At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead finance at Stride, managing grants, loans, and financial reporting.
- Company: Stride is revolutionising preventative health with innovative membership services.
- Benefits: Flexible working days, competitive salary, and a Free StrideOne membership.
- Other info: Join a dynamic team focused on impactful health solutions.
- Why this job: Shape the future of health while owning a vital finance function.
- Qualifications: Senior finance experience and ACA/ACCA/CIMA qualification required.
The predicted salary is between 59400 - 72600 £ per year.
UK (Hybrid) | Reporting to CEO | 2-3 days a week from January 2027
Free StrideOne membership plus family and friends discount
About Stride
'Normal' health is no longer good enough. Normal is code for tired, stressed, barely functioning and slowly declining, and calling that a life. We think everyone has a right to better than that. Stride is turning tracking your entire internal biology into a lifestyle, with a next generation preventative health membership. Every member builds a multi-omic health profile covering DNA, microbiome, blood biomarkers, epigenetics and oral health. That’s over 500 biomarkers, tested at least twice a year, so we can see direction of travel and not just a single point in time. Then we turn it into what to actually do: what to eat, how to train, what to supplement, what to watch, with a coach, dietitian or physiologist alongside you. Imagine an elite longevity concierge, at an everyday price, with no stuffy clinics to attend!
The Role
Stride has grown mostly on its own revenue: £5.2M to date, 15,000+ paying customers and a 94% six-month renewal rate on our flagship membership. We’re now adding serious institutional money on top: a competitive Innovate UK grant and a multi-million-pound Innovation Loan, funding two projects at the centre of our plans. You’ll own finance at Stride a few days a week: hands-on in the detail, senior in the room, and building a function that runs well without you there every day. This isn’t a bookkeeping or advisory role. You’ll have real authority and be accountable for the outcome.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Own financial reporting for the grant and loan: quarterly claims, drawdowns, spend against profile and the evidence behind every eligible cost
- Run the funding governance framework: what can be claimed, how costs are coded and evidenced, and who signs off
- Keep Stride inside the loan’s financial conditions, with headroom visible well before every reporting date
- Manage independent accountant sign-off and funder assurance, with paperwork ready before it’s asked for
- Own the financial side of change requests, including the cost justification funders expect
Reporting & Control
- Own monthly management accounts and a board pack that tells the story behind the numbers
- Oversee bookkeeping, payroll inputs, supplier payments and a predictable month-end close
- Work with external accountants on statutory accounts, tax and R&D tax credits
- Build the controls and audit trail a funded company needs, without process for its own sake
Forecasting, Cash & Planning
- Own the cash flow forecast, budget and scenario planning, and keep them live
- Track the subscription metrics that matter: CAC, LTV, cohort retention, gross margin and recurring revenue
- Manage working capital and existing facilities, and advise on how to fund each stage of growth
- Tell the CEO early when a decision will change the cash picture
Funding & Growth
- Support fundraising, due diligence and reporting to existing investors
- Keep Stride compliant with EIS/SEIS and other investor scheme conditions
- Plan the finance side of our US expansion: entity, currency and tax
Cross-functional Partnership
- Work closely with the CEO on decisions, and with our Chief of Staff, who owns delivery of the funded projects and the funder relationship
- Make sure what we’ve spent always matches what we’ve delivered
- Give straight answers on what the numbers mean, including when it’s not what we hoped
What You’ll Bring
- ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent, plus senior experience as a CFO, FD or head of finance
- Experience in a fast-growing consumer, subscription or DTC business, ideally health, wellness or diagnostics
- Comfort with compliance-heavy reporting where other people’s money is on the line
- Strong command of forecasting, budgeting and management reporting in a small, fast-moving team
- A track record working fractionally or as an embedded interim, and the discipline to make a few days count
- Clear writing: you can turn a funder’s requirements or a messy ledger into something others can act on
- Fluency with modern finance and AI tooling, used to move faster than the team size allows
Bonus points: Innovate UK claims or equivalent grant and loan reporting, supporting a fundraise or acquisition, EIS/SEIS, R&D tax credits, multi-currency operations, taking a business into the US, or regulated/diagnostics experience.
Why Stride
- Preventive health is where consumer health is heading, and your work helps people find out earlier, not too late
- Own a function, not a ledger, and shape how it’s run from day one
- Work directly with a founder who took DNAfit through an eight-figure exit to Prenetics before a Nasdaq listing, plus an advisor who scaled Peloton’s international business to $100M
- Flexible days agreed around your other commitments
A People team built for ambitious businesses
The old model for People & Talent doesn’t work for today's businesses. We’ve built a better one. Traditionally, early‑stage Founders had two options: handle People & Talent themselves, losing precious time they should be spending on product or go‑to‑market, or hire a generalist, expected to cover everything from culture to recruitment to performance. We offer a more impactful alternative: A fully flexible, fractional People & Talent team with specialist skillsets and hands‑on delivery, ready to start driving impact for your business in weeks, not months.
Fractional CFO - Stride in London employer: Foundation Partners
Stride is an exceptional employer that prioritises employee well-being and growth, offering a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of preventive health. With a dynamic work culture that encourages collaboration across all functions, employees can expect meaningful contributions to the company's mission while enjoying benefits like equity, a generous holiday allowance, and a supportive hybrid working environment from our Manchester base. Join us to make a real impact in the health industry alongside a founder with a proven track record in building successful companies.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Fractional CFO - Stride in London
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We think you need these skills to ace Fractional CFO - Stride in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your qualifications:In financial controlling, it's essential to highlight your relevant qualifications. Make sure to include any certifications like ACCA or CIMA in your CV, as they particularly catch the eye of hiring managers in this field. It's all about showcasing your expertise!
Portfolio of projects:As a freelancer, your portfolio is your best friend. Include case studies or summaries of past financial projects you've worked on. Clearly outline the challenges you faced, the solutions you implemented, and the outcomes. This not only showcases your skills but also proves your value to potential clients like Foundation Partners.
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How to prepare for a job interview at Foundation Partners
✨Showcase Your Analytical Skills
In financial controlling, your ability to analyse data is vital. Make sure we highlight specific examples from your previous work where you've utilised analytical tools like Excel or specific forecasting software. The interviewers at Foundation Partners will want to see your numbers dance!
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As a freelancer, your portfolio is your calling card! Let’s make sure it’s packed with case studies that showcase your financial projects, perhaps including any forecasting or budgeting you’ve done for diverse clients. Highlighting your versatility will be key to impressing Foundation Partners.
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When working as a freelancer, be prepared to discuss not just your experience but also your rates and value proposition. We need to have a clear idea of how your skills will fit into Foundation Partners's needs. Confidence in pitching your worth can go a long way!
