Senior Financial Controller (Aberdeen or Edinburgh)

Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions seeks a Senior Financial Controller to lead the finance function, provide strategic oversight, and drive governance and control across international operations. Reporting to the Managing Director, you will safeguard financial integrity through planning, reporting, compliance and risk management.

You will partner with MD and SLT to shape strategy, manage budgeting, and deliver robust financial analysis.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business, economics or related discipline.
• Fully qualified professional accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA/CPA or equivalent).
• Current membership of a recognised professional accounting body.
• Minimum 10 years’ progressive finance experience including senior management responsibilities.
• Experience within consultancy, engineering, energy, industrial services, technology, or project-based environments.
• Proven experience in financial control, reporting, budgeting, forecasting and business partnering.
• Strong knowledge of IFRS, statutory reporting, taxation and financial governance.
• Experience leading finance teams and developing high-performing finance functions.
• Experience supporting international or multi-entity organisations.
• Experience working with ERP systems and financial reporting tools.
• Exposure to private equity, multinational, or high-growth environments.
• Experience in NetSuite, Proteus, Wrike, Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent analytical platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage day-to-day finance operations of the organisations.
• Ensure accuracy, integrity, and timeliness of all financial reporting.
• Develop and maintain a robust financial control framework across all activities.
• Drive continuous improvement in financial processes, systems and controls.
• Support MD and SLT in shaping financial strategy and long-term planning.
• Ensure compliance with statutory, regulatory, taxation and governance requirements.
• Prepare monthly management accounts.
• Deliver detailed financial analysis and performance reporting to senior management and shareholders.
• Monitor key financial metrics and provide recommendations to improve performance.
• Lead month-end and year-end close processes.
• Manage external audits and liaise with auditors, tax advisors and regulators.
• Produce board-level financial reports and presentations.
• Lead the budgeting and strategic planning process.
• Develop rolling forecasts and financial models for decision-making.
• Partner with business leaders for cost management and resource allocation.
• Evaluate performance against budgets and objectives.
• Support investment appraisals and capital expenditure decisions.
• Collaborate with operational and project teams to drive financial accountability.
• Provide financial guidance to support profitable growth.
• Assist project managers in reviewing profitability and performance.
• Support development of business initiatives through financial evaluation and risk assessment.
• Inspire, develop and mentor team members; foster accountability and high performance.
• Develop and maintain financial risk management frameworks.
• Ensure internal controls and risk mitigation strategies.
• Monitor contractual and commercial risks impacting performance.
• Ensure compliance with accounting standards and corporate policies.
• Support ESG and sustainability reporting where applicable.
• Drive ERP and BI systems optimisation and finance transformation.
• Lead automation, scalability and process efficiency initiatives.
• Develop dashboards and reporting solutions for visibility and decision-making.
• Promote data-driven financial management across the organisation.
• Lead organisational change initiatives and support transformation programmes.

Skills

Financial leadership

Strategic planning

Cross-functional partnering

Risk management

IFRS expertise

Process improvement

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Accounting/Finance/Business/Economics

ACA/ACCA/CIMA/CPA or equivalent

10+ years' progressive finance experience

Experience in consultancy/engineering/energy/industrial services

ERP systems & financial reporting tools

Experience with NetSuite/Proteus/Wrike/Power BI/Tableau

Tools

NetSuite

Proteus

Wrike

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

The Senior Financial Controller will play a pivotal leadership role within the Finance function and the wider business, providing strategic financial oversight, robust governance, and effective control across GDG and Ordtek’s international operations.

Reporting directly to the Managing Director, the Senior Financial Controller will be responsible for safeguarding the financial integrity of the organisation through the delivery of high-quality financial planning and analysis, statutory and management reporting, regulatory compliance, risk management, and commercial business partnering. The role will support informed decision-making, drive operational performance, and ensure the business maintains strong financial discipline and control.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead and manage the day-to-day finance operations of the organisations.
• Ensure the accuracy, integrity, and timeliness of all financial reporting.
• Develop and maintain a robust financial control framework across all business activities.
• Drive continuous improvement in financial processes, systems, and controls.
• Support the MD and SLT in shaping financial strategy and long-term business planning.
• Ensure compliance with statutory, regulatory, taxation, and corporate governance requirements.
• Prepare monthly management accounts.
• Deliver detailed financial analysis and performance reporting to senior management and shareholders.
• Monitor key financial metrics, identify trends, and provide recommendations to improve business performance.
• Lead month-end and year-end close processes.
• Manage external audits and liaise with auditors, tax advisors, and regulatory bodies.
• Produce board-level financial reports and presentations.

Budgeting, Forecasting & Planning:

• Lead the annual budgeting and strategic planning process.
• Develop rolling forecasts and financial models to support decision-making.
• Partner with business leaders to ensure effective cost management and resource allocation.
• Evaluate business performance against budgets and strategic objectives.
• Support investment appraisals, business cases, and capital expenditure decisions.

Business Partnering:

• Collaborate with operational, commercial, and project delivery teams to drive financial accountability.
• Provide financial guidance and challenge to support profitable growth.
• Assist project managers in reviewing project profitability, resource utilisation, and financial performance.
• Support the development of business initiatives through financial evaluation and risk assessment.

Leadership & Team Development:

• Inspire, develop, and mentor team members while fostering accountability, collaboration, and high performance.
• Develop and maintain financial risk management frameworks.
• Ensure effective internal controls and risk mitigation strategies are implemented.
• Monitor contractual and commercial risks impacting financial performance.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant accounting standards and corporate policies.
• Support ESG and sustainability reporting requirements where applicable.

Systems & Process Improvement:

• Drive optimisation of ERP systems, financial/operational reporting tools, and business intelligence platforms.
• Lead finance transformation initiatives focused on automation, scalability, and process efficiency.
• Develop dashboards and reporting solutions to improve business visibility and decision-making.
• Promote data-driven financial management across the organisation.

Change Management:

• Successfully lead organisational change initiatives and support business transformation programmes.

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, Economics, or a related discipline.
• Fully qualified professional accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA, or equivalent).
• Current membership of a recognised professional accounting body.
• Minimum 10 years’+ progressive finance experience, including senior financial management responsibilities.
• Experience within consultancy, engineering, energy, industrial services, technology, or project-based environments.
• Proven experience in financial control, reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and business partnering.
• Strong knowledge of IFRS, statutory reporting, taxation, and financial governance.
• Experience managing finance teams and developing high-performing finance functions.
• Demonstrated success in driving process improvements and implementing financial controls.
• Experience supporting international or multi-entity organisations.
• Experience working with ERP systems and financial reporting tools.
• Exposure to private equity, multinational, or high-growth business environments.
• Experience in NetSuite, Proteus, Wrike, Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent analytical platforms.

Financial Accountant (Aberdeen or Edinburgh)