Summary

We are regularly asked (by clients) for fractional Finance Directors who understand the startup and scaleup journey. These are typically mid-sized companies with 20-200 employees, who can’t justify the cost of a full-time finance director. In such roles, you will ensure that the company’s finances and financial processes enable them to scale effectively and efficiently, as well as pivot when required. Usually, this involves working alongside the CEO & leadership team to understand the business strategy, plans, opportunities and threats, then provide financial guidance to the leadership team, along with all financial support. Often, but not always, there are junior finance employees to lead.

You would also be actively involved in managing external stakeholders, such as investors, lenders, lawyers and outsourced accountants.

Key Responsibilities

The role responsibilities might vary slightly depending on the client, but generally involve:

• Own finance and management information, with the right information going to the right managers in order to optimise decision making.
• Manage company data, insights and KPIs – from data strategy, to data gathering, plus organising and generating insights. 
• Identifying and quantifying opportunities and risks, then taking tangible actions to support the former and mitigate the latter.
• Drive efficiency and frugality throughout the business.
• Recruit and retain a world-class finance team.
• Any ad-hoc responsibilities peculiar to the hiring company.

Requirements

Typically, a Finance Director role would require:

• A First Class STEM+ degree from a top university.
• 10+ years experience with 4+ years experience leading a finance team in a complex mid-sized business.
• Demonstrable track record of building financial systems from scratch and turning data into actionable insights.
• High EQ.
• High IQ.

Some additional experience that might make you stand out in certain contexts might include:

• Industry-specific degree and/ or experience.
• Experience as a fractional consultant / portfolio professional.
• Qualified accountant, MBA or other professional qualification.
• Hands-on data analytics, financial forecasting and valuation experience.
• Significant experience in a fast-paced startup environment.

Remuneration

Fractional Finance Director roles could pay anything between £400-£1500 per day, depending on experience. Sometimes there can be bonuses, commission or stock options on top of this.