Head of Finance

• Contract type
• 12 month fixed term contract, maternity cover
• About Mat Nex

Mat Nex is a London-based deep tech company using AI to accelerate materials discovery.

We combine machine learning with deep materials science expertise to compress discovery timelines that have historically taken years into months.

Our team includes Ph D scientists and engineers working on genuinely complex materials problems, and we are backed by leading investors.

This is a 12 month fixed term contract covering a period of maternity leave.

You would be stepping into a finance function that has been built from the ground up over the last two years rather than inherited, in a company that is still growing quickly and still changing shape.

The role is broad, the pace is real, and you will be the only person in Finance.

The Role

• You will be our sole finance hire, reporting into the C-Suite.

Finance exists so that the leaders of Mat Nex can make decisions on trustworthy, timely numbers without having to run the finances themselves, and you will own that end to end: planning, controls, and Board and investor-ready reporting.

• This is a hands-on role in a small company. There is no team beneath you, which means you will be doing the work as well as owning the outcome.
• What You Will Own
• Financial planning and analysis to support strategic decisions, including budgeting, forecasting, performance analysis, and business cases and pricing and costing frameworks for the commercial and technical programme teams.
• Supporting the Exec team on financing strategy and execution across equity, debt and grant funding.
• Cash: the runway model, cash flow and liquidity management, all banking relationships, and administration across banking platforms.
• The monthly close and management reporting cycle, quarterly Board packs and investor updates: producing all of it to the same standard and timetable as before (or better) and being able to answer any question that comes out of it.
• Statutory, tax and audit compliance end to end: VAT, PAYE and benefits, corporation tax, R&D tax credits, share scheme returns and grant reporting, plus the external audit and the auditor relationship.

Knowing what is due when, without being reminded.

• Processing, controls and systems: transaction processing and record to report, payroll review jointly with People, the delegation of authority framework and supplier and accounts payable approvals, and our finance tech stack of Xero and Dext.
• Equity and corporate governance: the cap table, the share option register, the mechanics of our share plans, and company secretarial coordination.
• Legal, risk and compliance: contract review, management of external counsel, risk management and insurance.

Much of this runs through external advisers across tax, accounting, payroll and legal, so managing those relationships well is part of the role.

• What We Are Looking For
• A qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent), or qualified by experience with a track record that speaks for itself.
• Experience as the sole or most senior finance person in a small company, or as a strong number two who is ready to step up and hold the whole thing.
• Comfortable across the full range in a single day: a technical accounting judgement, a supplier query, a Board paper, a payroll question.
• Strong financial modelling and Excel. You should be able to pick up someone else’s model, understand it, and improve it.
• Working knowledge of UK statutory and tax compliance for a small company: VAT, PAYE and benefits, corporation tax, R&D tax credits, and share schemes.
• Attention to detail, because you’ll be trusted to make decisions without another detailed reviewer
• Discreet and trustworthy. You will hold the cap table, payroll and Board material.
• A clear communicator. Much of the value of this role is in making complex financial positions understandable to people who are not accountants.
• You Have Probably Been Part of a Journey where
• the finance function was built rather than inherited, and you were the person who built it, or who kept it standing.
• you were the one who knew where every number came from, and could explain it without opening the file.
• an audit or a fundraise ran alongside everything else, and month end still happened on time.
• processes were good enough rather than perfect, and you improved them without stopping the business to do it.
• you have taken something over from someone else, or handed something over, and you know what actually makes that work.
• you have worked somewhere technical, where the people around you were expert in something you were not, and you learned enough of their language to be useful.
• This Job Likely Is Not For You If
• you want a team to delegate to. There is not one, and there will not be one during this contract.
• you want a narrow, technical remit. This role is broad by design and the boundaries move.
• you need well-documented process and clear precedent before you can act. Some of it exists, some of it you will write.
• you would find a deep tech environment frustrating, where development timelines are long, the science take time to understand, and revenue does not behave like a SAAS business.
• Flexible holidays: 33 days annual leave/year which can be used on UK public holidays or on more convenient days for you.
• Fully covered comprehensive private healthcare and mental health support.
• Your birthday day off: Enjoy a well-deserved day off to celebrate and recharge.
• Work abroad: Travel the world while you get your job done, see family, or simply explore a new place!
• Enhanced Family & Carers leave to ensure you get that quality time in when you need it.
• Flexible work arrangements: our shared office space in Shoreditch is here to help foster collaboration and community.

Most of the team is in 2 to 3 days a week, but we are happy to discuss alternatives as necessary.

• Continuous learning and growth: We're pioneers in our field, so you'll be encouraged to expand your knowledge and skills in new areas too.
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