Chief Financial Officer

About Karman Space & Defense Europe

Karman Europe was established following the acquisition of Walker Precision Engineering by US-headquartered Karman Space & Defense, providing a platform from which to develop a broader European business. With operations across Scotland, England and Poland, the business has a strong heritage in precision engineering and advanced manufacturing, supporting leading customers across the aerospace and defence sectors.

The strategy is to build on these foundations through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisition, with the existing operations providing the platform for further European businesses to be acquired and integrated.

This is an important stage in the development of Karman's European operations, bringing together established engineering capability and customer relationships with the investment, resources and international reach of the wider Group. The ambition is to create a larger, integrated European platform with the capability to support customers across increasingly complex aerospace and defence programmes.

About the Role

Following the promotion of Kevin Harvie from CFO to President, Karman Europe is seeking to appoint a new Chief Financial Officer.

Reporting to the President and operating as a key member of the European leadership team, the CFO will play a significant role in shaping and delivering Karman's European growth strategy as the business looks to materially increase in scale through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisition.

This is a broad CFO mandate extending beyond financial stewardship. The successful candidate will help evaluate strategic opportunities, support investment and capital allocation decisions, strengthen commercial and operational performance, and play a central role in the integration of future European acquisitions.

The role also carries leadership responsibility for Finance, IT and Cyber Security across the European operations, ensuring the infrastructure and capabilities develop in line with the increasing scale and complexity of the business. Working closely with the President and Karman's US leadership team, the CFO will contribute to the continued development of Karman's European platform as an increasingly integrated part of the wider Group.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Business Partnership

• Act as a trusted adviser to the President and European leadership team, contributing to strategy, investment decisions and the delivery of business priorities.
• Translate the European strategy into clear financial plans, performance measures and accountabilities across sites and functions.
• Provide constructive challenge and commercially grounded analysis to improve decision-making, execution and accountability.
• Support the evaluation and execution of organic growth, capital projects, commercial opportunities, acquisitions and post-acquisition integrations.

Financial Reporting and Corporate Alignment

• Own accurate, timely and insightful monthly, quarterly and annual reporting for Karman Europe, aligned with US parent reporting requirements and local statutory obligations.
• Lead the bridge between local accounting requirements and US GAAP, ensuring appropriate documentation, review and consistency of accounting treatment.
• Maintain a clear view of underlying and reported performance, including revenue recognition, inventory, provisions, capital expenditure and other key judgmental areas.
• Manage relationships with external auditors and coordinate statutory accounts and audits across European legal entities.
• Provide high-quality reporting and analysis to Karman's executive leadership, corporate finance team and relevant governance forums.

Planning, Forecasting and Performance

• Lead the annual budget, long-term planning and rolling forecast processes.
• Develop forward-looking management information, including programme, customer, product, site and operational profitability.
• Drive strong forecast accuracy and early identification of risks, opportunities and corrective actions.
• Partner with operational and commercial teams on productivity, pricing, margin performance, capacity planning and cost control.
• Ensure financial measures are connected to operational drivers and translated into clear action plans.

Controls, Governance and Compliance

• Own the European financial control environment, including accounting policies, delegations of authority, balance sheet governance, reconciliations and close disciplines.
• Lead European readiness for, and ongoing compliance with, Karman's internal control and SOX requirements, working closely with corporate stakeholders.
• Ensure finance processes meet the governance expectations of a US-listed parent while remaining proportionate and effective within the European business.
• Oversee statutory, tax, transfer pricing, treasury, insurance and finance-related regulatory compliance, supported by appropriate specialist advisers.
• Promote high standards of integrity, transparency, risk management and accountability across the organisation.

Cash, Working Capital and Capital Allocation

• Lead cash forecasting, liquidity management and treasury activities across Europe, aligned with Karman's corporate policies and funding arrangements.
• Drive disciplined management of receivables, inventory, payables and other working-capital levers in partnership with operational leaders.
• Establish robust investment appraisal and post-investment review processes for capital expenditure and strategic projects.
• Ensure capital is allocated against clear strategic, operational and financial priorities and that returns are transparently tracked.

