Optimise Search Group has partnered with a private equity-backed organization in search of a Director of Financial Planning & Analysis to build and lead its FP&A function during a significant period of expansion and transformation.
Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer, this individual will serve as a key financial partner to executive leadership and operational teams, helping drive business performance through sophisticated forecasting, financial modeling, KPI development, and data-driven decision making.
Key Responsibilities
- Build and lead the corporate FP&A and operational finance functions, balancing strategic planning with hands-on financial analysis.
- Own budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, and financial performance analysis.
- Develop and manage forecasting processes across multiple operating locations and business units.
- Build sophisticated financial models to support strategic initiatives, growth plans, capital allocation decisions, and acquisitions.
- Develop and maintain three-statement financial models and detailed cash flow forecasts.
- Partner closely with operational leaders and executive management to identify opportunities to improve financial and operating performance.
- Establish meaningful financial and operational KPIs that provide visibility into business performance and promote accountability throughout the organization.
- Develop executive dashboards, management reporting, and Board-level financial packages.
- Translate financial and operational data into clear insights, recommendations, and actionable business strategies.
- Support mergers and acquisitions through valuation analysis, financial modeling, due diligence, integration planning, synergy tracking, and post-acquisition performance analysis.
- Evaluate the financial performance of acquired businesses and help establish processes for integrating them into the broader financial planning framework.
- Monitor working capital, liquidity, and cash flow trends and develop recommendations to improve financial performance.
- Provide scenario analysis and decision support related to growth initiatives, investments, pricing, capital allocation, and other strategic priorities.
- Collaborate with accounting, operations, and other functional leaders to improve the accuracy, consistency, and usefulness of financial information.
- Continuously improve FP&A processes, systems, reporting capabilities, and analytical tools as the organization grows.
- Leverage AI, automation, and emerging technologies to improve forecasting, reporting, analytics, workflow efficiency, and decision support.
Qualifications
- 10+ years of progressive finance experience, with increasing responsibility in FP&A, corporate finance, investment banking, transaction advisory, or related disciplines.
- Proven experience supporting mergers and acquisitions within a private equity-backed environment.
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related discipline required.
- MBA, CPA, CFA, or other advanced professional designation is a plus.
- Experience supporting multi-location and/or multi-entity organizations.
- Strong financial modeling and analytical capabilities, including extensive experience building and maintaining complex Excel models.
- Demonstrated expertise in budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, and financial analysis.
- Experience developing and managing three-statement financial models and 13-week cash flow forecasts.
- Strong understanding of working capital analysis and cash flow management.
- Experience with enterprise planning and forecasting platforms such as OneStream, Oracle Fusion, or comparable systems is highly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with both operational teams and executive leadership.
- Experience presenting financial results, forecasts, business insights, and recommendations to senior executives and/or a Board of Directors.
- Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to turn complex financial information into a clear and compelling business narrative.
- Strong strategic thinking combined with a willingness to remain hands-on in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
- Experience using AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, or similar platforms to improve financial analysis, reporting, forecasting, automation, and decision support is highly desirable.