Chief Financial Officer

Circularity Scotland Limited (CSL) was incorporated in November 2020 and approved by the Scottish Government as the Scheme Administrator for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in March 2021. CSL is the vehicle set up by Industry to deliver their collective legal obligations arising from The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020, passed by the Scottish Parliament in May 2020.

The legislation had cross party support when it was passed by the Scottish Parliament on May 2020, with an implementation date now set for the summer of 2023. The scheme is designed to encourage the maximum possible recycling of single-use drinks containers in the country as part of the Government’s commitment to the circular economy. CSL is a company limited by guarantee whose members comprise the country’s largest drinks producers, retailers and relevant trade associations. It is regulated by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). The company will work with organisations throughout the supply chain: producers, wholesalers, importers, retailers and the hospitality sector.

In full implementation CSL will have turnover in the region of £700m per annum and will have significant cash reserves primarily driven by the timing impact of receiving deposits from producers and paying out deposits to consumers. CSL will act on behalf of c4,500 producers to deliver their legal responsibilities. All costs of operating and funding the DRS are the responsibility of these producers through the contracted producer fee charged to them by CSL. Scotland is following in the footsteps of more than 40 other countries with DRS implementation, and the governments at Westminster and Dublin are in advanced planning for their own legislation. CSL’s stated ambition is also to become the Deposit Management Organisation for the equivalent scheme, which is to be implemented in England and Wales, thereby ensuring a seamless DRS scheme right across mainland Britain and in so doing, delivering increased efficiencies through economies of scale. CSL has been designed to be capable of extending its operations to deliver that scheme – moving it to a company with turnover in excess of £4bn.

CSL will interact daily with an exceptional number of stakeholders.

• c4,500 drinks producers.
• c35,000 return point operators.
• The Scottish Government.
• SEPA, the regulator.
• Zero Waste Scotland, government’s policy implementation arm.
• Local Authorities.

Furthermore, the company will be touching the lives of the whole population of Scotland.

The Opportunity:

CSL is seeking to recruit a highly capable senior financial leader to join the Executive leadership team. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to undertake a critical role in an organisation which will deliver Scotland’s flagship environmental policy with the profile and prestige of moving from a start-up to one of the largest organisations in the country.

The CFO will be passionate about building a world class Deposit Return Scheme and will be as commercially minded as they are financially literate. They will be capable of working in a fast-paced early-stage business whilst also being able to build the infrastructure of a large corporate entity (team, systems, controls & processes). They will have the gravitas and personal skills to empower a team to deliver exceptional results whilst under pressure to influence and communicate with stakeholders at all levels both within the business and across industry and throughout Government. They will have the vision to lead the design of a world class organisation with limited existing reference points.

Applicants must be a fully qualified CFO / Finance Director who have a track record of driving business growth. With a strong Financial Controller ‘producing the numbers’ this role is very much commercial, strategic, operations focused, with a real emphasis on data, management information and advising the CEO as the business scales.

Responsibilities for the Chief Financial Officer:

• Leading and developing the finance function as it enters the next phase of scale-up / fast-growth
• Business partner with CTO, COO and wider leadership team to advise and support business plans to achieve the scale up and overall growth of the operations
• Oversee all aspects of finance function including FP&A, Tax and Financial Controls
• Responsible for all banking, advisor and member relationships, including accountability for all financing and investment decisions
• Overall responsibility for financial performance and complex cash management processes
• Short term and long term cash flow management
• All new business cases and future financial strategy review and management
• Leading budgeting and forecasting activity, establishing and embedding strong planning processes
• FP&A around commercial and market activity, identifying new business opportunities
• Setting up monthly management accounts with commentary on drivers for variances
• Owning and being accountable for accounting policies and decisions
• Embedding strong governance and controls across the business
• Ensuring tax compliance for VAT and corporation tax
• As the business continues its growth, managing third party relationships accordingly and scaling the team as appropriate

For more information and to apply, please send your CV and covering letter to Michael Dickson at cv@fwbparkbrown.com. For an initial confidential discussion, please contact our Edinburgh office on 0131 539 7087.