FP&A Analyst

We are RUKA hair, a young start up with a big vision; to reshape the narrative and raise the bar for beauty standards, one solution at a time. The word RUKA means "doing hair" in Shona, and we mean it when we say it - we want to do hair like it has never been done before. Our mission is to create hair and beauty solutions that truly work, by listening closely and making the outsiders our insiders. We want to build a brand for black women worth being loyal to, and we’re starting by developing curly hair extensions which truly match our curl patterns.

At RUKA we are looking for a talented FP&A analyst to pioneer our finance department, working with our external accounting partners to ensure financial robustness and implement great bookkeeping practices. We think you’d be a great fit if you have a great eye for detail, and are able to easily switch from micro to macro thinking. You’re also a great communicator who can support us to ensure we communicate financial information to our team and shareholders in an easily digestible way.

As our FP&A analyst, you will support the C-team by building out the forecasts, budgets and data cuts which provide the financial insights that enable data-driven decision making. You’ll continually monitor and assess our actual financial results against your original forecasts/budgets. Naturally you will get deeply involved in the management accounting and reporting process being the key contact with our external accounting team.
You’ll partner with functional leads across the team to continually track and monitor financial information in those areas. You will drive the collation and framing of company data points to support storyline building ahead of Board and other shareholder meetings.

What your day-to-day could look like:

• Support the CEO/COO in delivering financial reporting ahead of quarterly checkpoints, board meetings and other stakeholder sessions by preparing updated budget/P&L and view of our accounts
• Support each team member as their financial partner with managing their budget, finding ways to optimise cashflow and make sound investment decisions
• Perform in-depth analyses and propose clear, actionable recommendations to the COO and R&D team with the aim of unit cost/margin and cashflow optimisation as we continue to optimise our supply chain
• Perform in-depth analyses and propose clear, actionable recommendations to the CEO and Marketing team with the aim of understanding and optimising our CAC
• Support the CEO/COO in delivering financial reporting ahead of quarterly checkpoints, board meetings and other stakeholder sessions by preparing updated budget/P&L and view of our accounts
• Collaborate and manage our external accounting (and occasionally legal) partners, ensuring deliverables are complete on time to the highest standard
• Supporting and eventually owning the UK payroll process for the company
• Defining and implementing processes/tools across the team to improve our financial robustness

What the next 6 months could look like:

You'll dive into our current financial forecasting, budgeting and reporting processes. You will support the team in pulling the financial performance insights which support sound decision making.

What the next 12 months could look like:

As the company grows past “Series A stage” you could transition to a full-time role as our Financial Lead, where you will eventually build the team which brings our financial controlling and analysis in-house.

What you’ve done and what you’re like:

• Preferred: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration / Accounting / Finance or some related degree
• You are a part qualified or fully accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA)
• 3+ years of hands-on experience working in a Finance or Accounting related role, ideally for a small business or startup at Seed or Series A
• You are able rapidly turn around a clean data cut as well as build out a more functional strategic model, and in doing so you have advanced Excel and Google Sheets skills
• Proven track record of excellent financial controlling skills, with experience in preparing budgets, P&L forecast modelling, balance sheets and building business cases for new projects
• Preferred: Experience working with and/or implementing Xero or some other popular cloud based tool for accounting and financial tracking
• You are confident dealing with senior stakeholders internal and external to the business, owning your work with minimal hands-on management
• You have written and speaking communication skills
• Incredible organisational skills and a passion for infrastructure-building - you love creating a procedure and getting everyone using it
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with a solution-oriented approach and ability to bring the right people together for the best answer

What we are offering you:

• A passionate core team excited to work collaboratively to build an incredible business addressing an underserved market
• Dedicated fortnightly learning and development time plus a £1000 learning grant
• Flexible hours and hybrid/remote working to help meet your lifestyle goals
• Competitive compensation and pension contribution plus generous equity option as an early employee
• Fun team perks including social events
• 25 days of paid annual leave with option to take unpaid time off if you need it
• Additional sick leave allocation for people who menstruate
• Free RUKA products and merchandise for you, plus family and friends discount

Ready to apply? Let's go! 🚀