Head of Finance

Harper May is partnering with an established, profitable UK health and nutrition business based in Reading. The business has been trading for over a decade, is bootstrapped and privately owned, and has grown rapidly year on year across both its retail and direct-to-consumer channels. With clear plans to double revenue over the next three years and scale meaningfully across the coming decade, partly through selected acquisitions, the founder is now bringing finance in-house for the first time and appointing a Head of Finance to lead the function end to end and partner closely on the commercial and strategic agenda.

The Role
Reporting directly to the CEO and Founder, the Head of Finance will lead the finance function as the first senior in-house hire. The role covers everything from ownership of month-end, management accounts and reporting through to commercial partnering, strategic planning, and support on selective acquisition activity. There is real scope to shape the function and grow the team as the business scales, alongside a genuinely hands-on remit.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the finance function end to end and act as the CEO's primary finance partner
• Own the month-end close, management accounts and financial reporting to the founder and board
• Bring the currently outsourced management accounts fully in-house and build a robust reporting framework
• Own budgeting, forecasting, cash flow and financial modelling for growth and acquisition scenarios
• Partner with operations, commercial and marketing on P&L, contribution margin and unit economics
• Support the founder on strategic planning, funding options and selective acquisition activity
• Establish financial controls, systems and processes fit for the next phase of scale
• Manage the external audit, tax and statutory reporting relationships
• Build out and mentor a small in-house finance team over time

What we are looking for

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) with a strong technical foundation
• Prior experience running a finance function in an SME, scale-up or founder-led business
• Commercially minded and comfortable being close to the numbers while thinking strategically
• Track record of building process, controls and reporting from a standing start
• Prior experience in consumer products, e-commerce, food or FMCG is a plus
• Confident partnering with a founder and non-finance leaders
• Based within a reasonable commute of Reading, with hybrid flexibility