Finance Director (Board level)
Are you a commercially minded Finance Director looking for your next challenge? If so, we want to hear from you!
Reporting to
Directors, Managing Director and Board
About us
Cuttsy+Cuttsy is an award-winning, employee-owned healthcare communications agency, with our founders still actively involved. We are dedicated to delivering meaningful, innovative solutions that make a genuine difference to people’s lives – whether that’s through patient engagement, clinical trial support, or healthcare communications. Collaboration, sustainability, and a strong focus on people are at the heart of everything we do.
We are proud to hold the Investors in People Platinum accreditation and to have been recognised as a top 10 award winner of Campaign’s Best Places to Work 2024. Our unique culture combines flexibility and trust, with a commitment to looking after our team. From promoting personal development to prioritising wellbeing, we strive to ensure our people feel valued, supported, and empowered.
At Cuttsy+Cuttsy, we don’t just work together – we succeed together, delivering impactful results for clients and making a real difference to patients and healthcare professionals worldwide.
As we enter an exciting new chapter and have ambitious plans to grow significantly over the next 2 to 3 years, we are looking for a commercially minded, values-led Finance Director to join our board and leadership team. This is a rare opportunity to shape the financial future of a growing employee-owned agency, while protecting the culture that makes C+C special.
About the role
As Finance Director, you will lead the finance function and play a central role in scaling Cuttsy+Cuttsy sustainably. You will ensure strong financial governance, robust reporting, and excellent cash management, and provide commercial insight that helps the leadership team make better decisions.
You will work closely with the founders, leadership team, and trustees, bringing clarity, calm, and confidence through a period of growth.
Key responsibilities
Financial leadership and governance
- Lead the finance function, including month-end close, management accounts, statutory reporting, audit, and tax compliance
- Maintain robust financial controls and governance appropriate for a growing employee-owned business
- Ensure financial reporting is accurate, timely, and trusted across the leadership team and board
- Manage relationships with external accountants, auditors, tax advisors and banking partners
Board reporting and strategic support
- Provide high-quality board packs and insight that support decision making
- Present financial performance clearly and confidently to board members and trustees
- Support strategic planning and investment decisions, ensuring risks and opportunities are well understood
- Develop and monitor business KPIs aligned to growth plans
Commercial performance and growth enablement
- Drive commercial understanding across the business, including client profitability, utilisation, effective rates, and margin performance
- Partner with client and delivery leaders to improve pricing discipline, resourcing decisions, and scope management
- Support leadership in building scalable growth plans, including service line performance and investment cases
- Provide analysis and recommendations to improve profitability while maintaining a people first culture
Forecasting, planning, and scenario modelling
- Own annual budgeting and rolling forecasting processes
- Build driver-based forecasts and scenario plans to support growth, hiring, and investment decisions
- Track performance versus plan, ensuring actions are taken early when needed
- Develop headcount and capacity modelling appropriate for an agency environment
Cashflow, working capital, and financial stability
- Own cashflow forecasting and ensure strong cash discipline
- Improve working capital management, including billing, WIP controls, and debtor performance
- Set and monitor appropriate cash buffers to support stability and growth
- Work with leadership to align growth plans with cash and risk appetite
Employee ownership and transparency
- Support employee-ownership governance, including reporting to trustees and communication where appropriate
- Ensure the financial model supports long-term stability for employee owners
- Help strengthen financial understanding across the wider business through clear communication and education
Team leadership and scaling the function
- Lead, mentor, and develop the finance team (currently two accountants)
- Improve finance processes and systems to scale effectively as the business grows
- Identify and implement improvements in systems, automation, and reporting
- Build a plan for future finance capability as turnover and complexity increases
Key skills and experience
- Proven senior finance leadership experience (Finance Director, Head of Finance, or hands-on Chief Financial Officer)
- Strong technical, financial grounding with excellent reporting, controls, and governance capability
- Commercially confident, able to influence and challenge constructively
- Strong forecasting and cashflow management experience
- Comfortable operating at board level and communicating with non-finance stakeholders
- Collaborative leadership style aligned to a people first culture
- ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified (or equivalent)
Preferred experience
- Agency experience or similar project-based services environment (consultancy, professional services)
- Experience growing and scaling a business beyond £15m turnover
- Experience supporting organisational change or a growth phase
- Exposure to employee ownership, partnerships, or similar governance structures
- Experience improving finance systems and reporting automation
Essential attributes
You will be a values-led, people-first person and be culturally aligned to Cuttsy+Cuttsy. You’re able to remain calm under pressure and have high standards and great attention to detail. Being commercial and pragmatic, you will be focused on outcomes and not bureaucracy. You’ll be a confident communicator who brings clarity and reassurance to situations. You’ll be excited by growth and energised by building for the long term.
This is a hybrid role and applicants must have the right to work and be based in the UK.
Upload your CV and covering letter.
If you have any questions about the role or Cuttsy+Cuttsy, don’t hesitate to get in touch via email: katemccabe@cuttsyandcuttsy.com
Your Work-Life Balance
We believe in living the value and culture of our company and very much promote a healthy work-life balance for all the team. The following benefits contribute to this:
We believe that what’s important is not when and where we work, but how and what we achieve, so talk to us about what you are looking for
Guidance against working too many hours in the week — something which is usually against the marketing agency norm
Each month we donate through Ecologi to offset the carbon we produce in both our personal and professional lives
Where will you be working?
As our team continues to grow, we ran out of desk space! This meant we needed to take the next step in finding ourselves a new home. As a result, we were very excited to secure a fantastic new office space at ‘The Works’ in Sawston.
