Finance Director

Job Description

The Business & Opportunity:Lyons Recruitment are working exclusively with Carramore International to appoint a new Finance & Operations Director to their growing and successful business.Based in the picturesque area of Holme Valley near Holmfirth, Carramore operate across 80+ countries as an export-buying and logistics company with a current turnover of c£10m and are the proud recipients of the Queens Award for Enterprise, InternationalTrade (which lasts for 5 years).They have developed a new type of business supplying the product and logistic needs of international medical and life science research projects, mainly in the field of infectious diseases in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) across Africa and Asia.Their projects cut across a whole spectrum of disease issues, from malaria, HIV, influenza, and more recently Covid-19. Increasingly, work is One Health’, looking at animal and zoonotic disease. Their projects are funded through a wide range of agencies suchas the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust. They boast a diverse non-commercial customer base consisting of Governments, NGOs such as the World Health Organisation, but mostly Research Institutes & Universities, including the Russell Groupin the UK, Ivy League in the US, and groups throughout the 80+ countries in which they work.Their culture is friendly, informal and diverse, with excellent staff retention levels. This newly created role represents a fantastic opportunity to join during an exciting period of growth where new opportunities will evolve, including you becoming anofficial Board member within 6-12 months.Specific Requirement:Reporting to the Managing Director, you will play a key role providing direction, oversight and strategic input to the business. You will oversee the financial and operations aspects of the UK & Kenya offices, providing a prompt and accurate flow of financialinformation to the Board.This will include:

• Providing strategic financial and operational input, including attendance at Board meetings.
• Directing supporting and providing overall control of all the financial and operational processes, contributing to the ongoing development of procedures and practices, their reporting and management information.
• Ensuring the co-ordination of financial planning processes, including budgets, cash flow and treasury management and management reporting.
• Providing financial input to relationships with external agencies such as banks, vendors and customers.
• Ensuring the company complies with accounting, taxation and other financial legislative requirements.
• Keeping abreast of all legislative and regulatory requirements and licences. This will include HMRC, The Home Office, The Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Health and Safety Executive, as well as TRACE International and customerplus vendor due diligence processes.
• Becoming the Senior Site Security Representative, taking the lead with the CAA and ensuring shipments adhere to the CAA regulations in respect of Air Cargo Security.
• Ensuring that all relevant insurance policies are in place and maintained.
• Managing, coaching and developing the UK Finance and Operations teams (8 people in total).
• Overseeing the financial management of the Kenya branch and maintaining appropriate contact with outside consultants/advisors.
• Developing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives and reporting.
• Seeking and implementing process improvements to deliver customer and vendor delight and internal efficiencies.
• Helping design add-value analytical reports from Microsoft Dynamics NAV using Jet Reports and soon Jet Analytics, with support from Systems.
• Responsibility for keeping Carramore fully informed of any relevant issues and/or developments which may affect financial and operational activities.

Skills & Experience required:

• Qualified Accountant (CIMA/ACMA/ACA/ACCA).
• Experience from a Products based business is essential.
• International and multi-currency experience will prove highly advantageous.
• Previously operated in a senior Finance capacity from either an SME or larger corporate, where you’ve had a degree of autonomy.
• Possess commercial acumen and strong analytical skills to help drive the business forward from a strategic footing.
• Articulate and confident in preparing presentations for the Board, Banks and other stakeholders.
• Strong Management Accounts background.
• Confident in managing and coaching the members of the Finance & Operations teams.
• A working knowledge Microsoft Dynamics Navision will prove advantageous, but by no means essential.
• Relationship driven style when dealing with customers.
• Comfortable working within a highly regulated environment.
• Flexible with occasional overseas travel, e.g., Kenya.
• A genuine interest and passion for medical and life science related issues will prove beneficial.

What’s on Offer:

• A starting salary of £75,000 p.a.
• Option of either an Electric Car or Car allowance of £9000 p.a.
• Generous company-wide Annual Bonus based on company performance.
• Membership of the Company’s pension scheme.
• 33 days annual leave including public holidays, plus an extra 3 days between Christmas to New Year.
• Some flexibility on an element of hybrid working.
• Free on-site parking at their Holme Valley offices, near Holmfirth. Hence, easily accessible from Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax, Wakefield, Barnsley, Sheffield, Manchester, Rochdale & Oldham.
• Although this is ideally a full-time position, candidates looking for 30+ hours p/w may also be considered.

Next Steps:Interviews are to be conducted imminently; hence you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.N.B. Lyons Recruitment have been strictly retained on an exclusive basis, hence any direct or other agency applications with be disregarded.