SME Services Business

Overview of Need

Non-Executive Director (NED) – Operational Excellence & CEO Sounding Board

Location: UK (flexible, occasional in-person sessions)
Commitment: 1–2 days per month
Remuneration: £1,500 per day + equity offer

About the Company
We are a founder-led SME services company with a turnover of c.£4m. With a loyal client base and a reputation for quality delivery, the company is now moving into its next growth phase — focusing on scaling operations, improving efficiency, and strengthening leadership decision-making. While our work is firmly private-sector focused, we remain agnostic about the markets we serve.
The Opportunity
We are seeking a Non-Executive Director who will act as both a trusted sounding board for the CEO and a source of expertise in operational excellence. This is a role for someone who can balance support with constructive challenge, helping the founder make key decisions confidently while embedding the right processes for sustainable growth.

Role Purpose
The NED will:
• Support operational excellence – advising on processes, systems, and structures that enable scalability and efficiency.
• Guide key decision-making – providing perspective, challenge, and reassurance to the CEO and leadership team.
• Act as a sounding board – offering mentorship and support to a young, ambitious founder.
• Strengthen governance and oversight – ensuring financial discipline, risk management, and professionalisation as the company grows.

Candidate Profile
We are looking for someone who combines hands-on SME scale-up experience with a mentoring, engaging leadership style. The ideal candidate will have:
• A track record of scaling SMEs (ideally private-sector focused, though market agnostic) from c.£3–10m turnover.
• Operational expertise – improving efficiency, systems, and leadership capacity.
• Strong strategic and commercial acumen, able to support critical business decisions.
• An open and engaging mindset, encouraging debate and discussion, and comfortable maintaining a to-and-fro relationship with the CEO using tools such as WhatsApp, Teams, and email.

What We Offer
• £1,500/day fee plus equity participation but synergy and mindset fit is the critical part for me.
• A flexible commitment of 1–2 days/month, with focused impact.
• The opportunity to influence a high-potential SME and partner closely with a dynamic founder.