Volta
Finance Business Partner - Project Controllership
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About Volta
Volta is the category-defining, fully vertically integrated AI infrastructure platform – from capital to clusters to software, under a founder-led enterprise. Our mission is The Utility of Compute™: AI infrastructure as dependable and available as electricity, for every organization that needs it. Launched with a $10B strategic partnership with one of the leading frontier AI labs, a Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, and a $5B AI Infrastructure Fund, Volta is building the infrastructure layer of the AI era from the ground up. We are 100+ people across London, Palo Alto, and New York, with rapid growth expectations to hundreds.
About The Role
The Finance Business Partner will be embedded within the Project Controllership Organization, acting as the finance owner for large, long-duration capital projects from initial commitment through to completion and transfer to operations. You will bring rigorous project and cost accounting to the delivery teams: owning capex and cost accounting for your projects, building and maintaining project cost structures, tracking budgets, commitments and actuals, reporting variances with insight, and ensuring each project is accounted for accurately under US GAAP and closed out cleanly at completion. This is a hands-on role that pairs technical accounting depth with genuine business partnering - you will sit alongside project directors, engineers and procurement, not apart from them.
What You Will Be Doing
Project and capex accounting
Capex accounting:
- Own end-to-end accounting for assigned capital projects, including construction in progress (CIP/AUC), capitalization assessments under US GAAP (ASC 360), componentization, capitalized interest where applicable (ASC 835-20), and transfer to fixed assets on completion with correct in-service dates and useful lives.
- Compute and equipment capex: Own the accounting for high-value compute and network equipment (GPU fleets and associated infrastructure), including vendor purchase order and financing payment tracking, delivery acceptance and in-service dating, componentization and useful lives, residual value support, and lessor accounting for intra-group equipment leases (ASC 842).
- Cost accounting: Maintain accurate, complete and well-classified project cost records - distinguishing capital from operating expenditure, applying the capitalization policy consistently, and ensuring costs land in the correct entity, project, site and cost category.
- Project costing: Build and own project cost breakdown structures (WBS/cost codes) aligned to contracts, procurement packages and the accounting dimension framework; establish cost baselines and estimates-at-completion (EAC) and keep them current.
- Accruals and commitments: Run monthly cost accruals from contractor applications for payment, certifications and goods receipts; maintain the committed cost position (POs, contracts, change orders) and reconcile committed, accrued and actual spend.
- Month-end close: Deliver project close activities to the group timetable - CIP reconciliations, accrual journals, retention and milestone payment tracking, and balance sheet substantiation for project-related accounts.
Reporting, variance analysis and forecasting
- Variance reporting: Produce monthly project cost reports comparing actuals and EAC against budget and prior forecast; explain variances with root-cause commentary and work with project teams on corrective actions.
- Forecasting: Partner with FP&A and Strategic Finance on capex cashflow forecasting, phasing of spend, and funding drawdown planning for your projects. Provide current capex phasing and estimate-at-completion data into Strategic Finance's monthly business plan refresh.
- Board and investor reporting: Contribute project cost and progress data to board packs, lender/investor reporting and management information, ensuring one version of the truth between delivery and finance. Work within, and help build, the group project reporting framework.
- Balance sheet visibility: Own the project-related balance sheet - CIP, retentions, VAT recoverable, prepayments and committed spend - and feed these positions into the group management balance sheet dashboard on an automated, near-real-time basis.
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Project lifecycle and business partnering
- Cradle to completion: Support projects through their full lifecycle - business case and budget setting, contract award, execution, change management, practical completion, final account settlement, and financial close-out including release of retentions and accrual true-ups.
- Change control: Evaluate the cost and accounting impact of scope changes, change orders and claims; ensure changes are approved, coded and forecast before costs are incurred.
- Business partnering: Act as the trusted finance counterpart to project directors, construction managers, procurement and engineering; challenge constructively, translate financial data into decisions, and embed cost discipline in delivery teams.
