Chief Financial Officer

Parkinson Lee Executive Search, part of the Elevation Recruitment Group, are the retained partner to Façade and Glazing Solutions UK (FGS), headquartered in Rotherham, in the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

With a turnover of circa £55 million, FGS is a specialist glazing contractor experienced in the installation, refurbishment and repair of building façades in the UK market. For more than 25 years, FGS has developed long-lasting, strategic relationships with some of the largest and most reputable companies in the country, partnering with main contractors, building owners, shop fitters and FM companies. The business operates within three distinct markets segments:

• The major projects team specialise in full vertical envelope solutions for projects with contract values between £1-£15 million.
• The regional projects team specialise in delivering façade projects, internal glazing and high-end refurbishment with contract values under £1 million.
• The repair & replacement solutions team provides reactive and emergency glazing solutions to commercial property owners and facilities management companies in core regions of England.

FGS is part of the private investment group CoBe Capital. CoBe Capital specialises in the acquisition and operation of corporate divestitures and, as a family office, and unlike many Private Equity Firms, invests with the intent to grow these businesses for the long term.

Following the recent acquisition by CoBe Capital, the FGS management team and CoBe Capital have initiated an ambitious transformation to further build the market position and to enhance the sustainable financial performance of FGS.

FGS are now looking to appoint a CFO who will report to, and work closely with, the Chief Executive Officer and CoBe Capital, taking accountability for the financial operations of the company and playing a key role in delivering the transformation with a true owner's perspective.

Key accountabilities will include:

• Working closely with the CEO and the Senior Management Team to drive business performance and execute and evolve the strategic growth plan
• Leading and developing an effective finance, credit and payroll support team
• Providing insightful support to contract negotiations with clients and suppliers
• Developing relations with banks, insurances, leasing companies etc, with the objective to broaden the access to financing resources
• Managing treasury
• Improving cash management, including financing investments
• Taking overall responsibility for financial and business controls along with VAT, Tax and treasury duties - certainly including first-class financial management, reporting and control as well as statutory information thus enabling the profitable growth of the business

In particular, we are looking for an individual with a proven track record of:

• Comfortably working in a transformational situation
• Adopting a general manager perspective and make decisions as if it were their own money - coupled with a strong desire to be part of the business
• Easily gaining a reputation of a real team player and an active contributor to their SMT colleagues' challenges
• Coaching non-financial managers to ensure that the financial consequences of all decisions are fully understood
• Truly understanding the dynamics of a business, and of converting this insight to tailored thought leadership within the SMT
• Modelling high standards of professional accuracy, compliance and deadlines

The successful candidate is highly likely to have:

• Served as a CFO/Finance Director in a similar scale environment for a project business with a project accounting environment
• Developed a Finance department, ideally following (de-)merger
• Had responsibility for collecting receivables, ideally in a contracting environment
• Gained experience with private owners and/or financial investors
• A professional accountancy qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA/ICAS)
• Vast Experience of exhausting the analytic and efficiency potential of a modern ERP system
• Conceived and implemented targeted controlling tools answering repetitive questions of a management team

The successful candidate will be a real finance leader, a true professional with gravitas to build credible relationships. You will be flexible, adaptable and ambitious with high levels of energy, tenacity and commitment.

To apply, or for a confidential discussion about the appointment, please contact Lee Bhandal at Parkinson Lee on 01709 303330.