This is not a role where you inherit a polished machine and keep it ticking. You'll help build it. You'll own core reporting, sit at the centre of our budget and reforecast cycles, and be the finance partner our Regional Directors call when they need an answer they can act on.
We're looking for someone with real rigour and a genuine itch for efficiency: the kind of person who automates a process once, removing manual steps to make room for strategic insight. If you are excited by a role with strategic, measurable impact whilst collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders, we'd love to meet you
Reporting that people trust
Own a core set of weekly and monthly management reports end to end.
Take reports that are manual today and make them faster, more consistent and more automated each cycle.
Write the commentary, not just the numbers: explain what moved, why it moved and what we should do about it.
Planning and forecasting
Play a central role in our annual budget and termly reforecasts, which run on a school-year calendar across the UK and US.
Build and maintain driver-based models for revenue, headcount and costs, keeping them accurate, auditable and easy for others to use.
Run variance analysis (actual vs. budget vs. forecast) and turn it into clear, prioritised insight for leadership.
Business partnering and strategy
Act as a finance partner to our Regional Directors and commercial leads, joining monthly performance reviews and helping them understand the levers behind their numbers.
Lead analysis on unit economics, marketing return on investment, and regional performance.
Support investment and pricing decisions with clear cost-benefit analysis, including where the data is incomplete and judgement is required.
Systems, data and efficiency
Be the person who makes our finance stack work harder: Abacum, Xero, Hibob, Pleo and our BI tools.
Reconcile data across systems and fix problems at the source, not just in the spreadsheet.
Spot the next process to automate and build it, whether that's with formulas, scripts or AI tools.
Document how things work in Coda, so knowledge lives in the team rather than in one person's head.
Traits that define success in this role:
Commercial curiosity: You have a genuine interest in the core drivers of the business, and you want to understand why the numbers move.
Attention to detail: You notice when a number looks wrong, and you don't rest until you know why. People can rely on what you send them.
Analytical rigour: You structure problems before you solve them. You test your assumptions, and you can explain the logic behind every number in your model.
Clear communicator: You can turn analysis into a short, confident message for a non-finance audience, and you're comfortable sharing your point of view and insights with senior stakeholders.
Proactive ownership: You see things through. When you take on a report or a project, you take full responsibility for delivering the outcome, proactively seeking out the support and resources you need.
Systems and efficiency enthusiast: Manual, repeated work bothers you. You'd rather spend an afternoon automating a task than an hour doing it every week.
Experience we need:
3+ years in FP&A, strategic finance, business analysis, or other analytical role with exposure to budgeting, forecasting and month-end management reporting.
Advanced Excel and Google Sheets skills, including building integrated models from scratch. BI Tools and coding languages are beneficial but not required.
A degree in a numerate subject, or an accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA or CIMA), complete or in progress.
Experience in a high-growth, fast-paced organisation.
We actively encourage the use of AI tools to work faster and smarter. If you've already used them to build something useful, tell us about it.
- Competitive salary + ownership in the company.
- 25 days holiday + all the usual UK public holidays.
- A central London (dog friendly!) office with perks like fresh fruit, bike parking, showers, an on-site gym, and a café.
- Meaningful work - this isn’t just another SaaS tool; you’re literally helping schools save money and pay teachers more.
- 1-1 coaching to keep you growing personally and professionally.
- Life & Health Insurance, Cycle to Work Scheme, Electric Car Scheme.
- Join a certified B Corp: where your work creates a real, positive impact.
- Direct mentorship from the Head of FP&A and excellent exposure to the strategic side of the business.
- Join one of Europe’s fastest-growing start-ups as we scale towards Series C, providing extensive career growth opportunities.
We move fast and keep things respectful of your time. Here's what to expect:
Initial chat: A quick screen with our Talent team to align on expectations, salary and timing.
Hiring manager call: A conversation with our Head of FP&A about your experience, how you approach analysis and what you want from your next role.
Modelling and analysis task: A take-home task based on a realistic Zen scenario, followed by a debrief where you walk us through your thinking.
Values-based conversation: A chat with a member of our leadership team about mindset, ways of working and your growth goals.
💜 Diversity and Inclusion
At Zen, we strive to build a culture of equity and inclusion, where everyone is respected, valued and appreciated for their unique traits, experiences and perspectives. We are committed to creating a safe, inclusive and equitable environment where our team can thrive, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, disability, religion or beliefs. We value our differences and believe that practices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion help us create a fairer, more compassionate environment for all.
We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds and different experiences and perspectives - just like the staff who teach through Zen and the children at the schools we work with. We believe in hiring the best people from the widest pool and creating an inclusive culture where people’s voices are heard and all our team can look forward to coming to work.
We are committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of our community and promoting an equitable and inclusive environment for all. We seek out diverse opinions, beliefs, and experiences because they collectively make us stronger; we’ve had former teachers, pilots, fundraisers, engineers, lawyers, marketers, social media experts and more join our team.
🚀 Ready to Apply?
If you're an analytical finance professional who loves getting the detail right, enjoys building better systems, and wants your work to help schools and educators, we'd love to hear from you.
Due to the high volume of applications, we regret that we are unable to provide individual feedback on initial submissions.
Zen Educate Manchester, England Office
Manchester, United Kingdom
