package is expected to be between £70,000 and £90,000, depending on experience. For the right person, there is a lot of upside here. You would be joining just as the business moves from R&D into proper commercial growth, with significant orders already secured, further investment expected and the opportunity to become a key part of the leadership team as the company scales.