Divisional Chief Financial Officer — Subscription-Mobility Portfolio

The mandate

The division offers flexible vehicle subscriptions that bundle use, maintenance, roadside support and insurance-related services. Its original economics assumed stable residual values, predictable repairs and customer tenures long enough to recover acquisition cost. Higher funding rates, changing used-vehicle prices and more frequent early returns have broken that relationship in several cohorts. Reported subscriber growth remains healthy, yet capital payback and loss after disposal vary sharply by vehicle and channel.

The Divisional CFO will oversee finance and economic stewardship across approximately 950 employees and partners. Responsibilities include planning, commercial finance, funding interface, residual and asset analytics, controllership, tax and portfolio reporting. Credit, insurance and fleet operations have specialist leaders; the CFO must integrate their evidence into pricing and allocation. The board wants a decision-maker, not an observer of the monthly close.

Consumer Duty and fair-value expectations require transparent treatment of cancellation, damage and affordability. A margin reset achieved through confusing charges would be commercially and regulatorily unacceptable. The successful finance leader will identify where price, vehicle mix, tenure design, funding or exit channels must change while protecting customer outcomes.

Repair and disposal data need equal scrutiny. A vehicle returned with damage may pass through assessment, insurer, workshop, refurbishment and auction, each with different estimates and incentives. The CFO should create evidence linking the customer's charge, actual repair, downtime and realised sale value. That record will improve provisions, supplier challenge and fair treatment while revealing where operational delay, rather than customer behaviour, destroys residual value.

Funding structures must remain compatible with customer flexibility. Warehouse facilities and asset-backed lines may assume advance rates, concentration limits or disposal timing that deteriorate when subscriptions shorten. The CFO will model covenant capacity by vehicle cohort, engage lenders before limits tighten and prevent commercial teams from offering terms whose cash profile the committed facilities cannot support.

Why this seat is open

The incumbent will move to a group finance position after the next planning cycle, creating a planned replacement with a structured handover. The succession is being run externally because the division now needs deeper asset-and-subscription experience. Appointment before the annual fleet order will allow the new CFO to own the assumptions behind it.

What you will own

• Build cohort economics from vehicle purchase or lease through subscription, repair, downtime, return, refurbishment and disposal.
• Re-price tenure, mileage and vehicle propositions using fair-value evidence and clear customer communication.
• Establish residual-value governance with independent market scenarios and disposal-channel feedback.
• Connect fleet-order approval to contracted demand, churn, funding capacity and downside recovery.
• Improve cash forecasting for vehicle payments, subscription receipts, repair, refunds and disposal proceeds.
• Review affordability, bad debt, cancellation and damage-charge outcomes with risk and compliance.
• Give commercial and fleet leaders decision-ready profitability by cohort rather than blended divisional averages.
• Develop finance leadership and succession across controllership, commercial finance and asset analytics.

The first 12 months

Within 90 days, reconstruct six mature cohorts and compare approved assumptions with actual tenure, repair, downtime and disposal. Review customer complaints about end-of-contract charges and test residual scenarios on the next order. Present the board with vehicle and proposition choices, including a downside liquidity view and any immediate pricing or allocation holds.

By month six, implement cohort reporting, revised approval gates and fair-value review for redesigned subscriptions. Rebalance acquisition or lease commitments and renegotiate funding or disposal arrangements where risk is poorly allocated. Close recurring reconciliations between fleet, billing and asset records.

At year end, improve contribution after funding and disposal by 15%, reduce cash forecast variance below 8% and cut vehicles held beyond disposal target by 30%. Ninety-five per cent of active units should reconcile across contract and asset records. Customer complaints about unexplained charges should fall by 40%, and no material product should fail the documented fair-value assessment.

What the board will measure

• Cohort cash return and capital payback under credible residual scenarios.
• Fleet-order decisions changed by evidence before commitment.
• Fair customer outcomes in pricing, cancellation and damage treatment.
• Funding and liquidity headroom through downside conditions.
• Accuracy of vehicle, contract and accounting records.
• Finance talent able to challenge commercial and fleet assumptions constructively.

The person

You have 22–28 years in divisional or commercial finance within leasing, rental, consumer credit, automotive services or another asset-backed subscription business. You have carried residual and funding decisions, not merely reported them. Familiarity with UK consumer regulation and fair-value governance is important.

Candidates should have stewarded at least £300 million of assets, revenue or contracts and led 650 employees and partners directly or through business influence. You can describe a fleet order you reduced, a price increase you rejected and a residual assumption you corrected before market evidence became unavoidable. References must establish both control integrity and commercial courage.

The position is onsite in London, reporting to the Group Chief Executive and relevant board committee, with travel to fleet and disposal partners.

Compensation and terms

The base range is £290,000–390,000 plus annual incentive and long-term incentive. Measures will include cohort return, cash, customer fairness, control quality and leadership. This permanent onsite London role reports to the Group Chief Executive and relevant board committee. The planned handover supports notice periods up to six months.

Confidentiality

The division, funding partners, fleet cohorts and product findings remain confidential. More detail follows reciprocal fit, conflict clearance and written confidentiality. Figures are rounded and operating facts combined to prevent identification. Candidates should not use dealer, lender or industry relationships to triangulate the employer.