Finance Director

Finance / Leadership Cardiff / London (Hybrid) Full-time DOE

About This Role

R4 is a media trading, planning and activation business built around how media actually works in the real world. We work with a growing roster of national and global brands, and with billings set to exceed £10M this financial year, we are scaling fast — and we run on process. Workflow discipline sits at the heart of how we operate, and we’re now looking for a Finance Director to bring that same rigour, expertise and stewardship to our finances at board level.

You will own the financial strategy, controls and commercial performance of the agency, working directly with the leadership team.

Responsibilities

• Strategic financial planning, budgeting and rolling forecasts aligned to agency growth
• Acting as the financial conscience of the business — challenging, advising and safeguarding
• Management Accounts & Controls
• Production and oversight of timely, accurate monthly management accounts
• Managing the relationship with our external accountants, driving query resolution efficiently and owning year‑end
• Robust reconciliation disciplines across multiple bank, card and merchant platforms
• Revenue recognition and deferred income treatment on retained and media‑billed clients
• Client and project profitability analysis — spotting the margins and the leaks
• Pipeline analysis and conversion modelling to predict resource and cash requirements
• Commercial review of client contracts, procurement and supplier terms
• Maintaining and refining our financial stack (Xero, Pleo, Stripe) to ensure clean, audit‑ready data
• Implementing better billing and collection cycles to ensure cash stays ahead of growth
• Driving automation and workflow discipline within the finance function

Requirements

• Qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA) with significant post‑qualified experience at FD or senior finance level
• Agency, media or professional services background strongly preferred, you understand billings vs revenue, deferred income and client profitability
• Genuinely process‑driven: you build systems that scale, not workarounds
• Hands‑on and detail‑strong, but able to operate strategically at board level
• Confident managing external advisers, banks and HMRC
• Direct communicator who resolves issues cleanly and moves things forward

What You Get

• Competitive salary (we’re open to discussion for the right person)
• Genuine flexibility in how and where you work
• A seat at the top table of a fast‑growing independent agency with global‑brand clients
• A strong, supportive team and a leadership culture that values expertise
• 25 days annual leave, plus UK bank holidays
• Private healthcare is available after the successful completion of probation
• Company pension scheme, with employer contribution
• Company laptop and full working setup provided
• Training and professional development support, aligned to progression
• Regular team and company events
• Wellbeing support, including mental health awareness initiatives
• Flexible working where appropriate, once core responsibilities are embedded

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