Director at Accordion in London

Company Overview

We are the better way to work in finance. As private equity’s value creation partner, we sit at the heart of PE—where sponsors and CFOs meet. Through financial consulting rooted in data, technology, and AI, we help clients drive value—supporting the office of the CFO to drive end-to-end value creation.

If you crave challenging work and are looking to grow, come solve complex problems alongside a team of finance and technology professionals in a supportive, collaborative environment.

Backed by leading private equity investors, we are a high-growth, entrepreneurial firm with a global presence. We are looking for people who want to help build something great and make a lasting impact.

Transactions

Private equity sponsors are doing more carve-outs and integrations, on tighter timelines and with less room for slippage. For the CFO of a PE-backed company, a transaction lands on top of the day job: a finance function to stand up or combine, new reporting and control requirements to meet, and synergy commitments the sponsor’s value creation thesis depends on. The demands stretch across the wider CFO remit and are felt acutely in Europe, where regulatory and entity complexity varies country by country. Most finance teams haven’t done this before and can’t absorb it alongside business as usual, so the gap between the deal plan and what Finance can deliver is where value can be won or lost.

Accordion’s Transactions Practice is a dedicated team supporting PE-backed portfolio companies through carve-outs and integrations. On carve-outs, we support clients from pre-signing through to post-close, with our deepest involvement between signing and close, when readiness is built. On integrations, we help clients plan for the first 100 days ahead of completion and then execute them once the deal closes, including identifying and tracking synergies. What sets us apart is that we are hands-on and outcome-focused. We work alongside the finance team to get Finance rapidly ready for what the transaction demands. We are doers and problem solvers who stay accountable for results, not just the plan.

This role is based in our London office. Ideal candidates should be local to the desired location, with the flexibility to work remotely 1–2 days a week, blending the best of both worlds for efficiency and collaboration.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead client engagements and teams in planning and executing PE-backed carve-outs and merger integrations, through a Finance operating model lens, to include:
  • Day 1 readiness and execution
  • TSA scoping, costing and exit plans
  • 100-day plans and execution
  • Synergy identification, model development and tracking
  • Interdependencies identification
  • PE deal teams, Operating Partners and portfolio company CFO stakeholder management and reporting
• Lead the SMO/IMO for the Finance workstream, including development of functional carve-out and integration plans and execution activities, with heavy focus on cross-functional interdependencies by:
• Ensuring all Finance activities are captured and understood and completed timely
• Working alongside cross-functional teams (Operations, Commercial, HR, IT, Legal, and Tax, as well as other external advisors), to support separation, integration execution, strategic initiatives, and organisational alignment
• Support sell side readiness in terms of Finance Operating model, Finance Organisation structure, Reporting and Process’
• Manage multiple client engagements at the same time, ensure projects are on track, manage client expectations and perform course corrections when necessary
• Interact and build relationships with CFO and other C-suite personnel at portfolio company as well as representatives from Private Equity sponsors
• Assist in growing the firm by identifying and driving business development activities for both the Transactions team but for all the Services offered by the London office
• Regularly and extensively travel across Europe to work with clients in the relevant jurisdictions
• Identify and sponsor internal initiatives
• Identify follow-on opportunities for other Accordion teams to support
• Develop presentations for client proposals and thought leadership materials
• Contribute to the refinement of existing deliverables and approach documents, identifying opportunities to further leverage AI in our client delivery
• Mentor/coach our people

You Have:

• 10+ years of relevant professional experience, specialising in Finance carve-outs and merger integration
• Buy-side Private Equity experience
• Functional subject matter expertise in Finance & Accounting and ideally one or more of the following:
  • Information Technology
  • Human Resources
  • Operations
  • Supply Chain / Procurement
  • Communications planning
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills to influence both internal and external relationships
• Superior problem-solving and analytical skills that can be utilised to translate disparate data into meaningful insights for our clients, leveraging AI and other available tooling
• Experience managing multiple projects at the same time, managing not only client/sponsor dynamics but internal team dynamics as well
• Willingness to get involved in implementation and working directly with the client to solve problems
• SMO / IMO experience
• Prior experience serving interim or permanent finance roles (i.e. VP Finance, Controller or CFO) helpful but not required
• ACA/CIMA preferred

You Are:

• Self-starter with a strong work ethic
• Leader of others; you lead by example
• Strong team player, able to work with team members across all levels
• Able to effectively communicate complex issues and solutions, and raise issues to senior team members when necessary
• Comfortable managing projects with multiple complex workstreams while also focused on managing and driving your own workstream.
• Excited to be part of a growing team, with a focus on driving future sustainable revenue
• Full of entrepreneurial spirit and comfortable in a fluid, flat organisation
• Knowledgeable about the relationship between Private Equity sponsors and their portfolio companies
• Passionate about delivering exceptional client service
• Willing to get your hands dirty in the details of a project while simultaneously seeing the whole picture
• Someone who enjoys coaching others and doing meaningful work

Accordion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, or any other status protected under law.

Please note that as per Accordion policy, we do not accept unsolicited CVs from third-party recruiters unless such recruiters are engaged to provide candidates for a specified opening and in alignment with our inclusive diversity values. Any employment agency, person or entity that submits an unsolicited CV does so with the understanding that Accordion will have the right to hire that applicant at its discretion without any fee owed to the submitting employment agency, person or entity.

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