Strategic Finance Manager (Modelling & Decision Support) in London

Company Description

IFS is a billion-dollar revenue company with 6000+ employees on all continents. We deliver award-winning enterprise software solutions through the use of embedded digital innovation and a single cloud-based platform to help businesses be their best when it really matters–at the Moment of Service™. At IFS, we're flexible, we're innovative, and we're focused not only on how we can engage with our customers, but on how we can make a real change and have a worldwide impact. We help solve some of society's greatest challenges, fostering a better future through our agility, collaboration, and trust. We celebrate diversity and accept that there are so many different perspectives in this world. As a truly international company serving people from around the globe, we realise that our success is tantamount to the respect we have for those different points of view.

By joining our team, you will have the opportunity to be part of a global, diverse environment; you will be joining a winning team with a commitment to sustainability; and a company where we get things done so that you can make a positive impact on the world. We're looking for innovative and original thinkers to work in an environment where you can #MakeYourMoment so that we can help others make theirs. If you want to change the status quo, we'll help you make your moment. Join Team Purple. Join IFS.

Job Description

IFS is approaching €2 billion in revenue and growing more than 20% a year — because we bet earlier and harder on industrial AI than anyone in our category. EQT, Hg, TA Associates, ADIA, and CPP Investments didn't fund incremental software growth. They funded a thesis: the companies that build and run the physical world will run on agentic AI, and on IFS. That thesis plays out through capital allocation decisions every quarter — where we invest to drive growth, where we pull back, how we structure the business, and how we convert scale into cash and value. These are not abstract questions; they determine how capital is deployed across products, geographies, M&A, and AI.

This role exists to bring rigour to those decisions. You will take imperfect data, build the models that frame the trade-offs, and produce analysis that holds up under challenge. Your work will underpin how capital is allocated — and therefore what the business actually does next. You will sit close to the CFO and work directly on the questions he is personally accountable for — including how we raise capital and manage liquidity events. If you are ambitious and want your work to matter at the top of a company at this scale, this is one of the fastest ways to get there.

What you'll own

• Own the models that matter - You will build and maintain the core financial models underpinning how we run the business — 3-statement models, long-range plans, scenario and sensitivity analysis, and investment cases. These are not static tools; they evolve continuously as the business changes.
• Support capital raises and liquidity events - You will be directly involved in the analysis behind capital raises, refinancings, and liquidity events — work that sits at the centre of the CFO's agenda and is seen directly by the Board and shareholders.
• Turn messy data into decision-ready insight - You will take incomplete, inconsistent, or fragmented data and impose structure on it. That means defining assumptions, reconciling inconsistencies, and producing outputs that can be trusted by senior stakeholders.
• Answer high-impact, technically complex questions - How does growth translate into cash? Where is margin really generated? What moves the valuation? You will take these questions from first principles and build the analysis required to answer them rigorously.
• Pressure-test the numbers - You are accountable for the integrity of the output. That means identifying weak assumptions, stress-testing downside scenarios, and ensuring the model holds together under challenge.
• Bridge modelling and decision-making - You will not only build the model — you will explain it. This role carries substantial, direct CFO exposure: you will regularly present your own analysis to the CFO, and support discussions with senior leadership and shareholders.
• Continuously improve how we model and analyse the business - We are investing heavily in AI, automation, and real-time data. You will help redesign how modelling and analysis is done — making it faster, more scalable, and more reliable.

Why it's different

This is not traditional FP&A, and it is not pure corporate development. You will work on:

• Investor-grade models and analysis
• Real capital allocation decisions, including capital raises and liquidity events
• Problems that are not predefined

In a team where:

• The work is technical, not administrative
• The bar for quality is extremely high
• The output is used directly by the CFO, board, and investors

For someone who is genuinely ambitious, this is a rare shortcut: direct CFO exposure, real capital decisions, and visibility at Board level, far earlier than you'd get on a conventional path. This is a role where you build core technical capability and judgement early — at scale, under real pressure, and in the room where it counts.

Qualifications

What we're hiring for

Above all, we are hiring for raw intelligence and quantitative judgement — not years on a CV. You can take an ambiguous problem, structure it into a model, and produce an answer that stands up to detailed challenge.

You'll typically bring

• Strong financial modelling capability
• Proven ability to build integrated financial models (P&L, cash flow, balance sheet)
• Experience with scenario analysis, sensitivities, and driver-based models
• High level of Excel proficiency (speed, structure, auditability)
• Relevant experience in similar role from one or more of:
• Investment banking (M&A / modelling-heavy teams)
• Transaction services / Big 4 modelling
• Corporate finance / strategic FP&A in a high-growth business

High standards and attention to detail

• You are precise, structured, and consistent
• You care about model integrity and robustness

Quantitative intuition

• You sense when numbers don't make sense
• You understand the drivers beneath the output, not just the output itself

Ability to work with imperfect information

• You are comfortable making progress without perfect data
• You know how to define assumptions and move forward

Clear communication

• You can explain complex outputs simply
• You are comfortable discussing your analysis with senior stakeholders

Ownership mindset

• You take responsibility for the output
• You hold your work to a high bar without needing close supervision

What we care less about

• Years of experience — we would rather hire someone brighter with less experience than someone more experienced but less sharp
• Specific sector experience
• Perfectly standardised career paths
• Prior FP&A experience

We will teach context. We are looking for intelligence, judgement, and pace.

Levelling

Manager (~3–5 years) - Own complex models end-to-end, operate independently, and support decision-making with limited oversight. We are open to exceptional candidates with less experience who demonstrate equivalent modelling capability and intellectual horsepower — capability and brightness matter more than tenure.

Additional Information

We believe that coming together as a community, in person, is important for innovation, connection and fostering a sense of belonging. Our roles have the right balance of remote and in-office working to enable flexibility for managing your life along with ensuring a real connection with your colleagues and the broader IFS community.