Founders Associate

Formulate Digital; Guildford; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work pattern

Direct exposure to founders

Learning & development

Job summary

Formulate Digital is seeking a Founders Associate to own and scale the operational backbone of a growing engineering consultancy. You will work across finance, HR, client proposals, legal and new product development, ensuring smooth day-to-day running as the company scales.

You will partner with the CEO/Co-Founder and COO, using AI tools to optimise workflows, automate processes, and consolidate entities. A hands-on generalist role with broad impact and career growth awaits in a supportive,

Qualifications

• A business degree or equivalent professional experience in business management, operations or general management.
• Hands-on interest in AI tools and their application to operations.
• Excellent written communication for polished proposals, policies and correspondence.
• Organised, pragmatic approach to multiple workstreams and shifting priorities.
• Sound commercial judgement and discretion with confidential matters.
• Experience in technology consultancy or professional services.
• Familiarity with Xero, Pipedrive, Apollo.io or similar platforms.
• Exposure to FinTech, InsurTech or financial services is a plus.
• Experience supporting mergers, entity consolidation or restructuring.
• Practical use of AI coding or productivity tools (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot).

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day business operations alongside CEO/COO to scale finance, HR and commercial processes.
• Support financial operations: invoicing, aged receivables, budgeting and reporting.
• Manage core HR functions: recruitment, onboarding, contracts and policies.
• Draft and quality-check client proposals and statements of work with technical leads.
• Coordinate legal matters: NDAs, contracts, supplier agreements with solicitors as needed.
• Contribute to new product development and internal tooling.
• Identify operational improvements during growth and entity consolidation.
• Leverage AI tools and CRM automation to streamline processes.
• Act as trusted right hand to founders with discretion on sensitive matters.

Skills

Operations management

Financial operations

HR coordination

Client proposals

Legal contracts

AI tools familiarity

Communication

Multi-tasking

Technology consultancy exposure

Regulated industries exposure

Education

Business degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Xero

Pipedrive

Apollo.io

Job description

Help shape the operational backbone that lets a growing engineering consultancy do its best work.

Hybrid, Guildford

2 days in office, remainder remote

Contract type

Full-time, Permanent

Reporting to

CEO / Co-Founder

Experience required

Business, operations or general management experience useful

About the role

We are looking for a Founders Associate to join Formulate and take ownership of the operational backbone that lets us run and scale a growing engineering consultancy. This is a broad, generalist role: you will work across finance, HR, client proposals, legal and new product development, acting as the connective tissue between our commercial ambitions and the day-to-day running of the business.

Key responsibilities

• Own day-to-day business operations, working closely with the CEO and COO to keep finance, HR and commercial processes running smoothly as the company scales.
• Support financial operations including invoicing, aged receivables, budgeting and reporting, working with Xero-based finance data across multiple connected entities.
• Manage core HR functions: recruitment coordination, onboarding, contracts, policies and day-to-day people queries for a team of around 15 and growing.
• Draft, coordinate and quality-check client proposals and statements of work, working with technical leads to translate scope into clear commercial documents.
• Coordinate legal matters including NDAs, supplier and client contracts and general commercial agreements, liaising with external solicitors where needed.
• Contribute to new product development, helping shape internal tools, service offerings and go-to-market plans alongside the founders.
• Identify and implement operational improvements as the business scales, including through the consolidation of multiple trading entities.
• Use AI tools and workflows, including Claude, Xero integrations and CRM automation, to streamline finance, HR and proposal processes.
• Act as a trusted right hand to the founders, exercising sound judgement and discretion across sensitive commercial and people matters.

Essential skills and experience

• A business degree or equivalent professional experience in a business management, operations or general management role.
• A strong, hands-on interest in AI tools and how they can be applied to everyday business operations.
• Excellent written communication, comfortable producing polished proposals, policies and correspondence.
• A pragmatic, organised approach with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and shifting priorities.
• Sound commercial judgement and the discretion to handle confidential financial, legal and people matters.
• Experience working in or with a technology consultancy or professional services business.
• Familiarity with Xero, Pipedrive, Apollo.io or similar finance and CRM platforms.
• Exposure to regulated industries such as FinTech, InsurTech or financial services.
• Experience supporting mergers, entity consolidation or company restructuring.
• Practical experience using AI coding or productivity assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot as part of daily work.

Our values

At Formulate, we live by a Can Do attitude. We are looking for someone who brings energy, positivity and resourcefulness to their work, someone who sees a challenge and looks for a way through it. You will fit right in if you are proactive, adaptable and enjoy figuring things out, especially with the help of modern AI and automation tools.

What we offer

• A hybrid working pattern, with two days per week in our Guildford office and the rest remote.
• Genuine breadth and ownership, shaping how a scaling technology consultancy runs across finance, people, legal and product.
• Direct exposure to the founders and senior leadership, with real influence over how the business grows.
• A supportive, collaborative team culture built around a Can Do mindset.
• Ongoing learning and development, including exposure to the latest AI and automation tools and techniques.
• Clear opportunities to grow into a senior operations, Chief of Staff or COO-track role as the company scales.