Blair West are supporting our client, a high growth, multi award-winning IT Services business, with the search for a CFO. The business is seeking a fast paced, high calibre, growth focused CFO to play a lead role in the next phase of growth, leading to an ultimate exit, AIM listing or private equity investment within 3-4 years.

Led by an entrepreneurial founder who has led the business through an exceptional growth trajectory doubling revenue over the last 3 years to £20 million+ with recurring revenues accounting for 70% of income. The business provides a wide range of IT Services to a nationwide, cross-sector customer base. The market opportunity for X is substantial and there is a defined plan to double the revenue whilst quadrupling profits over the next 3-4 years organically and in-organically via planned strategic M&A. The business is proud of its collegiate and customer-centric culture, which the leadership have nurtured to promote employee satisfaction and retention of key staff and customers. This has proved a key success factor in growth achieved to date with c 200 FTE staff.

The appointment of a dynamic CFO, who fits with the culture of a high performing, founder-led business, working alongside a collegiate board room and is motivated by equity value creation, is a key element to the growth plan. The successful candidate will be commercially minded with curiosity at the heart of their make-up. They should be strong at presenting and pulling together meaningful reports that simplify complexity and help articulate the story to support decision making. They will have experience in Service-led business model, or similar, ACA qualified, proven at owning P&L, BS and Cashflow, and bring knowledge of debt financing and/or M&A processes.

This is the opportunity to join the board of an established, profitable and growing business, providing key contribution through board level leadership in delivering an ambitious growth plan.

The opportunity:

• Overall responsibility for the design and delivery of the finance strategy that supports the mission, vision and wider business strategy, aligned to company values.
• Act as an inspirational and collaborative leader, driving accountability for achieving measurable shareholder value, developing internal talent, and identifying external talent who can deliver.
• Accountable for delivering commercial insight, using data and analytics to drive business performance.
• Take a lead role in debt refinancing, debt raising and ongoing and future M&A projects, driving analysis, financial modelling, strategic insight and post deal integration workflows.
• Provide strategic financial advice and support to the Leadership Team, providing insight to aid decision making.
• Drive financial performance and improve business profitability, maintaining a relentless focus on cash flow.
• Lead on digitisation activities, deliver robust and accurate financial information and KPIs.
• Identify areas requiring improved robust financial controls and processes that drive stakeholder accountability, maintaining a cost control culture.
• Manage external stakeholder relationships where appropriate, including banking and investors, and play a part in promoting and representing the company to external organisations.

You’ll be the ideal candidate for this position if you have:

• A proven track record at a CFO or high performing FD level and appropriate qualifications for the role.
• Experience of leading growth in service-led business models.
• A commercial growth mindset with curiosity and data-driven outlook at the heart of their approach.
• Experience prioritising culture and high standards – with infectious ambition and enthusiasm and a commitment to delivering commercial results.
• A strong understanding of what it takes to work in a high growth, entrepreneurial environment.
• A technically strong background with high commercial acumen, capable of making positive contribution to strategy formulation and delivery.
• An energetic, highly motivated, dedicated personality with a passion for excellence and building exceptional working cultures.
• Experience in a debt leveraged environment, where management of bank debt, funding covenants and cash are under scrutiny.
• Clear and confident board level communication experience – the successful candidate will have the self-confidence and intellect to constructively challenge strategic decision making and support the senior team in decision making.
• Ability to focus on operational detail while supporting the broader business agenda.

Our commitment:

Blair West is an equal-opportunity employer. We embrace diversity and inclusion at every stage of the recruitment process. We are committed to fairness, equality, and ongoing diversity training for our team to give our candidates and clients a feeling of belonging during their experience with us. If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during their experience with us, please speak to their consultant. 

If you’d like to speak to someone about this opportunity:

Chris Marshall: [email protected]