Financial Controller
About us
Focaldata is a London-based research technology company — £9m in revenue, growing fast, and backed by clients like Airbnb, TikTok, and the Gates Foundation. We use technology to deliver the kind of deep, accurate insight that traditionally took months and cost a fortune. We do it faster, and better.
We're at the stage where the foundations matter. That means bringing in finance talent that can keep pace with the business, handle complexity to bring clarity, and help leadership make better decisions. If you're a finance professional who likes finance done well — accurate, on time, clear — and wants real ownership of the day to day, this is the role.
About the role
This role exists to give finance dedicated, hands-on ownership as we scale. You'll work directly with our Operations Lead, who provides oversight, strategic direction and partnership with the wider leadership team. You'll own the day-to-day finance rhythm — month end, payroll, AR, AP, reporting, forecasting, tax and equity — and partner with the bookkeeper, external accountants and the rest of the business to keep the numbers accurate, timely and useful.
It's an operational role with real scope. You'll take what's running today and make it better — through cleaner processes, sharper controls, and automation where it earns its place.
Please note: this role is based in Johannesburg South Africa, working together in person with the Operations Lead 2-3 times a week
What you'll do
Month end and accounting
- Own the monthly close end-to-end: P&L and balance sheet categorisation, supplier accruals and deferrals, journal entries.
- Maintain the finance model with accurate, up-to-date numbers.
- Manage day-to-day relationship with the bookkeeper.
- Lead year-end accounts with external accountants.
AR and AP
- Own the AR cycle: invoicing, debtor chasing rhythm, escalation thresholds.
- Review and approve AP.
- Improve controls and approval flows over time.
Payroll
- Run monthly payroll review and approval.
- Manage pension and PMI updates.
- Partner with people ops on starter/leaver/role change inputs.
Tax
- Own quarterly VAT submissions.
- Support R&D tax claim cycles with external advisors.
Reporting
- Produce the monthly management packs and quarterly board pack, with clear variance commentary.
- Run the monthly finance review with the Operations Lead and CEO.
- Maintain Datarails — pushing in management numbers, board pack inputs and cashflow updates.
- Own Gross Margin and Contribution Margin reporting and work with the team to bring things back on track where needed.
Forecasting and budgeting
- Maintain the rolling cashflow forecast and surface problems early.
- Run the revenue forecast.
- Support the Operations Lead and CEO on the annual budget and reforecasts.
Equity and insurance
- Maintain the cap table and shares register in Carta.
- Coordinate AMV/UMV valuations, option grants and option compliance.
- Manage insurance renewals and policy reviews.
Systems and automation
- Partner with the Operations Lead on building out the finance automation layer — AR chasing, management pack assembly, cost attributions are some examples.
- Use AI actively to reduce manual and repeat work across the function.
Who you are (skills and experience)
- 2-4 years in a finance role with strong operational experience — month end, AR, AP, payroll, reporting. Background in a high-growth or scale-up environment a plus.
- Qualified accountant (CA(SA), CIMA, ACCA or equivalent).
- Comfortable owning a monthly close end to end and managing relationships with external accountants and bookkeepers.
- Solid Excel / Google Sheets and financial modelling — three-statement models, scenario and sensitivity analysis.
- Comfortable communicating finance clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
- Comfortable with imperfect data and motivated to improve it through better definitions, processes and systems.
Bonus points for
- Experience with both services and software revenues, ideally within the same company.
- Experience using AI and automation to streamline finance processes.
- Familiarity with QuickBooks, Datarails, Carta or Rippling.
- Familiarity with UK VAT, R&D tax claims and UK company filings (we're a UK entity).
- Experience supporting board reporting or investor materials.
Who you are (mindset)
- You take pride in finance done well — accurate, on time, clear.
- You're comfortable with ambiguity and don't wait for perfect conditions to make progress.
- You care about simplifying and improving over time, not just getting through the month.
- You communicate clearly and confidently with non-finance stakeholders.
- You're energised by a fast-moving environment and take ownership seriously.
Focaldata is an equal opportunities employer. We believe in the value of a diverse and inclusive workforce for our business, team and customers. We encourage all applications regardless of age, disability, gender, marriage, pregnancy, maternity, race or nationality, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
We also understand that certain groups may not feel empowered to apply unless they match every single requirement. Please do apply even if you don't match 100% of every single requirement!