German-speaking Project Accountant
| Posting date: | 30 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 01 March 2026 |
| Location: | Bristol, Bristol, BS16AD |
| Company: | Hays Specialist Recruitment |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 4766150_1769806697 |
Summary
- Job title: Interim Commercial Finance Manager - German Speaking
- Contract: 6 months initially (February 2026 start)
- Context: SME scale-up, PE-backed / PE-ready
- Bristol-based role (Hybrid / flexible working available) - with occasional travel abroad
- Dayrate (outside IR35)
Role purpose
The Interim Commercial Finance Manager will support the leadership team through a critical scale-up phase, improving financial visibility, forecasting accuracy and commercial decision-making. The role is hands-on and delivery-focused, ensuring the business has robust, investor-grade financial insight and is well-prepared for future PE or exit activity. This is a short-term, high-impact role focused on clarity, control and value creation.
Essential skills & experience
- Qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent)
- Proven experience in SME scale-ups, PE-backed or fast-growth environments
- Strong commercial finance / business partnering background
- Comfortable operating hands-on with limited structure or resource
- Able to simplify complexity and move quickly without over-engineering
- Strong stakeholder management skills at leadership level
- German language skills (written & verbal)
Key responsibilities - Commercial partnering & insight
- Act as the primary finance partner to senior operational and commercial leaders
- Provide clear, actionable insight into revenue, margins, costs and profitability drivers
- Support pricing, investment and resource decisions with robust financial analysis
Forecasting, budgeting & planning
- Own and improve short-term and medium-term forecasting (monthly, quarterly, annual)
- Reduce forecast volatility and improve confidence in numbers
- Build or refine simple, scalable models suitable for a growing SME
Management reporting & KPIs
- Design and deliver concise management reporting packs focused on key value drivers
- Define and standardise KPIs across revenue, margin, cash and operational performance
- Ensure consistency between management accounts, forecasts and board reporting
EBITDA quality & cash focus
- Improve understanding and transparency of EBITDA performance and movements
- Identify and implement margin improvement and cost control opportunities
- Support working capital optimisation and cash flow forecasting
Exit readiness / PE hygiene
- Ensure financial information is well-structured, explainable and diligence-ready
- Support preparation of financial narratives and data for investors or advisors
- Improve documentation, assumptions and controls to reduce key-person risk
Interim delivery & handover
- Deliver tangible improvements within the 6-month period
- Upskill internal teams where appropriate and leave clear tools, processes and documentation
- Ensure a smooth handover to permanent or extended finance leadership
What success looks like after 6 months
- Forecasts are reliable, explainable and trusted
- Management reporting is concise, consistent and decision-useful
- Clear visibility of EBITDA drivers and cash performance
- Leadership is better equipped to make commercial decisions.
- The business is materially more "investor-ready" than at day one
What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, available in the coming weeks & feel you meet the criteria, reach out to Charles Maidment from Hays Bristol senior finance contracts team.
If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.
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