18 Jul 2025
18 Jul 2025
Teddington, United Kingdom
Finance
Competitive + Benefits
Permanent

Home
Vacancies
Director of Finance

About the Role
Summary of the Role

A unique opportunity to support NPL’s strategic development as the organisation grows and evolves in a dynamic business environment. This is a newly created, high impact position and opportunity to support major transformation initiatives across the enterprise.

Acting as deputy to the CFO, you will play a critical role in shaping and implementing the organisation’s financial strategy. Responsible for ensuring robust financial planning, operational efficiency, compliance and risk management.

You will also act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders across the organisation, offering insight and leadership on all financial matters.

Pivotal areas of scope include:

Strategic leadership across finance to drive transformation, enhance operational effectiveness and deliver value and impact.

Develop strategies and lead people to support growth and transformation in order to enhance the organisation’s performance and impact.

Ensuring strong governance and compliance frameworks enable the business to meet its strategic objectives.

Develop and deliver solutions to support future business growth.

Maximising and embedding a new finance system. Leading the development of enhanced financial reporting and modelling to elevate planning and forecasting.
About You
Candidate Profile
- Proven functional leadership experience ideally having operated at FD and/or deputy CFO level.
- Demonstrable track record of developing and implementing financial strategies that support business growth and transformation.
- Experience of acting as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to executives and leaders across a complex stakeholder landscape with prior experience of directly supporting a CFO.
- Experience of leading finance transformation, embedding and optimising finance systems post implementation and leading on process improvement initiatives. Ability to inspire, engage and lead others through change and transformation.
- Governance and risk experience. Expertise and understanding of financial governance, risk management and controls within a complex environment.
- Proven experience in budgeting, forecasting and long-term financial planning.
- A dynamic leader who delivers results by empowering and engendering a high performance culture.
- Experience of leading across complex finance structures and contracting arrangements that support the delivery of large-scale programmes with multiple stakeholders, ideally including M&A, spin outs, strategic partnerships and other growth opportunities.
- Experience of operating in an agile environment, adapting finance strategies to evolving business needs.
- Excellent analytical, communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to bring a data driven strategic approach to finance
- Technology proficiency – experience of finance systems implementation (ERP) and other finance automation tools.
- Professional qualification - ACA, ACCA, or CIMA qualification is essential.
A high impact role within the NPL senior leadership team, reporting to the CFO, the successful candidate will possess gravitas, lived experience of driving transformation and change as well as the credibility to represent and deputise for the CFO as required.

Internally, this position will be known as Associate Director of Finance.

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in specific departments means that nationality, residency and security requirements can be more tightly defined than others. You will be asked about this throughout the recruitment process. To work at NPL, you will need to obtain BPSS security clearance.

Please note: Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert therefore we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as possible.
About Us
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is a world-leading centre of excellence that provides cutting-edge measurement science, engineering and technology to underpin prosperity and quality of life in the UK. Find out more about what it is like working here - The measure of us - Overview.

NPL and DSIT have strong commitments to diversity and equality of opportunity, and welcome applications from candidates irrespective of their background, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or age, providing they meet the required criteria. Applications from women, disabled and black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates in particular are encouraged. All disabled candidates (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) who satisfy the minimum criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme.

At NPL, we believe our success is a result of the diversity and talent of our people. We strive to nurture and respect individuals to ensure everyone feels valued by treating everyone on the basis of their own individual merits and abilities regardless of their own or perceived identity, as part of our commitment to diversity & inclusion, we hold memberships and accreditations to ensure we’re creating an environment where all our colleagues feel supported and welcome, please see our Diversity & Inclusion page.

We are committed to the health and well-being of our employees. Flexible working and social activities are embedded in our culture to create a positive work-life balance, along with a broad range of benefits. Our values are at the heart of what we do, and they shape the way we interact, develop our people and celebrate success.

To ensure everyone has an equal chance, we’re always willing to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss, please contact us.