Finance Director with experience in the Manufacturing field POST NUMBER: 473346
Location: Onsite - Liverpool, United Kingdom
Role Overview
The Manufacturing Finance Director will play a critical role in driving value creation within a private equity–backed manufacturing business. Acting as a trusted partner to the Managing Director and senior leadership team, the role is responsible for financial strategy, operational finance, and performance improvement, with a strong focus on EBITDA growth, cash generation, and scalable financial controls.
This is a hands-on leadership role suited to a commercially minded finance leader who thrives in a fast-paced, results-driven environment.
Key Responsibilities
Manufacturing Finance & Operational Performance
- Lead all aspects of manufacturing finance, including standard costing, product costing, variance analysis, and margin management.
- Partner closely with operations to improve OEE, labour efficiency, scrap, yield, and inventory turns.
- Drive cost transparency and accountability across plants and cost centres.
- Own the annual budget, rolling forecasts, and long-range plan aligned to PE timelines.
- Deliver timely, accurate monthly management accounts and KPI packs for board and investor reporting.
- Provide clear commentary on performance versus budget, forecast, and investment case.
- Drive strong cash generation through active working capital management (inventory, payables, receivables).
- Evaluate and support capital investment cases, including ROI and post-investment reviews.
- Strengthen financial controls, governance, and reporting processes.
- Ensure compliance with UK GAAP / IFRS, tax, and statutory reporting requirements.
- Participate in external audit processes and manage local relationships with advisors and lenders.
- Lead finance transformation initiatives to improve data quality, reporting speed, and insight.
- Support ERP implementation or optimisation where required.
- Build scalable finance processes to support growth.
- Lead and develop a high-performing finance team with a strong performance culture.
- Promote accountability, pace, and continuous improvement across the finance function.
Essential
- Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA).
- Senior finance leadership experience within a manufacturing or industrial environment.
- Strong operational finance, costing, and margin management expertise.
- Experience supporting integrations or carve-outs.
- Commercial, analytical, and outcome focused.
- Comfortable challenging operational and leadership teams.
- Hands-on, resilient, and able to operate at pace.
- Clear communicator with strong stakeholder management skills.
Vaco by Highspring values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply.
EEO Notice
Vaco by Highspring is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by federal, state or local law.
Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact HR@vaco.com .
Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that workplace discrimination is illegal.
By submitting to this position, you agree that you will be giving Vaco by Highspring the exclusive right to present your as a candidate for the foregoing employment opportunity. You further agree that you have represented information about yourself accurately and have not affirmatively misrepresented your qualifications. You also agree to maintain as confidential, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any information you learn from Vaco by Highspring about the position and you will limit disclosure of information about the position only to the extent necessary to perform any obligations in furtherance of your application. In exchange, Vaco by Highspring agrees to exercise reasonable efforts to represent you through all solicitation, job screening and resume dispersal.
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Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries (“we,” “our,” or “Vaco by Highspring”) respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.
- California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here.
- Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here.
- Residents of all other states may access our policies here.
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Pay Transparency Notice
Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:
- the individual’s skill sets, experience and training;
- licensure and certification requirements;
- office location and other geographic considerations;
- other business and organizational needs.
With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses.