We are recruiting for a Finance and Operations Lead

About the Centre for Collective Intelligence (CCI)

The Centre for Collective Intelligence (CCI) pioneers innovative approaches to large-scale public engagement, combining deliberative democracy, advanced research methodologies, and cutting-edge digital technologies to tackle society’s most pressing challenges. Currently incubated within Nesta, CCI is evolving into an independent organisation, scaling our work globally to deepen democratic participation.

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Finance and Operations Lead to join our senior leadership team and lead the commercial and operational success of the Centre through this critical phase of transition, growth and beyond.

As Finance and Operations Lead, you will play a pivotal role in shaping CCI’s future. You will help us raise external investment, oversee the delivery of our commercial strategy and drive financial success. You’ll help to ensure our ambitious growth targets are met while leading the operational transition from Nesta to an independent organisation. You will bring a strategic, entrepreneurial mindset and experience of securing investment and scaling a start-up, combined with a very hands-on approach to build robust systems, drive profitability, and ensure operational excellence.

This is a rare opportunity to build and scale an organisation at the cutting edge of collective intelligence practice.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Leadership

• Work with the team leads to develop accurate pricing models for our digital products, consultancy services, and commercial bids ensuring profitability and competitiveness.
• Develop and maintain robust financial models and forecasts, monitor cash flow and burn rate and runway to guide strategic decision-making and investor conversations.
• Provide strategic financial advice to the Director and leadership team, contributing to key business decisions.
• Identify suitable investment opportunities and potential funding sources for our tech products (VCs, angels, grants, strategic partners).
• Develop investor materials to position the Centre as an attractive investment opportunity.
• Ensure operational and financial discipline, creating the structures and reporting investors expect from a start-up.
• Guide the Director and senior team through investor negotiations, due diligence, and deal structuring.
• Lead on the development and oversight of effective business development, bid writing, and sales processes; including using AI to help increase the efficiency and quality of team efforts.
• Track our business development success and proactively propose initiatives to improve team win-rate.

Financial Management

• Ensure timely and accurate preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements and forecasting (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow).
• Manage cash flow proactively, ensuring sufficient liquidity for operations and growth.
• Implement and oversee project-based financial tracking, ensuring accurate revenue recognition, cost allocation, and profitability analysis for each client project.
• Review and ensure financial terms of client contracts are robust, mitigate risk, and align with financial objectives.
• Prepare management accounts and insightful financial reports for the Director and Nesta exec team, highlighting key performance indicators (KPIs), variances, and actionable insights.

Organisational Transition Ownership

• Oversee the operational design and implementation of CCI’s transition out of Nesta into an independent legal entity.
• Lead on setting up critical business infrastructure, including legal frameworks, contracts, finance systems, HR processes, compliance, and operational policies to ensure the transition is smooth.
• Ensure seamless systems migration (finance, CRM, data systems) with minimal disruption.

Operational Leadership

• Develop and maintain operational KPIs to monitor business performance, strategy alignment and profitability.
• Responsible for oversight for all resource planning across our team, facilitating prioritisation decisions with the Leadership team, and introducing improvements to existing processes to support efficiency and decision making
• Lead on all People related matters across CCI, working closely with the Nesta People Team whose processes and policies we follow while still within Nesta, and introducing new People related initiatives which support our work.
• Design, implement, and optimise operational processes and workflows to enhance efficiency and productivity across all functions (e.g., client onboarding, project delivery support, invoicing).
• Support the Director to evolve and embed a high-performance, dynamic and entrepreneurial team culture, and ensure CCI’s values are embedded throughout the team and our work
• Manage relationships with key suppliers and vendors, negotiating contracts and ensuring value for money.

Leadership & Team Collaboration

• Support the Director to implement the new strategy, strengthen ways of working across CCI, report to Nesta’s Board and establish our own CCI Board.
• Act as a key member of the senior leadership team, contributing to overall strategy, governance, and organisational culture and success.
• Act as a key interface between CCI and Nesta, building strong relationships with a wide range of contacts and peers such as Finance, Legal, People, IT, Business Processes teams.
• Collaborate with the senior leadership to align financial strategy with long-term growth and scaling plans.
• As the organisation grows, build and manage a small operations team.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Proven track record in a senior finance or operations leadership role within an innovation-focused organisation, consultancy, or start-up.
• Financial qualification such as CIMA, ACA or ACCA
• Experience scaling an organisation from incubation or start-up.
• Experience and knowledge of raising venture funding and dealing with outside investors
• Hands-on experience managing organisational transitions and growth, including legal, operational, and systems migration.
• Strong financial acumen, with experience in business modelling, P&L management, commercial accounting principles, and ensuring profitability and risk management.
• Ability to analyse complex data, identify issues, and propose practical solutions.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to execute at pace in a complex, dynamic environment, while also having excellent attention to detail
• Excellent project management and problem-solving skills
• Collaborative leadership style with experience of being in senior leadership teams.
• Excellent communication skills to articulate complex financial and operational information to diverse audiences (board, consultants, employees). Ability to build strong relationships and influence others.
• Have experience in managing resourcing of multiple projects within a project-based or consultancy environment and have knowledge of best practices for effective resource planning and management
• Have experience of change management and be comfortable and enthusiastic implementing change and supporting other team members through periods of change.
• Demonstrate a clear passion and commitment to the vision of CCI.

Desirable

• Past experience in the public opinion research / market research sectors.

What we offer

Salary: circa £64,800 plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more

Location: This role is based in Blackfriars, London, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office

Term: Permanent

Reports to: Director, CCID

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your CV and cover letter before 8:00am on the 5th of January 2026.

Interviews will take place on the 22nd of January 2026.

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results.

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements.

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore