Finance & Operations Manager

Who are we?

Zora Ecosystems is a leading, tech-led developer of high-integrity nature restoration projects. We work at the intersection of applied science, land management, and emerging natural capital markets to deliver real, measurable environmental outcomes at scale.

With 35 active projects, over 100,000 hectares of contracted landholdings, and a 600,000-hectare UK pipeline, we are scaling rapidly. Our work spans peatlands, woodlands, biodiversity, and catchment restoration, supported by a proprietary technology platform, cutting-edge analytics and a team of industry-leading practitioners. We focus on doing restoration properly - grounded in ecological integrity, robust evidence and practical delivery, while seeking to continuously improve and innovate.

We are a venture-backed startup entering a new phase of growth. Following our success working with landowners to deliver nature-based projects on the ground, we are expanding into the demand side of the market. We’re partnering with large corporates and regulated utility companies to provide catchment solutions that target a broad scope of outcomes such as water quality, natural flood management, carbon sequestration, biodiversity uplift and more.

More about working at Zora Ecosystems:

Your mission

This role sits close to the engine room of the business. You’ll see how a scaling, venture-backed company runs day-to-day - finance, people, systems, stakeholder relations, revenue ops - and you’ll have room to shape how it runs next.

This role is a backfill, but the business has changed a lot since the job description was last written, so we’ve updated it. We’re looking for someone with the right aptitude, ambition and fit for how we work, more so than a specific list of experience. Nobody will tick every box below. If there are three or more functional areas (out of the five below) where you are particularly strong, let’s talk. 

You'll report to the Head of Governance, Risk & Compliance, with direct and regular exposure to the CEO, the Board and wider Executive Leadership Team (XLT). You’ll also act as a representative for worker's voice across all parts of the organisation.

What you'll own 

People Ops 

• Partner with the People Lead on recruitment - job specs, ATS/tooling, interview scheduling and offer management
• Own the HR system (HRIS), employee records, org  chart  and headcount reporting
• Run performance review and calibration cycles, and support compensation benchmarking and pay reviews
• Manage onboarding and offboarding end to end, including contracts, right-to-work  checks  and equipment provisioning
• Maintain the employee handbook and HR policies, and keep them current with UK employment law
• Coordinate health & safety, benefits, wellbeing  initiatives  and office management
• Support internal comms, culture  initiatives  and all-hands/team event  logistics

Financial reporting 

• Own the monthly management accounts process and produce the KPI/board pack the C-suite and Board  actually use
• Build and  maintain  the annual budget, rolling forecasts and cashflow model
• Run variance analysis against budget and forecast, partnering with department heads on cost centre reporting
• Model unit economics across projects and support pricing decisions for commercial deals
• Own carbon accounting and reporting, keeping our footprint metrics  accurate , audit-ready and moving in the right direction
• Manage project-level cost tracking across our nature-based portfolio as it scales, working closely with delivery teams on budgets and spend
• Support  fundraising due diligence processes - data rooms, investor Q& A  and document tracking
• Support grant and subsidy reporting and compliance
• Maintain  statutory registers and  support share issuance/transfer administration

Financial control 

• Manage accounts payable and receivable, invoicing, expense  processing  and payment runs
• Support payroll processing and act as liaison with our payroll provider and pension scheme administrator
• Support year-end audit preparation, acting as the day-to-day liaison for audit queries and schedules
• Oversee  treasury: bank accounts, cash  management  and short-term cash planning
• Design and  maintain  financial controls, approval workflows and spend policies as the business scales
• Prepare and file VAT returns, R&D tax credit  claims  and other routine tax filings, working closely with our  external  accountants
• Administer the EMI share option scheme and related filings, alongside cap table changes
• Maintain  the risk register and manage insurance renewals and policy reviews

Systems 

• Manage IT,  procurement  and  software/data  licencing,  working directly with our external m anaged IT  provider
• Drive  AI governance and tooling decisions as we embed AI further across the business
• Manage cyber security posture - access controls,  certifications (e.g. ISO, C yber Essentials),  policies, incident  r esponse  and staff training
• Own  and document standard operating procedures (SOP) across all areas of the business
• Manage  data protection and GDPR compliance as it relates to internal systems 
• Manage ven dor cont racts ,  renewals  and procurement  across our core  operating stack
• Support business continuity and disaster recovery planning

Marketing & Revenue Ops 

• Manage our website CMS and CRM (HubSpot) - configuration, data hygiene,  automations a nd reporting
• Build and own commercial and financial dashboards, translating between the two for internal stakeholders
• Manage our intellectual property assets, including trademark applications and renewals
• Plan and coordinate our presence at industry events and conferences, from logistics through to follow-up
• Own our social media channels and external content calendar, keeping our voice consistent across platforms

Your profile

• You care deeply about the planet and want to apply yourself with purpose
• You bring  experience in a  FinOps  or adjacent operations role
• Comfortable multi-tasking and  building  autonomously  with  urgency ,  precision  and  discretion
• You’ve  experimented with AI tools,  automations  or agents
• A n exceptional  communicator - managing key stakeholders well is the real secret sauce here
• Entrepreneuria l  and solutions-oriented - a problem solver who  ships quickly and  iterates  in public 
• Operators, not consultants, please

Nice-to-haves: 

• Previous  early-stage startup experience, ideally with ownership of operational excellence  or a key function,  is a strong plus
• You  don’t  need to be an accountant (or working towards it) to apply - equally, if you are and want to be more hands-on, this is an opportunity to add more strings to your bow
• You  don ’t  need to be a subject-matter expert in  environmental  science or  markets  but  a  genuine interest in the space helps

Why us?

• Salary:   benchmarked to experience level ,  headroom  for  finance/ accounting qualification holders  if you lean  further  this way
• Equity:   EMI share option  plan
• Location:   Hybrid – 60% in our London office
• Hours :  Full-time, though we will exceptionally consider strong candidates who need flexible working arrangements
• Contract :  Permanent
• Equipment :  New Macbook (or computer of choice)
• Benefits:   Private  health  insurance , summer away day , enhanced parental leave ,  learning  and development budget
• Growth:  As the business scales, this role is expected to scale with it . D ifferent growth paths are on the table depending on where you excel  

Interview process 

1. Initial screening call  with Head of People - 45 minutes
2. Take-home exercise , prepared by the hiring manager - ~1 hour
3. Hiring manager interview - take-home task discussion + your chance to interview  the Head of GRC  back *  and  ev aluate  if  this is a role worth trading your time for (*you own the agenda!) - 1 hour , online or in-person
4. CEO + XLT interview - 30 minutes , online or in-person
5. Start date -  ASAP!

About us

Before you apply:
We will only use the personal data you provide to process your application. By emailing us your CV and covering letter, you consent to Zora Ecosystems using the information you have provided for recruitment purposes. Interested applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

Equal Employment Opportunity:
Zora Ecosystems is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.