Director of Finance

Lead the financial strategy for a team improving millions of lives.

Overview

Simprints builds identification systems for the "last mile" that integrate accurate, safe, and robust biometric technology into existing mobile tools. We are working at the exciting interface of biometrics, technology and international development. Our goal is to radically disrupt the inaccurate way we currently track and deliver essential services, instead building a world where every person—not guesswork—counts in the fight against poverty.

We are looking for a Director of Finance with outstanding analytical skills to drive our financial strategy and deliver insights that enable us to grow our global impact. You are forward-thinking, deeply collaborative, a quick learner, and thrive in a fast-paced, highly autonomous start-up environment. You will collaborate closely with the CEO and others across the team to develop and implement our financial strategy, including forecasting, analysis, and supporting revenue-generating opportunities. You have a track record of strategic thinking, taking initiative, and a demonstrated ability to dig into the detail, using trends and data patterns to identify opportunities for new ways of working that will drive scale, efficiency and growth.

What are your responsibilities?

As Simprints’ Director of Finance, you will continue to evolve and maintain the fundamental financial systems within the organisation, working with the operations and commercial teams to plan for sustainable income generation, and ensuring that there are sufficient resources available to meet the company’s priorities. You will act as the team’s financial guardian and design, implement, and evaluate strategic plans to support Simprints’ financial success. There is huge opportunity to expand and grow within the organisation, and for the right candidate this could mean the potential to take a leadership role within the executive team. Key responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the finance function, ensuring proper administration of Simprints’ financial affairs, and advising and assisting the senior leadership on budget and financial planning strategies
• Leveraging a strong knowledge of the company’s financial model, systems and processes to act as a point of reference for leaders, practitioners and finance colleagues
• Working closely with senior leadership team to assist in developing Strategic Financial Plans, and forecasting short-term financial outlooks using a range of predictive tools
• Monitoring of the annual budget program including production of monthly financial reports for staff and senior leadership
• Ensuring effective administration of Simprints’ taxation, in particular VAT and R&D tax credits, patent box, as well as taxation requirements in countries Simprints operates in and how those interact with the UK and global taxation systems
• Working closely with the CEO and business teams on crafting commercial strategy within the global health & development sector, including interviewing key experts, partners, and mentors on the optimal financial approach
• Actively leading or supporting commercial activities such as diligence, investment, fundraising, and proposals
• Overarching leadership for Simprints’ financial strategy in pursuit of becoming a truly sustainable and scalable global social enterprise   

What skills do you need?

At Simprints you will be working within a cross-functional team of passionate engineers and development professionals focused on different aspects of designing our products and deploying them in the field. Therefore, a deep-rooted commitment to collaborative problem solving, robust data-driven insights, and high quality communications is critical.  Past experience with the requirements below, and the genuine desire to develop world-class skills, are the ideal fit.

Technical Skills:

• Academic background. Relevant degree or equivalent experience in subject areas including Statistics, Mathematics, Business
• Professional qualifications. Ideally a relevant professional qualification (CIMA or ACA), and 2-3 years’ experience post qualification
• Experience. Track record in a commercially focused role such as a top tier global consulting firm or high calibre corporate team. Time with (forward-thinking) finance functions is a plus, but not a requirement.
• Strong analytical skills. Technical experience with financial analysis and business modelling, coupled with a deep fundamental competence in collecting, organizing, and analyzing data accurately.
• Problem-solving.  Distinctive problem solving skills and good financial judgment.  You are capable of translating analysis into business recommendations, and your track record shows a bias to action.
• Excellent written and verbal communications. Ability to craft precise information in both presentation and written formats. We work with a diverse range of team members from all over the world, and you need to be able to clearly communicate across functions, disciplines, and backgrounds.
• Project management. Our goals are ambitious. To achieve them, we need to be able to design, structure, and implement exciting initiatives quickly. You understand time is our most valuable resource, and can manage it strategically to achieve maximum impact for Simprints, and as a consequence improve the lives of our beneficiaries.

Human Skills:

• Intellect. You have a strong ability to synthesize financial data and convert them into information that drive strategic decisions.
• Strategic mindset. You are sharp, with an ability to bring your own perspective to rigorously solve problems, emphasising the importance of principles over process.
• Attention to Detail. You understand the importance of high quality output, including rigorously detailed financial systems.
• Integrity. You have a strong moral grounding and will not compromise on what matters under any circumstances.
• Initiative. You proactively find challenges and offer creative ways to address them. You can juggle several things at the same time, switch between tasks, and jump on whatever fire is burning highest.
• Teamwork. You are independent and reliable, but also quick to ask for and extend help to others. You thoroughly enjoy working in a small, agile, fast-paced team.
• Grit. You have a hands-on, can-do attitude and have the drive to dig deep into problems to discover pain points and features from multiple perspectives, and resilience to stay focused on a project to the end. You are persistent and don’t allow setbacks to drag you down. Instead, you extract key learnings, turn them into opportunities for growth, and move on quickly.
• Passion. If being part of team that designs and deploys technology for global health sounds exciting, we want to meet you!

Why Simprints?

Life is short. We believe work should be awesome, meaningful, and fun. At Simprints, we’re taking on global development’s biggest challenges, powered by an amazing culture and incredible people. Work with us, and you will grow faster, learn more, and take on greater responsibilities than at nearly any other job.

• Work that matters. No matter what role you take, from writing code to running field tests, you’re playing a crucial part in improving lives in the poorest parts of the world.
• Massive, interesting challenges. We’re taking on the biometrics industry to build open-source, accessible tools for frontline mobile operators. We don’t do “boring”.
• Learn like it’s your job. Because here at Simprints, it is. Learning objectives, external mentors, and a significant dedicated education budget you can use for any courses, trips, or projects that power your personal and professional development.
• Work flexible hours. More efficient late at night? Better before the sun rises? That’s fine by us. We are looking for people who get the job done, not people who work between 9am and 5pm.
• Unlimited paid time off.
• Fun, fast-paced Scrum culture.
• Quarterly ‘Lego’ days where you can work on any project you want.
• Free gym memberships and additional wellness budget.
• Free healthy breakfast and snacks.
• Coolest office in Cambridge (the Bradfield Centre - think ‘mini-Google’)

What to do next?

Please submit your CV and cover letter. For the cover letter, make sure to answer the following questions:

• What is your vision for your contribution to the world, what excites you?
• Why are you applying to this role specifically?
• Which Technical and Human skills (listed above) are you strongest in, and which are you weakest in?