Financial Director
Confidential · Istanbul, Türkiye
Tailor my CV for this job — freeDirector of Finance and Accounting
Someone who looks at a trading P&L and immediately sees where the risk is forming, where the capital is working, and where the next decision needs to be made — before anyone asks them. A person who can lead a finance team without getting lost inside it, and who understands that in a trading company, speed of financial decision-making is itself a competitive advantage.This is not a control function. It is a leadership function with a control dimension.You will report directly to the CEO (Turkey) and work closely with the Group CFO structure and Dubai entity. You will be the senior financial voice in the room when commercial decisions are being made — the person who gives the team clarity on risk and feasibility and provides solutions, not the person who slows deals down with process.What You Will Own:Financial leadership and business partneringOwn the full financial picture — P&L, balance sheet, cash position, and working capital cycle — and present it to senior leadership with clarity and commercial context, not just numbersBe the financial counterpart to the commercial team: challenge assumptions, validate margins, and flag risk before deals are executed rather than afterLead the annual budgeting and quarterly forecasting process with a forward-looking, scenario-based approach — not a backward-looking reporting exercise.Trade finance and financial instrumentsStructure and manage the full spectrum of trade finance instruments the business uses and will use: Letters of Credit (import and export), Letters of Guarantee, performance bonds, standby LCs, documentary collections, and supplier financing arrangementsBuild and maintain banking relationships across Turkey and internationally — negotiate LC terms, guarantee limits, and credit facilities with a clear understanding of what the business needs to growManage FX exposure intelligently across TRY, USD, and EUR positions — not just hedging for its own sake but with a view on the business's actual currency risk at any given momentIdentify and implement new financial instruments and structures as the business scales into transit trade, third-country transactions, and the Dubai entity corridorRisk managementOwn the financial risk framework for the company: counterparty credit risk, commodity price exposure, FX risk, concentration risk, and working capital riskWork with the commercial team to set and monitor credit limits, payment terms, and position thresholds — and escalate clearly when limits are being approachedBuild the risk reporting dashboard so that the Country Manager and Group see the real risk picture in real time, not a retrospective summaryInvestment and project analysisLead financial feasibility and return analysis for new business initiatives — new product categories, new trade corridors, facility investments, partnership structuresBe the person who can build a financial model for a new project from scratch, stress-test it against realistic scenarios, and present a clear go/no-go recommendation with the assumptions visibleEvaluate working capital requirements for growth initiatives and advise on the most efficient capital structure to fund themAccounting and team leadershipLead the accounting team with a light but clear hand — set standards, ensure compliance, and build capability without micromanagingEnsure month-end, year-end, and statutory reporting are completed accurately and on time without making this the primary focus of the functionOversee tax compliance (corporate tax, VAT, withholding tax, stamp duty) and the relationship with external auditors and advisorsDrive the ERP/accounting system implementation and improvement agenda — including the Dynamics 365 rollout — so that the finance team's output is faster, cleaner, and more useful to the businessCash and treasury managementOwn the daily and weekly cash position — know where the money is, where it needs to be, and what is coming in and going out across all accounts and currenciesManage the working capital cycle actively: receivables follow-up, supplier payment timing, bank account utilization — with a clear eye on the cash conversion cycle, not just the accounting balanceEnsure the company always has the liquidity to execute its commercial commitments without unnecessary idle cash sitting in low-return positionsWho You Are:Experienced but not overqualified for where we are You have 10–15 years of progressive finance experience, ideally with a meaningful portion in commodity trading, food and agri business, or international trade. You know how a trading company's P&L actually works — the difference between margin on paper and margin in cash — and you have lived through at least one business cycle where that distinction mattered. You are not looking for a corporate head office role with a large team and a slow pace. You want to be somewhere things are actually being built.A doer who leads, not a controller who watches Your default mode is to find a way forward, not a reason to wait. When a deal needs a financial structure, you build one. When the team needs a decision, you make one. You are comfortable with imperfect information and you know how to distinguish between the details that matter and the ones that don't. You can hold your accounting team to high standards without getting buried in the ledger yourself.Calm under pressure, strong in the room Trading businesses move fast and things go wrong. You stay level when they do. Your team looks to you for steadiness, not anxiety, and your commercial colleagues look to you for clarity, not obstruction. You can say no to a deal in a way that the commercial team respects because you have explained the real risk — not because you are being cautious by instinct.A genuine team builder You invest in the people around you. You know that a finance team that understands the business is ten times more useful than one that only understands accounting. You develop your team, delegate meaningfully, and create a function that the rest of the company wants to work with rather than around.Commercially literate and intellectually curious You understand commodities, trade flows, and the economics of a business that buys and sells physical goods across multiple geographies. You are interested in the markets, the geopolitics, and the dynamics that affect the business — not just the numbers that result from them. You read the P&L and ask why, not just what.Technical Requirements:Deep practical knowledge of Letters of Credit (import/export), Letters of Guarantee, standby LCs, documentary collections, and other trade finance instruments — not theoretical familiarity, real working experience structuring and managing themFX risk management experience across at least two of TRY/USD/EURStrong financial modelling capability — you build models yourself, not just review ones others have builtWorking knowledge of Turkish tax and corporate law as it applies to a trading company; international experience (IFRS, cross-border structures) is a strong advantageExperience with ERP systems in a finance leadership context; Dynamics 365 / Business Central familiarity is a plusFluent in Turkish; strong working English (the Group operates in English)What This Role Is NotThis is not a financial controller position with a director title. We are not looking for someone whose primary instinct is to check, verify, and approve. We are not looking for someone who needs a large team and a long timeline to feel confident. We are not looking for someone who will slow the business down in the name of caution.We are looking for someone who makes the business faster, smarter, and better capitalized — and who builds a finance function that the whole company is proud of.What We OfferA leadership role with real authority and real visibility — you will be in the room where decisions are madeA fast-moving business with genuine growth ambition and a group structure that gives you exposure to international trade, Dubai, and East Africa alongside TurkeyThe chance to build and shape the finance function rather than inherit a fixed structureDirect access to senior leadership and the Group — your voice will be heardA team and culture that values execution, directness, and results over process and hierarchyCompetitive compensation structured to reflect the seniority and impact of the role