Head of Financial Systems

Company Overview

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas. These include airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refueling, special air missions, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation. We own the whole stack: designing, building, and operating turnkey capabilities that give our partners decisive, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats.

Our operating model is built around three interlocking pillars. The Support Groups provide a global shared-service – spanning people, finance, platform, operations, legal, and engagement. This frees up our Core Groups, who develop and own mission capabilities end-to-end, to focus entirely on delivery. The Market Groups apply a regional lens, ensuring that our agile and adaptable capabilities remain aligned to the wicked problems that matter most to our partners across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific.

At the heart of our model is a simple but powerful idea: be a true partner with skin in the game. Our partners need effects, not just equipment. By owning the full stack – from the lab to the field – we are able to drive a continuous cycle of innovation that keeps our partners ahead. It's a fast-moving, intellectually demanding environment where talented people are given real responsibility, work on problems that matter, and contribute to an enterprise that is growing quickly and deliberately.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, with facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Continental Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Position Summary

The Head of Financial Systems will be a results-oriented and technologically driven financial leader responsible for enhancing Metrea's finance processes, systems, data and reporting capabilities as the enterprise scales globally. A core focus will be identifying and delivering AI-driven efficiency, automation and process improvement across Finance, reducing manual activity, strengthening controls and improving the speed, accuracy and quality of financial reporting. The job governs and maintains financial and operational systems so they remain effective, integrated and fit for purpose, and gives Controlling, Treasury and FP&A the reliable data, tools and processes they need. Working closely with Finance and Platform Technology, the Head of Financial Systems will identify where to simplify, automate and improve reporting and analytics, and will lead financial due diligence in partnership with the Investment function and the post-acquisition integration of finance systems and processes.

The Head of Financial Systems will bring deep finance and operational expertise, real technological fluency and the ability to lead transformation in a complex, fast-scaling global enterprise. Experience in a regulated, government-contracting or aerospace and defence environment is an advantage.

What You'll Do

Systems ownership and governance

• Own the Finance systems landscape, with Microsoft D365 at its centre, ensuring it remains effective, integrated and fit for purpose as the enterprise grows
• Set and ensure governance for financial and operational systems: access, change control, master data and integration standards
• Lead new system selection and rollout end to end, from business case through to adoption, and be accountable for the outcome

Process transformation and AI

• Map Finance's data workflows, compliance and reporting frameworks; identify systemic inefficiency and gaps; prioritise and deliver fixes
• Build AI and large language model capability into month-end, reporting and reconciliation processes, with a clear view of where automation strengthens controls and where it introduces risk
• Reduce manual activity across Finance with measured, reportable results

Enabling Controlling, Treasury and FP&A

• Provide each function with the data, tools and processes it needs to execute its responsibilities without workarounds
• Own the reporting and analytics layer, so that financial data is trusted, timely and usable by leadership

M&A

• Lead financial due diligence workstreams alongside the Investment function
• Own post-acquisition integration of finance systems, data and processes, to a defined plan and timeline

Team

• Lead a globally distributed Financial Systems team across time zones
• Develop more Metreans: give direct feedback and grow the team's capability ahead of what the enterprise needs

What You Bring

• Experience leading in ambiguous conditions with a broad, shifting problem set; a track record of setting direction rather than waiting for it
• A record of driving to answers, and the discernment to know when to ask rather than push on alone
• Proven experience building and developing teams
• Experience leading a distributed team across time zones
• Proven finance transformation delivery in a scaling, multi-entity, multi-currency environment, with results you can evidence
• Deep expertise in accounting and finance processes: month-end, consolidation, controls, reporting
• Finance systems expertise, including Microsoft D365 in a lead or ownership capacity
• Demonstrated, practical fluency in AI, automation and emerging technology as applied to Finance, beyond familiarity with the vocabulary
• Financial due diligence and post-acquisition integration experience
• Able to run several systems and process changes at once and land them
• Communicates systems and data decisions in terms of enterprise outcomes
• Professional accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA or equivalent)
• This role will be based in either our London or DC office in a hybrid set up (in office 3 days a week) with travel required to our other offices

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

• Experience in a regulated, government-contracting or aerospace and defence environment
• Experience integrating acquired businesses onto a common finance platform

Benefits

• Private Medical Insurance
• Subsided gym membership / plans through Wellhub
• Electric Car scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrificed pension scheme
• Free lunch on office days
• Enhanced Parental Leave
• 30 days annual PTO plus b/h

Work Authorization / Security Clearance

The employee will have the legal right to work in the UK and will be able to produce right to work documentation.

AAP/EEO Statement

Metrea Management Limited (MAM) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or other characteristics protected by law.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position with typical working hours of Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Work Environment

Hybrid, Hammersmith, 3 days per week

Travel

25%

Our Firmware

At Metrea, our single core value is Rooted in Humility, and our four cornerstone attributes are Entrepreneurial, Systematic, Discerning, and Over-Deliver. These form what we call our Teammate Firmware. Just like technical firmware connects software and hardware, our Firmware is the constant interface between our mission and our people. It defines how we show up, how we work together, and how we solve complex problems.

Our team Firmware creates a web-like, hyper-collaborative, dynamically hierarchical way of working that helps us adapt quickly, communicate openly, and distribute decision-making to where expertise actually lives. It enables groups to self-organize around hard problems, shift fluidly as priorities evolve, and operate with the trust, curiosity, and discipline required in a complex mission space. This foundation allows us to deliver elegant, effective solutions and uphold our purpose: protecting our precious inheritance.