Finance Director

Finance Director – Facilities

The Finance Director is a key member of the Dalkia Facilities Exec Board, accountable for the financial performance, control, and commercial support of a multi-site, contract-based services business.

Key Accountabilities

Performance & Value Delivery

• Own delivery of EBITDA, cash flow, and return on capital targets.
• Drive margin improvement through active cost control, pricing discipline, and operational challenge.
• Identify and deliver efficiency opportunities, cost optimisation, and process improvements across contracts and central functions.
• Provide clear, data-driven insight to improve decision-making across the business.
• Hold operational leadership to account for financial performance and delivery against plans, ensuring commitments are met.

Planning, Forecasting & Budgeting

• Lead the annual budgeting process and periodic reforecasts across the business.
• Ensure forecasts are robust, data-driven, and aligned to operational realities.
• Drive continuous improvement in forecast accuracy and financial planning processes.
• Translate financial plans into clear operational targets, ensuring teams are set up to deliver on commitments.

Group & Corporate Interface

• Act as the primary interface with Group Finance, operating within a highly performance-driven, reporting-focused environment.
• Deliver accurate and timely monthly reporting, forecasts, and strategic plans, consistently meeting agreed deadlines.
• Ensure compliance with Group policies, controls, and governance standards.
• Support Group initiatives including transformation, integration, and potential M&A activity.

Commercial & Operational Finance

• Lead financial support across a multi-contract, multi-site operating model with a significant labour and subcontractor cost base.
• Partner with operational leaders to manage thin-margin contracts, cost pressures, and service performance.
• Provide clear visibility of contract profitability, including labour, supply chain, and lifecycle cost drivers.
• Challenge performance on underperforming contracts and drive corrective action.
• Oversee management of variations, penalties, and commercial risk, ensuring a disciplined and proactive approach.

Contract Retention & Lifecycle Management

• Support and challenge operational teams to retain key contracts, ensuring financial performance supports long-term client relationships.
• Provide financial insight into contract renewals, re-bids, and extensions, including pricing strategy and margin protection.
• Identify risks to contract retention early and support mitigation strategies.
• Ensure lessons learned are embedded into future bids and operational delivery, driving continuous improvement.

Work Winning & Growth

• Lead financial input into bidding and work-winning activities.
• Ensure robust pricing, risk assessment, and governance of new contract opportunities.
• Ensure appropriate treatment of TUPE, mobilisation costs, and risk contingencies within bids.
• Support negotiation of commercial terms to protect margin and cash.

Mobilisation & Contract Lifecycle

• Oversee financial governance of contract mobilisation, including TUPE transfers, cost ramp-up, and working capital requirements.
• Ensure mobilisation is delivered in line with bid assumptions and financial expectations.
• Support operational teams in managing early-life contract risk and margin stabilisation.
• Maintain oversight of contract performance throughout lifecycle, ensuring timely intervention where required.

Financial Control & Governance

• Ensure robust financial control, balance sheet integrity, and risk management.
• Oversee statutory reporting, audit, and compliance requirements.
• Maintain discipline around revenue recognition and contract accounting.
• Promote a culture of “doing the basics brilliantly”, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and attention to detail.

Cash & Working Capital

• Drive strong cash performance and conversion.
• Maintain tight control over billing, cash collection, and contract-related balances.
• Actively manage working capital across complex client contracts and environments.

Leadership, People & Collaboration

• Lead and develop a high-performing finance function aligned to both operational and Group priorities.
• Build strong business partnering capability, ensuring finance is embedded across operations, commercial, and support functions.
• Foster a “Better Together” culture, encouraging collaboration, openness, and shared accountability.
• Empower team members to take ownership and make a difference, supporting development and growth.

Data, Insight & Cross-Functional Integration

• Translate financial and operational data into clear, actionable insight for decision-makers.
• Join the dots across finance, operations, commercial, and HR to provide a holistic view of performance.
• Improve the quality, consistency, and accessibility of data across the business.
• Enable more forward-looking, predictive insight to support strategic and operational decisions.

Systems, Process & Continuous Improvement

• Drive improvements in financial systems, processes, and reporting.
• Lead initiatives to standardise, simplify, and improve finance and operational processes.
• Support wider business and Group transformation programmes.
• Encourage teams to challenge existing ways of working and be empowered to make a difference through continuous improvement.

Key Requirements

Experience

• Proven Finance Director or senior finance leadership experience in a £100m+ revenue, contract-based or service-led business.
• Experience in sectors such as Facilities Management, outsourcing, support services, construction, or engineering (FM experience advantageous but not essential).
• Strong track record of operating in a performance-driven, Group or PE-backed environment.
• Experience supporting forecasting, work winning, mobilisation, contract retention, and lifecycle management.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).

Skills & Competencies

• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to challenge and influence senior stakeholders.
• Excellent people leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to translate complex data into clear, practical insight.
• Strong planning and forecasting capability.
• Proven ability to drive efficiency, transformation, and process improvement.
• High levels of integrity, accountability, and delivery focus.