DAF / CFO Luxury Craftsmanship Group Permanent contract Lyon, FR Paris, FR ACCOUNTING Accountin[...]

Chief Financial Officer / Finance Director (CFO / DAF)

Client: Luxury Craftsmanship Group

Location: France with European Travel

Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer & Strategic Planner Director.

Governance: Executive Committee / Board exposure

Team: 2-3 people (Finance, Accounting, Admin/HR)

Context:

A European luxury fashion house with strong heritage and international ambitions is entering a critical transformation phase. The group is restructuring its legal and operational footprint, strengthening governance, and accelerating growth toward an ambitious mid-term objective.

To support this phase, the CEO wishes to appoint a highly operative CFO / DAF, initially through a confidential advisory and transformation mandate, with a clear objective to transition into a permanent executive role once the transformation is stabilised.

The appointment is urgent and requires the highest level of discretion.

Role Purpose:

The CFO / DAF is a key member of the leadership team, responsible for finance, accounting, treasury, compliance, and HR oversight, with a strong operational bias.

This role combines:

Immediate execution in a sensitive environment

Support of a complex organisational and legal transformation

Progressive structuring of the finance & admin function to support international growth

This is not a purely supervisory CFO role. The successful candidate will be hands-on, pragmatic, and deeply involved in day-to-day operations.

Key Responsibilities

• 1. Financial Planning, Analysis & Business Support
  • Build and manage short- and mid-term cash-flow forecasts
  • Deliver clear financial analyses and recommendations to the CEO
  • Partner with business planning / controlling functions on budgets and scenarios
• 2. Treasury & Banking Relations
  • Manage relationships with banking partners and financial institutions
  • Oversee treasury, liquidity, and working capital
  • Optimise capital structure and funding sources
• 3. Accounting, Reporting & Compliance
  • Ensure accuracy, timeliness, and compliance of financial statements
  • Supervise monthly, quarterly, and annual closings
  • Ensure full tax, social, and regulatory compliance
  • Coordinate with auditors, legal advisors, and external consultants
• 4. Organisation, Governance & Transformation
  • Support legal and organisational restructuring across entities
  • Contribute to governance processes, including interaction with employee representative bodies
  • Redesign finance and admin processes to support scale and internationalisation
  • Lead and develop a small finance / accounting / admin team (2-3 people)
  • Bring structure and best practices while remaining pragmatic and operational
• 6. HR Oversight
  • Supervise HR administration in coordination with existing resources
  • Ensure compliance with employment law and internal HR processes
  • Act as a trusted partner to the CEO on people-related topics during the transition

Profile & Experience

Background

• Master's degree in Finance, Economics, or related field
• 10+ years of experience in finance leadership roles
• 5+ years as CFO / DAF or equivalent senior role
• Strong experience in SMEs or entrepreneurial environments
• Experience in luxury, fashion, retail, or craftsmanship-driven businesses is a strong plus

Languages

• French: mandatory
• Italian: strong plus

Technical & Personal Attributes

• Very hands-on and execution-oriented
• Strong accounting, tax, and treasury expertise
• Comfortable working directly in ERP and reporting tools
• High level of integrity, discretion, and confidentiality
• Calm, structured, and reliable in sensitive contexts
• Able to combine operational delivery with strategic perspective

Practical Information

• Immediate availability strongly preferred
• Initial confidential advisory / transformation mandate
• Clear intention to evolve into a permanent CFO / DAF role
• Regular travel within France and occasional international travel

Level

• Director / President / C Suite

Skills

• ACCOUNTING (Advanced)
• Accounting (Advanced)
• Accounting Management (Advanced)
• FINANCE (Advanced)
• Finance (Advanced)
• Management Accounting (Advanced)
• Transition Management (Advanced)
• Transition Planning (Advanced)
• Treasury Management (Advanced)
• governance (Advanced)