Full-Time CFO — International Trade, Tax, Financial Analysis & AI

Employment: Full-Time — Minimum 40 hours per week Reporting directly to: CEO Markets: UK, USA and potentially UAE Role type: Hands-on, analytical, commercially focused and technology-led Availability: Flexibility required across international time zones About the Role We are seeking an experienced, highly analytical and commercially minded Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to work directly with the CEO and take ownership of the financial, analytical, tax and commercial finance functions of a growing international business. This is not a traditional high-level CFO position where the successful candidate simply manages advisers, delegates analysis and reviews monthly reports. We require someone who is prepared to operate at both a strategic and highly granular level — from advising the CEO on international expansion and financial strategy to investigating individual transactions, SKUs, invoices, tax treatments, margins and landed costs. The business operates internationally, with particular focus on the UK and USA, and potential expansion into the UAE. Strong practical experience with importing, exporting, international taxation and cross-border business structures is therefore essential. The successful candidate must also be heavily involved in using Claude within their current professional role on a daily basis. We are specifically looking for someone who already understands how Claude, Connectors, Skills, AI and automation can be integrated into a modern finance function. Key Responsibilities 1. Financial Leadership & CEO Support The CFO will work directly with the CEO and become a key part of commercial and strategic decision-making. Responsibilities will include: Taking ownership of the company's overall financial function. Providing the CEO with clear, accurate and commercially relevant financial information. Supporting strategic decisions around pricing, purchasing, investment, recruitment and international expansion. Developing budgets, forecasts and management accounts. Maintaining accurate cash-flow forecasting. Managing working capital and liquidity. Developing financial controls, policies and processes. Establishing financial KPIs and management dashboards. Identifying financial risks before they become significant problems. Challenging assumptions and providing evidence-based recommendations. Working with external accountants, auditors, tax specialists, banks and professional advisers where appropriate. Ensuring external advisers are challenged and their recommendations commercially evaluated rather than simply accepted. Providing rapid financial analysis when commercial decisions need to be made. The CFO must be comfortable working in a fast-moving entrepreneurial environment where decisions frequently require both speed and detailed analysis. 2. Financial Analysis & Modeling Financial Analysis & Modeling will be a major component of this position. We require someone with a strong analytical background who can take complex financial and operational information and convert it into clear commercial insights and actionable recommendations. The successful candidate must be capable of building sophisticated financial models from the ground up rather than simply reviewing models created by others. Responsibilities will include: Building and maintaining detailed financial models. Developing integrated P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow forecasts. Short-, medium- and long-term cash-flow modelling. Actual vs budget vs forecast analysis. Identifying and explaining material financial variances. Best-case, base-case and worst-case scenario modelling. Sensitivity analysis. Profitability analysis by: Product SKU Customer Market Country Sales channel Business division Gross-margin and contribution-margin analysis. Break-even analysis. Pricing analysis and optimisation. Customer and contract profitability. Working-capital modelling. Inventory and stockholding analysis. Cash-conversion-cycle analysis. ROI and investment modelling. Modelling new employees, departments, systems and investments. Modelling the financial implications of entering new countries and territories. Analysing foreign-exchange exposure. Identifying financial trends, anomalies, risks and opportunities within large datasets. Landed Cost Modelling A particularly important responsibility will be developing accurate landed-cost models incorporating: Manufacturing costs. Supplier pricing. Freight. Insurance. Customs duties. Tariffs. Import VAT/taxes. Customs clearance. Brokerage. Warehousing. Distribution. Currency fluctuations. Other direct and indirect costs. We want to understand the true profitability of products at SKU level, not simply headline gross margins. The CFO must therefore be equally comfortable looking at the overall company P&L and drilling down to an individual SKU, customer, supplier, invoice or transaction to understand what is driving the result. Advanced Excel and/or Google Sheets modelling capability is essential. Experience with SQL, BI platforms, ERP/accounting integrations, APIs, data warehouses or similar analytical technologies would be highly advantageous. 3. International Import & Export Experience The successful candidate must have practical financial experience with businesses importing and exporting physical products internationally. Responsibilities will include understanding and managing the financial implications of: International supply chains. Import duties. Customs tariffs. Customs valuation. Commodity/product classifications. Landed costs. Freight and insurance. Import VAT. Sales and use taxes. Incoterms and their financial implications. Transfer pricing. Intercompany transactions. Foreign currency exposure. International payments. International banking. International inventory movements. Cross-border corporate structures. We expect the CFO to understand these areas at a granular transactional level rather than automatically referring every question to an external adviser. External specialists should be used where appropriate, but the CFO must possess sufficient knowledge to identify issues, ask the correct questions and challenge professional advice where necessary. 4. UK Taxation & Compliance Strong working knowledge of UK corporate finance and taxation is required, including: Corporation Tax. VAT. Import VAT. PAYE and payroll-related financial oversight. Capital expenditure and allowances. International transactions. Intercompany transactions. Transfer-pricing considerations. Statutory reporting. Financial controls. Foreign-exchange implications. Working with HMRC where necessary. Managing UK accountants, auditors and tax advisers. 