- Contract and procurement support: Work with procurement and legal on the financial aspects of construction and equipment contracts (payment mechanisms, milestones, retentions, bonds, liquidated damages) and ensure compliance with the Group Procurement Policy and PO controls.
Controls, policy and audit
- Controls: Operate and help design internal controls over project costs, capitalization and payments as part of the group's SOX 404 readiness program, including preparing clear documentation and audit evidence.
- Policy: Apply and help refine group accounting policies (capitalization, PP&E, procurement) and prepare technical accounting analysis for project-specific matters, escalating judgmental issues with well-structured recommendations.
- Audit: Act as the primary project-accounting contact for external audit on assigned projects, preparing schedules, reconciliations and supporting evidence.
- Anything else that makes sense: As an early hire in a fast-scaling finance function, contribute to systems implementation (ERP selection ongoing), process design, and whatever else is needed to build best-in-class project controllership.
What You Bring
- Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA or equivalent) with strong post-qualification experience.
- Demonstrable experience of project accounting for large, long-term capital projects - for example data centers, energy, utilities, infrastructure, construction or industrial facilities - covering the full project lifecycle.
- Deep, practical knowledge of capex and cost accounting: CIP/AUC, capitalization criteria, componentization, accruals from contractor valuations, retentions, and asset transfer at completion.
- Experience building and managing project cost structures (WBS/cost coding), budgets, committed cost tracking and estimates-at-completion.
- Strong variance analysis and reporting skills, with the ability to explain cost movements clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
- Proven business partnering experience embedded with, or working closely alongside, project delivery teams.
- Advanced Excel and strong data and dashboarding skills, with an automation-first mindset; comfortable working from imperfect data in a scaling environment.
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Nice To Have
- US GAAP experience (ASC 360 fixed assets, ASC 835-20 capitalized interest, ASC 842 leases as they touch project sites).
- Experience in a SOX-regulated or IPO-readiness environment, or supporting external audits of major capital projects.
- Exposure to multi-entity, multi-currency structures and cross-border projects.
- Nordic experience - local statutory reporting alongside US GAAP, and VAT on construction and imports.
- Experience accounting for high-value technology or compute equipment (GPU, network or telecoms assets), including intra-group equipment leasing.
- Familiarity with project controls disciplines (cost engineering, earned value, contract administration) and construction contract forms.
- Experience of ERP and project accounting systems implementation.
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What We Offer
At Volta, we believe people do their best work when they feel supported, trusted and able to grow. We're building a company where you can make an impact, keep a healthy balance between work and life, and build a career you're proud of.
As a global team, we do our best to provide great benefits wherever you're based. While some benefits vary by country due to local regulations, we believe looking after our people is simply the right thing to do.
- Competitive salary based on the work you do here, not your previous salary
- Equity in Volta, giving you the opportunity to share in the company's long-term success
- Retirement/pension contributions
- Comprehensive health, wellbeing and insurance benefits
- Generous number of vacation days each year
Additional Information
Equal Opportunity
Volta is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and make employment decisions based on skills, qualifications, experience and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic.
Accessibility
Volta is committed to providing an accessible recruitment experience for all candidates. If you require accommodations or adjustments at any stage of the application or interview process, please contact us at askpeople@volta.com. We will work with you to identify reasonable accommodations that enable you to participate fully in the hiring process.
Candidate Privacy Notice
By applying, you consent to the processing of your personal data for recruitment purposes in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the UK GDPR, EU GDPR and relevant US state privacy regulations. Your data will be shared only with those involved in the hiring process and will not be used for unrelated purposes. For details, see our Recruitment & Candidate Privacy Notice.
Note to Recruitment Agencies
Volta does not accept unsolicited CVs or candidate profiles from recruitment agencies. Any unsolicited submissions, including those sent directly to hiring managers or employees, will be treated as the property of Volta. No agency fees will be payable unless a valid, signed recruitment agreement is in place, and the agency has been specifically engaged for the relevant vacancy.
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