Finance Director / CFO

CSG is a specialist search and recruitment business operating across six offices in the UK, US, and Australia. We are looking for a Finance Director / CFO to join the business on a permanent basis, reporting directly to the business owner and leading the finance team.

The role has three core priorities. The first is ensuring the finance function is fit for purpose and running effectively, covering everything from reporting and compliance through to systems and team management. The second is adding strategic value in decision-making at group level, acting as a genuine commercial partner to the business owner and board. The third is ensuring the business is well-positioned to navigate a transaction and that any transition is managed smoothly.

This is a hands-on role that requires someone comfortable operating at both a strategic and operational level, with the credibility to influence at board level and the attention to detail to keep the engine running underneath it.

Key responsibilities

Planning & forecasting

• Annual budgeting and quarterly rolling forecasts
• Cashflow forecasting and optimisation
• Banking, treasury, and cost control
• Spend approval governance

Leadership & management

• Direct management and development of the finance team
• Day-to-day finance business partner to the business owner and senior stakeholders
• Support and guidance to overseas teams across the US and Australia
• Management of external relationships: lawyers, banking and finance providers, auditors, tax advisers, and corporate finance advisers

Reporting & analysis

• Management accounts, KPIs, and commercial analysis
• Internal and external reporting
• Identification of process improvements and sustainable profit optimisation

Compliance

• Audit and statutory accounts
• Tax, company secretarial, and internal controls
• Board meeting preparation

Systems & infrastructure

• Ensuring finance systems are fit for purpose and continuously improved
• Reducing over-reliance on spreadsheets through better data collection and system integration
• Equipping the team with the tools to work as efficiently as possible

What we're looking for

The successful candidate will bring a combination of technical rigour, commercial awareness and the interpersonal skills to operate effectively at every level of the business. Specifically, we are looking for:

* Experience leading a finance function within a B2B service business, ideally in a professional services or recruitment context
* A track record of implementing and improving finance systems, and moving businesses away from spreadsheet-heavy ways of working
* Confidence and credibility in a board environment; someone who will constructively challenge peers and the leadership team where needed, not just report the numbers
* Experience managing or supporting a business through a transaction, whether that is a sale, acquisition, or investment process
* A genuine growth mindset; intellectually curious, always looking to improve, and comfortable in a business that is still evolving
* The drive and ambition to make this role their own, and the passion to be a meaningful part of what CSG builds next
* The ability to commit to the Leeds office a minimum of four days per week

What we're about

CSG is built on four principles: a commitment to excellence in our specialism; a people-first approach with genuine care for candidates, clients, and colleagues; a drive to deliver with accountability and pace; and a long-term mindset when it comes to relationships and growth. The right person for this role will be comfortable operating in a business where those things matter in practice, not just on paper.

Sound like the right fit for you? Apply below to be considered for the role.