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FinOps Associate
ValarianSovereign AI company
Hybrid
New Enterprise Associates
Lightbank
XTX Ventures
Litquidity Ventures
Sequel
Gokul Rajaram
About the role
- •Valarian: Innovating for the new era of digital sovereignty Valarian Technologies is a dual-use technology company building critical tools to safeguard the future in an era of evolving global security challenges.
- •We're rethinking security beyond traditional military domains, addressing asymmetric threats that impact our technological advantage, economic strength, and democratic institutions.
- •the platform foundation for everything we do as a dual-use technology company.
- •The platform’s name, rooted in the Greek word for citadel (or, fortress), reflects the design and purpose of our infrastructure-agnostic secure enclaves: protecting critical data.
- •Some of the government and commercial workflows include: increased operational resiliency for mission-critical systems and functions; enabling organisations to more quickly and widely adopt emerging technologies while ensuring the integrity of their intellectual property; information flow during disaster response scenarios, and zero-trust / least-privilege environments for M&A, attorney-client privileged communications, etc.
- •And we’ve only scratched the surface.
- •At our core, we're driven by a shared mission and a belief in making a tangible impact on our world.
- •Whether you join our London HQ or the wider global organisation, you’ll be a part of collaborative, high-performing teams, creating cutting-edge software, platforms, and infrastructure.
- •The Role We are looking for a hands-on Assistant Accountant to join our growing finance team as our second finance hire.
- •This is a broad, high-ownership role in an early-stage business where the finance function is still being built.
- •You will support the day-to-day running of finance while helping introduce better controls, clearer processes, stronger accountability, and more reliable reporting.
- •This role is ideal for someone who enjoys operating in a fast-moving environment, is comfortable with ambiguity, and wants to help build the finance foundations of a scaling company.
- •This is not a narrow transactional finance role.
- •You will be expected to roll up your sleeves, keep the basics running, spot issues, improve processes, and help create discipline across the business.
- •What you’ll do Finance operations Own day-to-day accounts payable, including supplier onboarding, invoice processing, coding, approval tracking, payment runs, and supplier queries.
- •Support accounts receivable, including customer invoicing, payment tracking, reconciliations, and debt follow-up where needed.
- •Manage employee expenses and company card processes, ensuring spend is correctly coded, approved, and supported by receipts.
- •Maintain accurate finance records in the accounting system and ensure transactions are posted on a timely basis.
- •Perform regular bank reconciliations and investigate unreconciled or unusual items.
- •Help maintain clean supplier, customer, and general ledger data.
- •Month-end and reporting Support the month-end close process, including journals, accruals, prepayments, fixed assets, deferred revenue, and balance sheet reconciliations.
- •Help prepare monthly finance packs, management reports, and variance analysis.
- •Track spend by department, vendor, and budget owner, highlighting unusual movements or missing approvals.
- •Support cash flow tracking, burn analysis, and runway reporting.
- •Help improve the accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of financial reporting.
- •Controls, processes, and accountability Help design and embed basic finance controls across purchasing, approvals, payments, expenses, billing, and reconciliations.
- •Create and maintain simple, practical finance processes, checklists, and documentation.
- •Follow up with budget owners and employees to ensure finance deadlines, approvals, and policies are met.
- •Identify process gaps, control weaknesses, duplicated work, and recurring errors, then help fix them.
- •Support the implementation or improvement of finance tools, workflows, and reporting processes.
- •Help establish a culture where financial ownership, documentation, and accountability are taken seriously.
- •Compliance and admin Support VAT, tax, payroll, audit, and statutory reporting processes as required.
- •Assist with preparation for investor reporting, board packs, R&D claims, or other external reporting where relevant.
- •Maintain organised finance records and supporting documentation.
- •Work with external accountants, auditors, payroll providers, and tax advisers as needed.
- •What you’ll bring 2–4 years of experience in finance, accounting, bookkeeping, or finance operations.
- •Experience in a startup, scale-up, or fast-moving environment is highly desirable.
- •A good understanding of accounting principles and a willingness to develop knowledge across areas such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, reconciliations, month-end, and financial reporting.
- •Part-qualified ACCA, CIMA, ACA, or equivalent experience preferred.
- •Comfortable working in an environment where processes are not yet perfect and where you will need to help build them.
- •Strong attention to detail and a high level of personal accountability.
- •Confident following up with people across the business to get approvals, receipts, explanations, and actions completed.
- •Able to prioritise competing tasks and keep finance operations moving without constant supervision.
- •Good Excel / Google Sheets skills.
- •Experience with accounting systems such as Xero or similar.
- •Experience with tools such as Pleo, Spendesk, Dext, HubSpot, or similar is a plus.
- •The kind of person who will succeed here You are organised, reliable, and proactive.
- •You do not wait for perfect instructions before getting started.
- •You are comfortable asking questions, chasing people, and bringing order to messy situations.
- •You care about accuracy, but you are also pragmatic and understand that growing businesses require pace, judgement, and continuous improvement.
- •You will enjoy this role if you like fixing broken processes, making finance run more smoothly, and seeing the direct impact of your work on how the company operates.
- •What success looks like in the first 6 months Supplier invoices, expenses, payments, and reconciliations are processed accurately and on time.
- •Month-end close is more structured, better documented, and completed faster.
- •Core balance sheet reconciliations are reliable and regularly reviewed.
- •Spend approvals, expense policies, and payment controls are clearer and better followed.
- •Finance data is cleaner, easier to trust, and easier to report from.
- •Budget owners understand what finance needs from them and are held accountable to deadlines.
- •Recurring manual work, control gaps, and process failures have been identified and improved.
- •The operational finance engine is running more reliably, allowing for strategic finance, reporting, planning, and supporting the wider business.
- •Why join us This is an opportunity to join an ambitious, growing business and play a key role in building the finance function.
- •You will get broad exposure, real responsibility, ongoing development, and the chance to grow your career while helping shape how finance supports the wider business.
- •Benefits Our benefits are designed to ensure our employees feel taken care of and are proud to be a part of the Valarian team.
- •We are committed to consistently enhancing our benefit package, taking into account the overall well-being and needs of our teammates.
- •Here are the key benefits accessible to all employees at Valarian Technologies: Equity
- •because you have the right to own what you’re building A competitive salary
- •because we value your unique skills Employer pension contributions
- •because you deserve a secure future Private health insurance
- •because your health is important to us Hybrid work setup
- •because everyone has different needs Rewarding company retreats and meetups that respect your work/life balance
- •because we love getting to know each other! Life at Valarian Our culture is built on inclusivity, compassion and flexibility
- •we want everyone to be empowered to achieve their goals at Valarian.
- •The world is changing, and so is our way of working.
- •If you want to join us in the London office
- •it’s quite nice!
- •you’re welcome to; and if you’d prefer to work remotely, that’s fine too.
- •And as we build elegant solutions to simplify the complexities of business collaboration, we also simplify work life: contribute wherever and whenever allows you to be your best self.
- •We trust each other to consistently raise the bar, and we challenge each other to continually reach new heights.