AHEAD is seeking an experienced finance executive to lead the financial, payroll, billing, treasury, and statutory/legal-entity governance infrastructure supporting its UK and European operations. This role oversees regional finance, payroll and commission governance, billing operations, treasury, banking, insurance, statutory compliance, legal entity governance, and external audit for the UK and European entities providing the financial governance and control environment AHEAD needs to transact compliantly and scale sustainably across the region.

The role partners closely with Sales, Operations, Legal, Tax, Global Finance and People & Culture, particularly on commission governance, shared-services governance, operational KPI reporting, and entity/compliance matters.

Key Responsibilities

Regional Finance, Payroll, and Billing

• Lead the strategic development, governance, and delivery of regional finance operations across the UK and Europe, including payroll, commission governance, and billing.
• Oversee supplier payment processes and payroll governance, including approvals and controls.
• Partner with Payroll and Commissions leadership to provide effective regional governance and oversight, supporting consistent, accurate, and timely payroll and commission delivery.
• Partner with Sales and Sales Operations to ensure commission calculations, billing terms, and deal financial treatment reflect sales agreements and compensation plans.
• Drive continuous optimisation of quote-to-billing-to-cash processes.
• Lead regional financial planning, budgeting and forecasting in partnership with global Finance and UK/Europe leadership, providing insight into financial performance, variances, risks and opportunities.
• Provide financial and commercial analysis to support growth initiatives and key business decisions across the UK and Europe.

Treasury, Banking, and Insurance Governance

• Own executive governance of the UK/Europe financial framework, including banking relationships, treasury management, insurance governance, financial business continuity, and approval/signing authority — aligned with strategic objectives.
• Support UK/Europe facilities expansion, lease, and vendor negotiations with global Facilities leadership, ensuring financial terms and cost structures align with budget and treasury considerations.

Statutory Compliance, Legal Entity Governance, and Audit

• Lead and oversee statutory compliance, legal entity governance, and external audit responsibility for the UK and coordinate these activities across other European entities) ensuring timely filings and regulatory compliance.
• Lead audit and risk management activities, serving as the primary regional finance contact for external auditors and supporting Audit Committee reporting and coordination as required.
• Partner with Legal, Tax, People & Culture, and Operations on entity and regulatory compliance.
• Oversee the regional internal control framework — documentation, segregation of duties, escalation procedures — ensuring it stays proportionate, effective, and aligned with growth and regulatory requirements.
• Identify emerging compliance and financial governance risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Provide senior local leadership and oversight for the UK Health and Safety Manager, working in partnership with Global Safety and Physical Security leadership to support a safe and compliant UK workplace.

Financial Reporting and Executive Partnership

• Partner with executive leadership on financial KPIs and reporting, providing visibility into controls, performance, regulatory risk, and P&L for the UK/Europe business — including how sales and deal activity flow into regional results.
• Prepare and contribute to Board and Audit Committee reporting, providing clear recommendations on financial governance, risk, and statutory priorities.
• Build trusted senior stakeholder relationships to influence strategic financial decisions.