Chief Financial Officer - County Westmeath

Chief Financial Officer - County Westmeath.

Our client is a privately owned European-headquartered manufacturing multinational. With current operations in 2 countries, the company is known for engineering excellence, innovation, and operational reliability. The business is entering its next stage of strategic growth, with a focus on sustainable manufacturing, digital transformation and expansion into new markets.

Role Overview:
The CFO will be a key member of the executive leadership team, responsible for safeguarding the company’s financial health, driving performance improvement, and ensuring the finance function is a strategic enabler of growth. This role combines operational finance leadership with a strong commercial and strategic perspective, working closely with the CEO, owners and senior management to deliver shareholder value in a competitive, fast-changing market.

Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Financial Leadership
• Lead financial strategy, planning and forecasting aligned with corporate objectives.
• Provide commercially astute advice to the CEO and owners on capital allocation, M&A, joint ventures, and international expansion opportunities.
• Support the development and execution of the company’s long-term strategic plan.

Financial Management & Reporting
• Oversee all financial reporting, ensuring compliance with relevant local GAAP and IFRS standards across jurisdictions.
• Ensure timely, accurate, and insightful management reporting for operational and strategic decision-making.
• Drive financial transparency across multi-site operations.

Operational & Performance Management
• Lead budgeting, cost control, and margin improvement initiatives across multi-country manufacturing sites.
• Implement KPIs and performance dashboards to monitor operational efficiency.
• Partner with supply chain, production, and commercial teams to optimise working capital and asset utilisation.

Risk, Compliance & Governance
• Manage relationships with banks, auditors, tax authorities, and regulatory bodies.
• Ensure compliance with local and international tax laws, customs requirements, and transfer pricing regulations.
• Strengthen financial controls, audit processes, and risk management frameworks.

Leadership & Transformation
• Lead, mentor, and develop a multinational finance team, fostering a high-performance, collaborative culture.
• Drive finance digitalisation, automation and system integration initiatives including SAP.
• Champion ESG-related financial reporting and sustainability investment analysis.

Qualifications & Experience requirements:
• Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related discipline; MBA desirable.
• Chartered Accountant or equivalent (e.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA).
• At least 15 years’ progressive financial leadership experience, including as CFO or equivalent in a multinational manufacturing environment.
• Deep understanding of multi-country financial operations, tax regimes and currency risk management.
• Experience in both private and family-owned company governance preferred.
• Demonstrated success in M&A execution, integration and post-merger value creation.

Skills & Attributes:
• Strategic thinker with a hands-on, operationally engaged mindset.
• Commercially savvy with strong business partnering skills.
• Exceptional leadership and communication abilities in multicultural environments.
• Resilient, adaptable and able to navigate complex environments.
• High integrity and commitment to ethical business conduct.

The role will be headquartered in Ireland with regular travel to European operations.