Senior Finance Manager

Helical; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Helical is hiring a Senior Finance Manager to run the company’s finances and build the finance function ahead of our Series A. You’ll own finance across our UK and Luxembourg entities, including accounting, budgets, planning and the processes and tooling that support them.

The role targets an accounting-focused professional with startup/scale-up experience who wants to grow with the company as the finance team expands.

Qualifications

• 4–6 years of experience with a strong accounting foundation.
• 2–3 years in audit, accounting or corporate finance.
• Experience with multi-entity setups UK/Luxembourg and fundraising exposure.
• Based in Luxembourg or London, or willing to relocate.
• Fluent English; French or German is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own accounting and month-end close across UK and Luxembourg entities, including intercompany flows and consolidation.
• Own compliance in both countries: statutory accounts, VAT, corporate tax, payroll filings, and audits.
• Build and run the annual budget and rolling forecast; track variances.
• Manage cash and runway forecasts; ensure liquidity.
• Prepare monthly management reporting and investor packs for boards.
• Support Series A process: model, data room, due diligence and investor reporting.
• Run finance operations with AI-first FinOps: payables, receivables, expenses, and approvals.
• Build/refine scalable finance processes and controls (policies, approvals, tools).
• Cover HR & admin ops: payroll, contracts, employee records, and entity admin in coordination with Ops.

Skills

Audit & accounting

Finance modelling

Budgeting & forecasting

Multi-entity finance

Intercompany accounting

AI-enabled FinOps

Investor reporting

Education

ACA/ACCA/CPA or equivalent

Tools

Accounting software

AP/Expense tools

Cash management tools

Subscription management tools

Job description

We are hiring a Senior Finance Manager to run Helical's finances and build out the finance function ahead of our Series A. You'll be our first full-time finance hire. You'll own finance across our UK and Luxembourg entities: accounting, budgets and planning, as well as the processes and financial / operational tooling around them. The role is tailored to someone with an accounting background and startup / scale-up experience who wants to grow with the company as the finance team expands.

What You'll Do

• Own accounting and month-end close across both entities (UK and Luxembourg), including intercompany flows, consolidation, and transfer pricing, in partnership with our external advisors;
• Own compliance in both countries: statutory accounts, VAT, corporate tax, payroll filings, and annual audits;
• Build and run the annual budget and a rolling forecast. Track actuals against plan and flag variances early;
• Manage cash and keep the runway forecast up to date;
• Prepare monthly management reporting and board and investor packs;
• Support the Series A process: financial model, data room, due diligence, and investor reporting after the round;
• Run finance operations (FinOps) with an automation and AI first mindset: payables, receivables, invoicing, expenses, card spend, and approvals, automated where possible;
• Build and refine finance processes and controls that scale with the company: expense policy, approval flows, purchasing, and finance tools;
• Cover HR and admin operations: payroll, benefits, contracts and employee records, and entity and corporate admin, in coordination with the Ops team

Requirements

We are looking for a hands-on finance professional with an accounting background and scale-up experience, who can handle the day-to-day work and build the finance function as the company grows.

You bring:

• A total of 4-6 years of experience, including:
  • 2-3 years of experience in audit, accounting or corporate finance, with a strong accounting foundation (accounting qualification such as ACA, ACCA, CPA or expert-comptable a plus);
  • 2-3 years of experience in a start-up, scale-up or otherwise dynamic environment during a period of growth is a strong plus;
• Experience with the FinOps stack (accounting software, accounts payable / expense tool, cash management tool, subscription tool etc.), ideally in the SME category;
• Experience building budgets, forecasts, and financial models, and turning them into clear reporting for leadership and investors;
• Hands-on experience with a multi-entity setup, ideally across the UK and Luxembourg (or the UK and an EU country) is a strong plus;
• Exposure to a fundraising process (due diligence, data room, investor reporting) is a strong plus;
• Based in Luxembourg or London, or willing to relocate;
• Fluent English; French or German is a plus

We are expecting someone who:

• Takes ownership of their work;
• Is accurate, and pragmatic about priorities;
• Prefers simple, automated processes, and is fluent with AI tools;
• Is a good communicator: explains the reasoning behind decisions and numbers clearly to non-finance colleagues and investors;
• Wants to experience a very fast paced AI startup environment and wants to grow with the company

Domain Experience

Experience in biotech, life sciences, deep tech, or AI is a plus, but not required. Interest in what we build matters more than prior domain knowledge.