A growing multi-site nursery and early years education provider is entering a significant transformation phase, focused on improving financial performance, strengthening operational consistency, and supporting sustainable growth across its portfolio of settings. The organisation is committed to delivering high-quality childcare and education while modernising its finance function and governance structure.
The Role
We are seeking an experienced Interim Finance Director to lead the finance function through a period of change. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong technical expertise, commercial acumen, and proven experience within multi-site organisations—ideally within the nursery, early years, education, or wider regulated care sector.
You will work closely with the CEO and senior leadership team to stabilise and enhance financial operations, drive transformation initiatives, and provide clear insight to support strategic decision-making across multiple sites.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the overall finance function across a multi-site nursery/education group
- Deliver robust financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting
- Drive improvements in financial controls, processes, and governance frameworks
- Support transformation initiatives, including systems and reporting enhancements
- Provide clear commercial insight to support site-level and group-level decision-making
- Partner with operational leaders to improve profitability and cost efficiency across settings
- Oversee cashflow management and ensure strong financial discipline across the group
- Prepare board-level reporting and present financial performance and risks clearly
- Support integration, standardisation, or potential acquisition activity if required
- Lead and develop the existing finance team through change
Candidate Requirements
- Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)
- Proven experience as a Finance Director or senior finance leader in a multi-site organisation
- Strong background in nursery, early years education, education services, or regulated care sectors
- Demonstrable experience leading finance transformation or change programmes
- Strong commercial and operational finance capability, not just technical reporting
- Experience managing budgets and performance across multiple locations or business units
- Confident stakeholder manager with the ability to influence at board level
- Hands-on approach, comfortable working in a fast-moving, evolving environment
- Strong systems and process improvement experience
Desirable Experience
- PE-backed or high-growth environment exposure
- M&A, integration, or restructuring experience
- Implementation or optimisation of finance systems across multi-site operations