Head of Finance AI Transformation

About the role

Relay is fundamentally reshaping how goods move in an online era. Backed by Europe's largest-ever logistics Series A ($35M), led by deep-tech investors Plural (whose portfolio spans fusion energy and space exploration), Relay is scaling faster than 99.98% of venture-backed startups. We're assembling the most talent-dense team the logistics industry has ever seen. The role involves designing the finance function from first principles, owning how finance operates in an AI-native, high-growth company - not as an improvement on legacy systems, but as a definition of the default state. You will rebuild core processes (R2R, P2P, O2C, FP&A) to eliminate manual work before it takes root and deploy AI across every high-leverage workflow. Expect to identify and ship use cases in weeks, not quarters, including AI-driven forecasting, automated reporting and commentary, close and reconciliation workflows, and collections, risk, and anomaly detection. This is not a "transformation" role in the traditional sense; this is a 0 to 1 build role with direct leverage on company velocity where you build and own the technical stack. You will make strong calls on ERP vs lightweight tooling, build vs buy, and data design, ensuring everything is modular, API-friendly, and AI-ready from day one while working directly with engineering and data teams to translate financial logic into production systems.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Design the finance function from first principles and own how finance operates in an AI-native, high-growth company, rebuilding core processes (R2R, P2P, O2C, FP&A) to eliminate manual work before it takes root.
• Deploy AI across every high-leverage workflow, identifying and shipping use cases in weeks, not quarters - including AI-driven forecasting and scenario modelling, automated reporting and commentary, close and reconciliation workflows, and collections, risk, and anomaly detection.
• Build and own the technical stack, selecting the minimum viable, maximum scalable architecture and making strong calls on ERP vs lightweight tooling, build vs buy, and data design.
• Ensure the architecture is modular, API-friendly, and AI-ready from day one while working directly with engineering and data teams to translate financial logic into production systems.
• Redesign the operating model around augmentation, defining how humans and AI work together - including which roles don't need to exist - to build a function where one great operator and AI outperforms five traditional hires.
• Deliver the outcomes leadership needs by reducing time to close, time to forecast, and time to decision while giving leadership real-time, high-quality financial insight.
• Build systems that scale from current revenue to £100M+ without breaking, creating a finance function that scales faster than the business without adding headcount.
• Partner cross-functionally to integrate finance logic into forecasting, RevOps, and data workflows, ensuring financial rigor underpins every major growth decision.
• Establish a culture of first-principles thinking, tight feedback loops, and relentless experimentation within the finance team to continuously challenge assumptions and iterate on processes.
• Own the end-to-end delivery of finance programs and systems implementations, taking responsibility for outcomes rather than tasks or advisory inputs.

Requirements

• You've built or redesigned finance systems and operating models end-to-end - not just advised on them.
• You've deployed automation or AI in real finance workflows. Production, not strategy decks.
• You're fluent in the TA and Ops/data hybrid: FP&A, R2R, funnel diagnostics, and partnering with RevOps/FP&A to forecast and drive decisions.
• You think in systems, not processes - and you're comfortable making decisions with incomplete information.
• You've worked closely with CFOs, founders, or operators on scaling finance in high-growth environments.
• Proven experience owning finance programs and delivering systems implementations end-to-end.
• Hands-on deployment of AI or automation in real finance workflows.
• Experience in hypergrowth startups or scale-ups.
• Strong technical fluency - comfortable working directly with engineering and data teams.
• Structured, clear communicator with strong stakeholder management skills.

Practical notes

• London
• On-site
• full_time
• Decision and offer within 48 hours, our process mirrors our pace of work, typically completed in a week.

Who Thrives at Relay

• Aim with Precision: You obsess over getting the right answer, not the quick answer.
• Move at Speed: You thrive in ambiguity and make decisions with incomplete information.
• Build for Clarity: You make things that are simple, intuitive, and delightful to use.
• Care Deeply: You care about the outcome, not the credit, sharing context generously and prioritising the team's needs.
• Commit to Candour: You seek the cleanest path to the truth, prioritising facts and pushing for clarity.
• Take Ownership: You are a doer, operating with a bias for action and delivering against commitments.
• Deliver with Excellence: You care deeply about the quality of your work and expect the same from others.

Who Thrives at Relay

• Aim with Precision: You obsess over getting the right answer, not the quick answer.
• Move at Speed: You thrive in ambiguity and make decisions with incomplete information.
• Build for Clarity: You make things that are simple, intuitive, and delightful to use.
• Care Deeply: You care about the outcome, not the credit, sharing context generously and prioritising the team's needs.
• Commit to Candour: You seek the cleanest path to the truth, prioritising facts and pushing for clarity.
• Take Ownership: You are a doer, operating with a bias for action and delivering against commitments.
• Deliver with Excellence: You care deeply about the quality of your work and expect the same from others.

Decision and offer within 48 hours, our process mirrors our pace of work, typically completed in a week.