Job Title

This role is ideal for a mission-driven finance leader passionate about leveraging data and technology to drive measurable sustainability impacts.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Financial Leadership

• Develop and execute financial strategy to support the company’s mission of scaling sustainability and impact data and intelligence solutions.
• Provide actionable insights to guide decision-making and ensure financial alignment with the start-up’s vision.
• Collaborate with the CEO and leadership team to define long-term goals and funding strategies.

Capital Management and Fundraising

• Lead efforts to secure funding through mission-aligned strategic investors, impact investors, venture capital, private equity, grants, etc.
• Build relationships with financial institutions, investors, and other stakeholders in the sustainability and impact space.
• Optimise capital structure and manage cash flow to ensure financial stability and flexibility.

Financial Operations and Reporting

• Oversee day-to-day financial operations, including budgeting, forecasting, and accounting.
• Implement robust financial controls and systems to ensure compliance and transparency.
• Prepare and present timely, accurate financial reports to investors, board members, and internal stakeholders.

Risk Management and Compliance

• Identify and mitigate financial risks associated with a high-growth start-up environment.
• Ensure compliance with local and international regulations, particularly around ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) disclosures and potentially regulated business.

Scalability and Technology Adoption

• Spearhead financial technology (fintech) initiatives to streamline processes and drive cost efficiencies.
• Support rapid scaling of the organisation by aligning financial systems with growth strategies.

Shareholder Agreement Requirements

• Ensure CEO and Directors of GIST S.A. (our Swiss parent company, of which GIST Impact is the UK branch) are provided accurately and on time GIST S.A.’s financials and GIST Impact’s financials pack every month, using our Financial Accountancy and Taxation Advisory arrangements with our Geneva and London accounting and tax advisors, respectively
• Ensure all Swiss and UK statutory and regulatory reporting requirements are complied with monthly; that all Swiss and UK taxes and imposts required to be paid are correctly calculated and paid on time
• Supervise and quality-control Indian statutory and regulatory reporting requirements and their execution, as there is an India team which does this for the Indian subsidiary
• Ensure that Board reporting requirements* and Investor reporting requirements** are provided to quality and on time, and that our Investors’ queries are handled on a timely basis, consulting GIST SA and GIST India colleagues where required
• Ensure that the firm’s cash flow requirements are well managed, to ensure timely invoicing of sales and collection of sales proceeds, and timely payment of dues
• Reviewing and verifying incoming invoices to ensure they represent valid firm dues, and then putting them up for payment on GIST S.A.’s UBS account, for the CEO to authorise and remit these payments on a fortnightly basis (at present carried out by our Indian finance team of 3 people)
• Other finance work – including financial summary reports and financial analysis – required by the CEO from time to time
• Strategically important projects that involve Finance and Taxation knowledge (e.g., Designing an appropriate ESOP for GIST India, bearing in mind the preponderance of UK/London hires and that all ESOPs thus far are to UK staff, mainly Sales; Evaluating and recommending to Board future options available for a company which has built an Executive Bench with a high proportion of London-based hires.)