The CFO Opportunity
It is an exciting time to be joining in this key leadership role as the society looks to accelerate their growth across the region, widening their membership appeal, have joyful colleagues and become a Top 10 Cooperative. Joining as CFO, you will have the opportunity to unleash your leadership potential while making a lasting impact on the success of the business and the lives of employees.
They are looking to accelerate the transformation of the finance function beyond its traditional compliance-based responsibilities into a strategic partner that delivers significant added value. This involves unlocking actionable data driven insights from within the vast volume of data that they have. They need their finance function to be increasing its contribution to inform decision making, enhance operational efficiency and play a pivotal role in optimising resources.
As the East of England Co-op’s CFO, you will lead and inspire a talented team, fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration. Your exceptional and inclusive leadership skills will be instrumental in developing and empowering the co-op’s people to reach their full potential. Beyond technical expertise, we are looking for a CFO who is a true business partner. You will need to collaborate with cross-functional teams, guide strategic decision-making and drive sustainable growth.
Please click here for the full job description
The role requires a people focused, forward thinking and commercial astute financial leader who can:
- Develop a value-add business partnering culture between finance and retail operations, to leverage data-driven insights, which will be crucial in shaping future success.
- Ensure the right financing strategy is in place to grow and turbo charge the business.
- Coach, inspire and motivate the Finance team, fostering a culture of quality, collaboration and innovation.
- Contribute to the execution and development of the society’s strategy, vision, and objectives, helping to deliver an aligned commercial approach.
- Publish regular dashboards at different levels of the organisation to drive decision making.
Essential skills and experience must include:
- Formal accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIOT).
- Strong emotional intelligence, with an inspirational and inclusive leadership style and experience of delivering positive change in an organisation of similar complexity.
- Experience of operating in a large multi-site and multi-faceted operation (an understanding of food retail sector would be beneficial but not essential).
- Proven track record of budgeting experience, cost control, fostering efficiencies and ensuring value for money.
- Commercially focused with hands on technical accounting capability, experience of statutory reporting and managing period-end close processes.
- A collaborative team player with excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
We will be looking for an individual who can demonstrate a genuine empathy for the co-operative business model and its complexity, along with its culture, principles and values. Your leadership skills, innovative thinking and strategic approach as CFO will be key in making a lasting impact and influencing the East of England Co-operatives future success.
- Please click here to view the Finance, Analytics and Insight Team structure
- Please click here to view Approach to location/agile working practice
The society embraces diversity and actively seeks to attract individuals with unique backgrounds and perspectives. They break down barriers and encourage collaboration, enabling innovation and rapid development of solutions that make a difference. Their workplace generates an enriching and rewarding experience for their people, members, and customers alike.
