Finance Director

Our retained client is the Grosvenor Estate within which sits a substantial business unit comprising four major Rural Estates - three in the UK and one in Spain.

As a major land and property owner Grosvenor are actively involved in the economic, business and social life of the communities which inhabit each Rural Estate (RE). Grosvenor’s aim is to deliver a balanced mix of lasting commercial and social benefit to each Rural Estate while at the same time providing great attention to the relationships with each Estate’s tenants, the environment and the wider community.

A commercially astute Finance Director is now required to support and partner the Rural Estates’ Director (ie Managing Director) in developing and delivering on strategic business plans and objectives for the Rural Estates.

The Role

The Finance Director will provide strategic and financial guidance and challenge to ensure financial plans, targets and commitments are met, taking into account a range of factors encompassing commercial, social, environmental and sustainability.

Reporting to the Rural Estates Director (RED) this commercially oriented role involves operating beyond a purely financial aspect. Key responsibilities include:-

Strategic

• Work closely with the key stakeholders in developing strategic business plans and appropriate targets for each Rural Estate;

• Provide commercially focused financial support and challenge to the RED and Estate Management teams across all aspects of business, operating beyond a pure finance role;
• Support the RED in designing and driving ongoing organisational and cultural change as the Rural Estates progress through the delivery of their strategic business plans;
• Work closely on the identification and delivery of significant strategic projects providing appropriate challenge to commercial and financial viability assessments and, where relevant, the social aspects of opportunities; 
• Ensure timely input is provided when considering significant projects, financing structures and instruments to ensure tax, treasury and regulatory considerations etc are factored into business decisions;

Financial Management and Control

• Provide robust leadership and development to the finance function;
• Support and guide the Financial Controller to ensure staff are appropriately skilled, motivated and developed;
• Ensure the necessary business systems infrastructure is in place to support business plans and capable of delivering management information to support both financial control and commercial decision making. 

Commercial Business Partnering and Managing Cashflow

• Work closely with the RED on the delivery of the optimisation programme, the development of Rural Estate targets and on-going monitoring thereafter through building effective partnering relationships with management teams providing them with challenge and guidance, where appropriate;
• Support the RED and management teams in commercial negotiations through provision of astute financial analysis and input where required;
• Ensure rigorous control over cashflow and overall working capital management is maintained;

The Candidate

• A qualified accountant with a track record at Board/senior level of successfully driving constructive challenge and change;
• A creative, commercial thinker, able to think outside the box and contribute effectively to the bigger picture yet have a strong guiding influence on the detail;
• A pragmatic, analytical, persuasive character, who enjoys working within a team, and gets things done;
• Confident with excellent communication, presentational and people skills. A leader, adept at building productive internal and external relationships and of coaching and developing the finance team.

This is a unique and inspiring opportunity to combine commercial finance and social innovation in making a sustainable beneficial impact on the rural environment and its communities.