ARQ Group Ltd
Embedded CFO | Growth & Innovation Businesses

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We're looking to add our next CFOs within the next few months as demand for ARQ's services continues to grow.
Help Ambitious Founders Build Better Businesses
At ARQ, we believe finance leadership is about far more than reporting.
Great CFOs help founders make better decisions, navigate uncertainty, raise investment, improve performance and build stronger businesses.
We're building a team of commercially minded finance leaders who want to work closely with ambitious businesses across the North of England.
This is an opportunity to join ARQ at an exciting stage as we expand our presence across the Lancaster, Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds areas.
About ARQ
ARQ provides embedded CFO and finance leadership support to growing innovation, technology and founder-led businesses.
Our clients trust us to provide strategic financial leadership, commercial challenge and the visibility they need to scale confidently.
We combine finance expertise with modern systems, structured processes and an AI-enabled operating model that helps our team deliver high-value work consistently.
What Makes This Different?
Most experienced finance leaders eventually face a choice:
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
See breakdownIt searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
- Stay in corporate and lose variety.
- Go independent and build a portfolio from scratch.
We're building a third option.
ARQ combines:
- Interesting growth-company work
- Direct founder relationships
- Shared infrastructure and support
- Peer collaboration and learning
- Business development support
- The opportunity to help build something ambitious
You'll have the autonomy to do meaningful strategic work, while being part of a team that's genuinely invested in each other's success.
The Type of Work You'll Do
You'll work alongside founders and leadership teams to:
- Improve visibility and control
- Build forecasting and planning capability
- Support strategic decision-making
- Prepare businesses for growth and investment
- Improve cashflow, performance and financial discipline
- Help leadership teams make confident decisions
This is strategic finance leadership, not compliance-led accounting.
Who We're Looking For
We're interested in speaking with people who have experience in one or more of the following:
- CFO
- Finance Director
- Head of Finance
- Commercial Finance Leadership
- Fractional CFO
- Scale-up Operator
- Senior Finance Leadership roles


Get help with your application
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We're more interested in commercial judgement, founder partnership and growth experience than job titles alone.
You'll Probably Enjoy This Role If...
You:
- Enjoy working directly with founders.
- Like solving commercial problems.
- Want to make a visible impact.
- Enjoy variety without chaos.
- Have experience helping businesses grow.
- Value autonomy but don't want to operate alone.
Location
We're currently building regional hubs across:
- Lancaster
- Manchester
- Newcastle
- Leeds
We'd welcome conversations with candidates based anywhere in these regions.
While our immediate focus is on building our teams across Lancaster, Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds, we're actively planning further expansion and would welcome conversations with exceptional finance leaders from other regions who may be interested in joining us as ARQ continues to grow.
Let's Talk
You don't need to be actively looking for a move.
You don't need an up-to-date CV.
If you're curious about what we're building and think your experience may be relevant, we'd love to have a confidential conversation.
Apply via LinkedIn or contact Martin Peters directly for an informal discussion.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
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