Finance Operations Lead

AI Acquisition; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,900,000; Full time

Job summary

AI Acquisition is seeking a senior finance operations leader to own cash flow, treasury, and the migration of the payment infrastructure across entities in multiple currencies. You will automate the daily cash cycle, coordinate USD revenue channels into UAE accounts, and drive a transition from UK-based card platforms to UAE-native systems.

You will also oversee external bookkeeping with Emifast and deliver concise weekly cash and P&L views, leveraging AI tools to improve reporting and

Qualifications

• 7+ years in finance operations, treasury, or senior finance roles.
• Experience handling multi-currency, multi-entity setups with high volumes.
• Familiarity with cloud-based bookkeeping and reporting tools such as Xero.
• Ability to automate processes and reduce manual steps.
• Experience managing external bookkeeping partners.

Responsibilities

• Own daily cash cycle across all entities and currencies.
• Manage high-volume USD revenue and fund GBP/AED corporate cards for ad spend.
• Lead migration from UK-based setup to UAE-native infrastructure.
• Evaluate automation of spending platforms and remove manual top-ups.
• Audit and automate recurring processes; deliver weekly cash & P&L summaries.

Skills

Finance operations

Treasury management

Multi-currency experience

Xero expertise

AI in finance

External bookkeeping management

Education

CIMA/ACCA/CA qualification

Tools

Xero

Wise

Pleo

Qashio

Job description

Four entities. Three currencies. $5M+ moving monthly. Ad accounts funded daily across GBP and AED. Revenue flowing from Whop into UAE structures. A payment infrastructure mid-transition. An external bookkeeping partner who needs managing to a standard.

The finance function works. It just works with too many manual steps, too much chasing, and not enough visibility for the people running the business.

Your job is to close that gap - clean systems, automated where possible, visible at a glance.

What you'll own

Cash flow and treasury

• Own the daily cash cycle across all entities
• Manage high-volume USD revenue from Whop into UAE accounts
• Fund GBP/AED corporate cards for Meta ad spend daily - ad accounts don't pause on your watch
• Build a live cash position view the founding team can read without asking

Payment infrastructure

• Lead the migration from Pleo/UK setup to Qashio (UAE-native)
• Evaluate Whop's virtual card platform for automated Meta spend
• Remove manual card-topping entirely - tracked, reconciled, automated

Systems and reporting

• Audit every manual process; automate what repeats
• Build SOPs across cash, payments, refunds, reconciliation; make sure they're followed
• Manage Emifast (external bookkeeping) on accuracy and timeliness across Xero
• Deliver a weekly cash and P&L view in five bullet points, not twenty tabs

Requirements

Who you are

You've run finance in a real operational environment - high transaction volume, multiple currencies, entities that each have their own quirks. You use AI tools in your day-to-day (seriously, not as a buzzword).

You build systems rather than spreadsheets. You flag problems before they become escalations. You don't need to be chased.

You're probably not looking aggressively. You're in a role that works fine but doesn't stretch you, or one where the complexity was real but the scope wasn't.

Requirements

• 7+ years in finance operations, treasury, or hands-on senior finance
• Multi-currency, multi-entity experience at genuine transaction volume
• Xero, Wise, corporate card platforms (Pleo, Qashio or similar)
• Actively uses AI in finance reporting or operations
• Experience managing external bookkeeping or accounting partners

Highly desirable

• UAE / DMCC entity experience
• Performance marketing or high ad-spend environment
• CIMA, ACCA, or CA qualified

What you get

• Real operational complexity from day one