Finance Operations & System Lead

A high-growth AI software business is looking to hire a Finance Operations & Systems Lead to help build a lean, highly automated finance function. Reporting directly to the CFO, this is a hands-on role spanning month-end, finance systems, automation, treasury, quote-to-cash and operational finance.

The business has recently implemented a new AI-native ERP and is now at the point of turning a new system into a reliable, scalable finance operating model.

You will have genuine ownership of how finance runs day to day, including the tools, workflows and automations that support it.

Duties

• Own month-end close end to end, including management accounts, balance sheet reconciliations, accruals and prepayments.
• Build reliable, automated finance processes and reduce manual work across the function.
• Own the finance systems roadmap and help the business get the most from its new ERP and wider finance stack.
• Lead operational finance across UK and US entities, working with external specialists where appropriate.
• Maintain daily cash visibility, cash forecasting and working capital oversight.
• Own quote-to-cash from CRM through invoicing, deferred revenue and collections, with strong controls over data entering the ledger.
• Create a clean actuals layer that feeds management and board reporting with minimal manual preparation.
• Support fundraise and diligence readiness by keeping finance data accurate, reconciled and accessible.
• Support first-pass revenue recognition, equity accounting, audit preparation and share scheme administration.
• Over time, broaden into FP&A, budgeting, business partnering and commercial analysis as the core finance operation becomes increasingly automated.

Ideal candidate profile

• Strong hands-on experience owning month-end close, management accounts and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Around 3-5 years' finance experience, ideally from accounting outsourcing/practice or an in-house startup/scale-up finance environment.
• Part-qualified or qualified ACCA, CIMA or ACA, or equivalent practical experience.
• Real ERP experience, ideally including implementation, optimisation or process redesign.
• A genuine automation mindset. You should enjoy building workflows, not simply using finance systems.
• Comfortable using no-code automation tools and able to work with more technical solutions when required.
• Good working knowledge of payroll and core UK finance compliance, with enough judgement to spot when something does not look right.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced environment where ownership is broad and problems do not always sit neatly within one function.
• Useful additional experience includes SaaS revenue recognition, equity accounting, CRM-to-ERP integration, SQL/Python, multi-entity consolidation and FX.

Package

• Up to £85,000 base salary.
• Share options.
• 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays.
• Pension and life cover at 4x salary.
• Optional private health and dental cover.
• Learning and development budget.
• Cycle to work scheme, work-abroad days, referral bonus, team outings and access to an on-site gym.
• West London office with flexibility to work from home 2 days per week.