Finance Transformation, Systems and Integration

• Lead the integration of Karman Europe's finance activities into the parent group's reporting, planning, control and governance frameworks.
• Develop a clear finance transformation roadmap covering organisation, process, systems, data and controls.
• Improve the quality, consistency and accessibility of financial and operational data, reducing reliance on manual processes and strengthening decision support.
• Sponsor finance systems and ERP improvement initiatives, ensuring solutions are scalable, controlled and aligned with wider business priorities.
• Standardise core processes where this creates value while recognising legitimate local statutory and operational requirements.
• Lead the continued development and integration of Power BI across the Group through the FP&A function, embedding it as a core tool for translating financial, commercial and operational data into clear actions and measurable business value.

Information Technology and Cyber Security

• Hold accountability for Karman Europe's IT strategy, technology roadmap and cyber-risk management, ensuring that technology supports growth, multi-site operations, resilience and Karman's corporate standards.
• Establish effective governance of cyber risk, including policies, risk assessment, access management, security monitoring, vulnerability management, incident response, business continuity and disaster recovery.
• Ensure the protection of sensitive customer information, technical data, intellectual property, employee data and critical operational systems within a defence environment.
• Oversee internal IT capability, managed service providers and specialist security partners, setting clear service, performance, assurance and accountability expectations.
• Promote an organisation-wide culture of cyber awareness and ensure that key controls, response plans, backups and recovery arrangements are regularly tested and improved.
• Provide the President, European leadership team and Karman corporate stakeholders with clear visibility of material technology risks, investment priorities and remediation progress.

Leadership and Organisation

• Lead, coach and develop the European finance team, establishing clear roles, objectives, succession plans and professional development pathways.
• Build an effective finance operating model with the right balance of local operational support, shared capability and corporate alignment.
• Create a culture of ownership, pace, collaboration and continuous improvement within finance and across the wider business.
• Develop strong relationships across European operations and Karman's US leadership, communicating with clarity across different disciplines and cultures.

Candidate Requirements

Essential

• Qualified accountant (CA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
• Successful track record in a senior finance leadership role within a complex manufacturing, engineering, aerospace or defence environment.
• Strong operational finance capability, with a practical understanding of manufacturing economics, standard costing, inventory, margin, productivity and capital investment.
• Demonstrable ownership of budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, cash and working-capital performance.
• Experience leading robust financial controls, statutory reporting and external audit across multiple entities or sites.
• Evidence of building strong teams and operating as an influential business partner to a CEO and senior operational leaders.
• Experience providing leadership oversight of IT, cyber security or technology-enabled change. Deep technical expertise is not required, but the individual must be able to govern specialist resources, assess risk and ensure appropriate action.
• Practical exposure to M&A, gained in professional practice or industry, such as due diligence, transaction support, financial modelling, deal execution or post-acquisition integration. This may have been gained earlier in the candidate's career and need not have been at executive level.
• Ability to communicate complex financial issues clearly to both finance and non-finance stakeholders.
• Willingness to operate at both strategic and detailed levels in a growing, fast-moving organisation.

Desirable

• Experience within a US-listed or US-owned international group, including US GAAP reporting and SOX/internal control requirements.
• Experience of post-acquisition integration, finance transformation or scaling finance and technology capabilities through significant growth.
• Exposure to ERP implementation or optimisation and the development of integrated financial and operational reporting.
• International experience, ideally involving UK and European operations, cross-border tax and transfer pricing.
• Knowledge of long-term customer programmes, government or defence contracting, export-controlled environments or regulated aerospace supply chains.

How to Apply

To apply and for more information, please click here: https://www.fwbltd.com/assignment/chief-financial-officer-39/

For a confidential discussion, please contact Daryl Harper on our Edinburgh number 0131 539 7087.