Finance Director at Cooke Aquaculture

Take a look at the role…

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the finance director role at Cooke Aquaculture Scotland.

Cooke Aquaculture Scotland is one of the leading producers of Scottish salmon, and is the largest producer of organic Scottish salmon. We supply customers in 15 countries in Europe and north America and contribute to making Scottish salmon the UK’s number one food export.

Part of the Cooke family of companies since 2014, Cooke Aquaculture Scotland is a vertically-integrated producer headquartered in Bellshill with Atlantic salmon farming operations in Orkney, Shetland, mainland Scotland and the north of England.

Farm-raised Scottish salmon already has one of the lowest carbon footprints of all animal proteins, and we’re committed to doing more to become “net zero” and play our role in tackling harmful climate change.

We’ve grown our workforce by more than 10% in the last year to keep up with demand for our premium product and we’re well positioned to emerge strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic.

We now seek a dynamic and experienced finance director as part of our dynamic, highly-skilled and innovative management team who can lead our finance colleagues and provide the strategic input to help us to grow responsibly and sustainably.

If you’re ready to start your Cooke career, we’d love to hear from you.

Thanks & regards,

Colin Blair
Managing Director

Cooke Aquaculture Inc is a family-owned company based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada. Established in 1985, over the years the company has expanded its facilities, product lines and distribution network to become a fully integrated corporation, with operations throughout the world. These include salmon farming operations in Atlantic Canada, the United States (Maine and Washington), Chile and Scotland, as well as seabass and sea bream farming operations in Spain.

Cooke Aquaculture Scotland is one of the UK’s leading salmon producers with seawater salmon farms located in the Shetland and Orkney Islands. The strong tidal waters surrounding the islands make them the perfect place to rear the world’s finest salmon.

Our freshwater sites are geographically spread in Argyll, Cumbria, Clackmannanshire, Shetland and Sutherland. Tucked into the natural beauty of the countryside, all sites operate with state-of-the-art technology for the perfect integration in their environment. Glasgow is our hub for logistics and sales, from the reception of the fish to distribution to markets around the world. The vertical integration of all these operations guarantee our customers the full traceability of all our fish. We have business support functions operating throughout the UK, from Cumbria to Shetland. Our UK Corporate Office is located in Bellshill, Glasgow and hosts a range of departments, such as finance, sales, supply chain, IT, technical, PR and environmental

Our company’s success is driven by our dynamic, highly skilled, and innovative management team, supported by dedicated employees who live in coastal communities and contribute to the local area’s economy and sense of community. We are committed to responsible and sustainable production and the delivery of high-quality products through several accreditations.

Our values tie us to the communities where we farm and to the people who work for us and make our success a reality.

  • Community and Family
  • Health and Safety
  • Respect
  • Accountability
  • Quality
  • Continuous Improvement and Growth
  • Environmental Sustainability

Please watch the following video for more information…

We are now seeking a Finance Director to provide sound financial leadership for Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, as the current long-term Head of Finance is expected to retire in the second half of 2021.

We currently employ 360 staff, with the finance team operating across several sites including Bellshill, Cumbria, Orkney and Invergordon. This pivotal, senior appointment assumes financial, budgetary and leadership responsibility for the £150 million turnover business. This position represents an exceptional career opportunity for an ambitious, driven Chartered Accountant, who can provide sound financial stewardship to the operation and make a positive impact on strategic decision making.

The new appointee will have responsibility for developing a robust strategic approach on all financial matters with full P&L responsibility for the c£150m turnover business, delivered through a finance team of 12 located across 4 different sites. The role reports directly to Managing Director, with a dotted line into the Chief Accounting Officer based in Canada.

The recruitment for this position is being managed by our advising consultants, Livingston James.

Interested candidates should provide a tailored CV and covering letter to Jacqui Paterson at [email protected]

All third party applications, enquiries and direct approaches to Cooke Aquaculture will be referred to Livingston James.

Recruitment Timetable…

  • 1st stage interviews with leadership team week beginning 10th May
  • Psychometric testing
  • 2nd stage interviews with leadership team week beginning 24th May
  • Concluding meetings week beginning 31st May

The recruitment of this position is managed by Livingston James