Director of Finance and Technology

The Royal Yacht Britannia is one of Scotland’s most iconic visitor attractions and a world-famous symbol of maritime heritage. Formerly the floating palace of Queen Elizabeth II for over 40 years, Britannia travelled more than one million nautical miles across 968 official State Visits, hosting kings, queens, prime ministers and presidents. Today, it is a five-star visitor experience and prestigious events venue, welcoming guests from around the world to explore the stories of life at sea for both the Royal Family and the Royal Yachtsmen who served onboard.

Fingal is Britannia’s sister ship – a beautifully restored former Northern Lighthouse Board vessel transformed into Scotland’s only luxury static floating hotel. Offering a unique five-star hospitality experience, Fingal combines exceptional design, service, and dining through its award-winning Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar.

Together, Britannia and Fingal deliver outstanding customer experiences, high-profile events, and world-class hospitality while proudly preserving this historic maritime legacy for future generations.

Following the successful tenure of the current Director of Finance & Business Services, who will be leaving in the coming months to take up a role with another organisation, the opportunity has arisen for a new Director of Finance & Technology to join the Executive and lead the organisation through its next growth and development phase. This role will support the organisation at a pivotal stage in its journey to digitise and commercialise new technology, bringing The Royal Yacht Britannia to the world online.

This is a highly visible and strategically critical role, combining focus on financial leadership, digital transformation, and organisational governance. Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will act as the organisation’s principal financial and technology adviser, supporting the Executive Team, Board, and Audit, Risk & Remuneration Management Committee.

You will lead the development and delivery of financial and technology strategies that underpin sustainable growth, operational excellence, and outstanding visitor experiences.

The Director of Finance & Technology is the organisation’s strategic lead for finance, information technology, and digital development. The core purpose of the role is to ensure strong financial stewardship, robust governance, and secure, modern technology platforms that enable high-quality decision making and service delivery, whilst driving developments in technological advancement.

You will lead a team of six finance professionals and two technology specialists, fostering a culture of high performance, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

This role will be responsible for the following:

• Overall leadership, development and mentoring of finance and technology functions for the organisation.
• The development of medium-long term financial plans, forecasts and budgets, and the translation of these into measurable business objectives.
• Accountability for the development of a forward-thinking technology strategy which supports the growth aspirations of the organisation in line with changing visitor and customer landscape.
• Partnering with the CEO to drive continual improvement for the whole organisation as well as scenario modelling and assessment of investment opportunities to drive improvements and growth.
• Overall accountability for financial control, oversight and reporting, delivering effective and informative commercial information for the Board and sub-committees.
• Ensuring compliance with all financial and regulatory requirements including UK GAAP (FRS 102), Charity SORP and others as required, as well as the management of all external advisory, insurance and banking relationships.
• Driving a ‘business partnering’ approach to financial management within the organisation and championing collaboration across teams.

The ideal candidate will be a highly numerate, commercially astute finance leader, with a passion for continuous improvement and a strong understanding of how finance can support driving customer excellence in a luxury hospitality and tourism organisation.

They will possess most of the following career experience:

• At least five years’ experience in a senior finance leadership role (Director of Finance, Head of Finance, or Financial Controller).
• Proven experience of strategic financial planning, governance, and risk management.
• Strong knowledge of UK GAAP, Charity SORP, and regulatory compliance.
• Experience leading finance transformation, technology and systems improvement.
• A track record of developing high-performing teams.
• Strong digital literacy and experience managing IT strategy and cyber security.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• High levels of integrity, professionalism, and attention to detail.
• An engaging, collaborative leadership style with energy and resilience.