Interim Chief Financial Officer (Maternity Cover)

Job Description

At a Glance

Us: Fast-growing startup of 100+ people. We are a remote-first team, mainly based in the UK. YC alumni (summer 2019) and Series A funding of 32$m in 2023. Our mission is to revolutionise how the world learns about people, so people can revolutionise the world.🚀

You: An experienced and strategic-thinking chief financial officer, with a strong financial acumen and expertise in series A-C business growth.

The Role

We are a rapidly growing venture-backed marketplace business, operating in a dynamic and competitive industry. With our focus on innovation, customer satisfaction, and market expansion, we have achieved significant revenue growth. As we continue to scale our operations, we are seeking an experienced and strategic Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to join our executive team and lead our financial functions on a 12-month temporary basis.

As the CFO of our venture-backed business, you will be responsible for overseeing all financial aspects of the company. Your primary objective will be to provide strategic financial leadership, drive financial planning and analysis, and ensure effective financial operations and compliance. You will play a critical role in supporting the company's growth trajectory through overseeing the finance function, supporting our exec and leadership teams, helping make decisions on capital allocation, managing investor/board relations, and leveraging your experience of fast growth business priorities.

What you'll be doing

• Financial Strategy: Develop and execute Prolific’s financial strategy in alignment with our overall business goals and objectives. Provide financial guidance to the CEO and executive team to drive growth, maximize profitability, and enhance shareholder value. Leverage your experience in series A-C funding rounds to support capital-raising initiatives.

• Financial Planning and Analysis: Lead the financial planning and forecasting process, including budgeting, forecasting, and long-term financial modeling, overseeing and reviewing prep done by our Senior Financial Controller. Ensure accurate and timely financial analysis, performance reports, and insights to support decision-making and drive operational efficiency.

• Investor/Board Relations: Manage relationships with our existing investors and support the CEO in preparing for (and attending when required) board meetings. Serve as a key point of contact for investor queries and communications monthly (and ad hoc as required) including financial updates and board pack preparation, supported by the team.

• Financial Operations: Oversee all financial operations performed by our in-house team, including accounting, financial reporting, tax planning, and compliance. Ensure Prolific’s financial systems and processes are efficient, accurate, and aligned with best practices and relevant regulations. Day to day you will be required to serve as a point of escalation, supporting the more complex queries and providing final review/sign-off.

• Risk Management: Identify, assess, and mitigate financial risks to safeguard the company's assets and financial stability. Ensure adequate controls are in place and that the team are adhering to them along with the relevant compliance frameworks and risk management practices. Stay informed about regulatory changes and ensure the company's financial practices remain compliant.

• Team Leadership: Build and lead a high-performing finance team, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Provide mentorship, coaching, and professional development opportunities to enhance individual and team capabilities.

• Strategic Partnerships: Collaborate with key stakeholders, including legal and operations as well as Product, Sales & Marketing to evaluate potential strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and M&A opportunities. You may be required to assess financial feasibility, conduct due diligence, and support negotiation and integration processes.

What you’ll bring

• Proven track record as a CFO or in a senior financial leadership role within a high-growth organisation, preferably in the technology or marketplace industry.

• Experience in venture-backed companies, with expertise in companies between series A-C funding rounds.

• Solid understanding of financial management principles, financial planning and analysis, and accounting practices.

• Strong strategic thinking and analytical skills, with the ability to translate financial data into actionable insights and drive decision-making.

• Excellent leadership and team-building capabilities, with a track record of building and developing high-performing finance teams.

• Strong business acumen and ability to think strategically while managing day-to-day financial operations.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all level and make finance accessible to all in the company

• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and compliance frameworks applicable to the industry.

• Ideally professional certification(s) such as CIMA, ACA or equivalents.

What you’ll get

⚖️ Work-Life Balance: We’re all looking to strike the right work-life balance, and as a remote-first company you’re able to work flexibly from your home in the UK or our dog-friendly co-working space in Shoreditch. We offer 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays of course, which you can switch with any day of your choosing. We also have adjusted hours where the whole company finishes 2 hours earlier on Fridays.

🏡 Family Life: We offer generous maternity, paternity and shared parental leave. Need to pick your child up from school? No Problem. Our flexible working gives you the childcare flexibility you need.

💰 Pension: We offer a salary sacrifice pension with a 3% starting employer contribution.

📈 Share Options: An exciting option to buy shares of Prolific in the future.

🧘 Wellbeing: We care deeply about our employees well-being, that’s why we offer comprehensive Bupa & Medicash private health insurance, that disregards medical history. Taxable monthly stipend of £150 in order for you to improve your wellness and remote experience. We want you to have a happy and healthy environment so we offer a £1000 home office budget, along with a Apple MacBook when you start, plus a £200 yearly top-up.

⚰️ Death-in-service: We offer a death-in-service benefit that would pay out 4x of your annual salary.

📚 Learn & Grow: Development is important to us, and we want to give all our employees the opportunity to learn. There are many personal growth and career progression opportunities available, as well as mentoring. We also offer a £1000 yearly budget for education, growth and training for you to use at your discretion.

💙 Culture: We’re a friendly bunch here at Prolific; open, transparent and inclusive. Although we’re a remote first company we still love to hang out with each other! We run collaborative quarterly company-wide meets up and team socials (both virtually and in-person), all paid for. Alongside this we offer a £1000 yearly budget for discretionary meet-ups so you can cover travel, food and accommodation. As a business we’re also committed to carbon offsetting; each month we donate money in your name to plant trees 🌳 and being remote we’re doing our bit to offset travel too

Our Interview Process

Talent Call: You'll meet with one of our Talent team and have an exploratory call about the role requirements, life at Prolific, as well as your background and aspirations.

Hiring Manager Interview: You'll interview with two members of the team, one of which will be the hiring manager. You'll have the opportunity to ask about the company and the role, and we'll ask you questions about your experiences and goals. Panel Interview: We'll hold a panel interview that evaluates skills required for the role. You'll meet with more of our team and may be asked to complete a presentation or task. You'll be compensated with a £50 voucher 💰 for completing the task because we know your time is valuable! Final Interview: We will deep dive into your past experiences, goals, motivations, and skills all aligned to our Prolific Principles. You'll speak with two to three members of the team and - as always - have an opportunity to ask questions about the role and company.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Monitoring

Prolific is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. We welcome all applications, and consider them without regard to race, religion, belief, age, gender, gender expression, gender identity, gender reassignment, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, sex or sexual orientation.

We are committed to ensuring a fair recruitment process, it's essential to our success. Under the Equality Act (2010) we collect information from individuals at the point of application. We anonymously monitor the profiles of individuals that apply to each vacancy to ensure that no individual is unfairly discriminated against or disadvantaged.

Privacy Statement

By submitting your application, you agree that Prolific may collect your personal data for recruiting and global organisation planning. Prolific's Candidate Privacy Notice explains what personal information Prolific may process, where Prolific may process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over Prolific’s use of your personal information.