Operations & Finance Lead

Polysense; Oost-Vlaanderen; Sur place; EUR 90 000 - 150 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Polysense is scaling rapidly and building an AI-native operational backbone to support growth. You will own the finance and business operations infrastructure, from FP&A and budgeting to subsidies, payroll, and governance, reporting directly to the Chief of Staff.

This is a builder role focused on automating processes, reducing manual work, and ensuring scalable systems as Polysense grows from seed stage to the next phase.

Qualifications

• 3 to 6 years of relevant experience in finance, operations, or a role combining both.
• Having run finance in a high-growth environment is a strong plus.
• Hands-on experience with automation and AI-native tooling is a genuine bonus.

Responsabilités

• Own and build the finance and business operations infrastructure.
• Lead FP&A, budgeting, and cost insights for better decision making.
• Identify subsidy and grant opportunities and manage the application process.
• Coordinate bookkeeping for Belgian entity and external accountant for US entity.
• Automate payroll and core administrative processes to reduce manual work.

Connaissances

Finance & Ops

Automation

AI-native tooling

High ownership

Outils

Claude

Claude Code

Description du poste

Polysense is scaling fast. We're building operational intelligence software that's reshaping how food manufacturers work. Customers like Agristo, Lotus Biscoff and La Lorraine are already running on it and the internal engine powering that growth needs to keep up. That means our finance and operations backbone needs to be tight, automated, and built to scale.

To make that happen, we're hiring an Operations & Finance Lead. This is not a back-office role. This is a builder role. You'll own the finance and business operational infrastructure of a seed stage deep tech company, identify everything that slows us down and replace it with lean, AI-native processes that don't need an army to run. You'll report directly to the Chief of Staff and be a key part of how Polysense keeps scaling without bloating the overhead.

The mission is simple: take every finance and business process at Polysense to the next level, build what isn't there yet, and make everything that already exists ready for the next phase of growth.

What you’ll be doing

01. Finance ownership

• Build and own the financial reporting layer. From cash flow forecasting to board-level dashboards and KPI tracking, you make sure leadership always has clear, reliable visibility on where the company stands. Monthly reporting cadence is yours to own and control.
• Drive FP&A activities across the organisation. Together with functional Heads, you build the yearly budget and support teams with clear insights into their cost base so they can make better decisions.
• Spot subsidy and grant opportunities proactively and own the full application process from identification to submission. We've run FIT and R&D tracks before. You build a structural approach so we never leave money on the table.
• Take ownership of the bookkeeping process, from quarterly VAT returns to annual closing. For the Belgian entity you drive this in-house. For the US entity (Polysense Solutions Inc.) you coordinate with our external accountant to make sure compliance is covered.
• Operations & process excellence
• Audit the operational landscape at Polysense and take ownership of the processes that need to be built, fixed, or scaled. Nothing stays manual if it doesn't have to be.
• Lead ad hoc cross-functional projects across the organisation. When something important needs to get done and doesn't have a clear owner, that's you.
• Work with our sales leadership on forecasting and pipeline management. You build the insights that help our team sell more.
• Work alongside our legal counsel on contract management, GDPR compliance, and corporate filings. You're the internal point of contact making sure nothing gets dropped.
• Own and automate the monthly payroll process end-to-end, working alongside HR where needed. Your default is to build it so it barely needs touching.
• Own general company administration and documentation. You make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
• Contribute to SaaS stack and vendor management. Track subscriptions, flag renewal risks, and make sure we're getting value from what we pay for.
• Support people ops on the administrative side. Onboarding paperwork, social secretariat coordination, and employee contract administration, working closely with HR.

Key point:

This role is not about executing tasks in a steady state. It's about building systems so those tasks run themselves.

What You BringBackground & Experience

• 3 to 6 years of relevant experience in finance, operations, or a role combining both
• A finance background is preferred, but we care more about what you've actually built than which box you tick
• Having run finance in a high-growth environment is a strong plus. You know what it feels like when things move faster than the processes can keep up and you've built your way out of it
• Hands-on experience with automation and AI-native tooling is a genuine bonus

Skills & Mindset

• High ownership, low handholding

You figure out your own priorities, manage your own calendar, and take initiative without being asked. You don't wait for a brief, you write the brief.

AI native, not AI curious

You don't just use AI tools, you build with them. Whether that's Claude, Claude Code, or whatever gets the job done, your default is to automate. Manual work is a last resort.

• Process builder, not process follower

You care about making things better, not just keeping them ticking. Clear, direct communicator. No politics. No noise.

What Success Looks Like

• Operational excellence within the finance function. All processes run smoothly with minimal repetitive manual work
• Monthly reporting cadence is fully in control and gives leadership clear visibility at all times
• FP&A is embedded in how functional teams plan and make decisionsSubsidy and grant opportunities are tracked and acted on structurally
• Key business processes across Polysense are documented, optimised, and ready to support the next phase of growth
• The Chief of Staff spends less time on operational firefighting and more time on strategy