5. United States Taxation — Essential Strong US financial and taxation experience is a key requirement for this role. We particularly require someone who understands the practical tax implications of operating, importing and selling within the United States. Knowledge should include: Federal taxation. State taxation. State and local sales tax. Economic nexus. Physical nexus. Multi-state sales-tax obligations. State registrations and filings. Use tax. Import duties and tariffs. US customs considerations. US corporate structures. UK/US intercompany transactions. Transfer-pricing considerations. Cross-border payments. International taxation implications. Payroll/employment-related financial considerations where applicable. The CFO must be capable of recognising when a transaction, customer, employee, warehouse, inventory location or commercial activity could create a US tax or compliance consequence. We are looking for someone who can investigate these matters at a granular level, determine the commercial exposure and coordinate specialist advice where required. 6. UAE / Future International Expansion Experience with the UAE would be advantageous, although it is not necessarily essential if the candidate has strong international experience. Potential areas include: UAE Corporate Tax. VAT. Free-zone versus mainland structures. International trading structures. Import/export implications. Banking. Intercompany arrangements. Transfer pricing. Employment costs. International tax implications. More importantly, the CFO must demonstrate an ability to rapidly research, analyse and understand new jurisdictions as the business expands internationally. 7. Claude, AI & Automation — Essential Requirement This is a core requirement of the position. We are specifically looking for a CFO who is currently using Claude extensively as part of their daily professional workflow. We are not looking for someone who is simply interested in AI, has occasionally experimented with ChatGPT or Claude, or believes they could learn these tools after joining. The successful candidate should already be using Claude daily or near-daily for professional work. This could include: Financial analysis. Financial modelling. Data analysis. Reviewing and interrogating financial information. Researching complex taxation and regulatory questions. Scenario planning. Commercial analysis. Creating and reviewing management reports. Identifying anomalies and trends. Analysing large documents and datasets. Creating repeatable workflows. Process automation. Research. Decision support. Claude Connectors, Skills & Advanced Workflows We are particularly interested in candidates with practical experience using: Claude Claude Projects Claude Connectors Claude Skills MCP/connectivity where applicable. AI-driven workflows. Automated financial reporting. Data extraction and reconciliation. AI-assisted spreadsheet analysis. Accounting/ERP integrations. CRM integrations. APIs and connected business systems. The candidate should understand how AI can become part of an integrated finance infrastructure, rather than treating Claude as simply a chatbot. We want someone who can identify repetitive financial and analytical processes and determine how they can be automated, accelerated or improved through AI. Applicants Must Demonstrate Current Claude Usage Candidates will be expected to explain: How they currently use Claude during their normal working day. How frequently they use Claude. Which Claude features they regularly use. Examples of Projects, Connectors, Skills or AI workflows they have created. How they currently use Claude for financial analysis or modelling. Examples of connecting Claude with spreadsheets, financial data or other business systems. A specific example where AI materially improved an analytical or commercial outcome. Candidates who are not already substantial, active Claude users are unlikely to be suitable for this position. We need someone capable of bringing existing AI expertise into the company from day one. 8. Analytical & Problem-Solving Capability The successful candidate must have an exceptionally strong analytical and problem-solving mindset. When presented with a problem, we expect them to naturally ask: What is happening? Why is it happening? What does the data tell us? What is the financial and commercial impact? What are our options? What should we do next? We are looking for someone who investigates problems rather than simply reports them. The CFO should be comfortable moving from a board-level financial overview to analysing the individual transactions responsible for a variance. They must be able to identify the root cause of financial issues and provide practical recommendations for resolving them. Candidate Profile We are looking for an established finance professional with: Significant experience as a CFO, Finance Director, Financial Controller or equivalent senior finance professional. Professional accounting qualification such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA or equivalent preferred. Strong commercial-finance experience. Advanced financial analysis and modelling capability. Demonstrable international business experience. Practical importing and exporting experience. Strong UK taxation knowledge. Detailed US taxation and sales-tax experience. Experience with international corporate structures. Experience with multiple currencies. Strong cash-flow and working-capital management. Excellent Excel and/or Google Sheets capability. Strong technology and systems knowledge. Experience implementing financial processes and controls. Current daily professional use of Claude. Practical understanding of Claude Connectors, Skills and AI workflows. Ability to work directly with a CEO. Excellent written and spoken English. Personal Characteristics We are looking for someone who is: Highly analytical. Commercially minded. Naturally inquisitive. Detail-oriented. Technology-driven. AI-forward. An exceptional problem solver. Comfortable challenging assumptions. Independent. Fast and accurate. Highly accountable. Proactive rather than reactive. Comfortable working without excessive supervision. Capable of operating strategically and tactically. Comfortable getting into granular financial detail. Focused on solutions rather than simply identifying problems. Working Hours & Availability This is a full-time position requiring a minimum of 40 hours per week. This is not a fractional CFO or part-time consultancy position. Because the business operates internationally, particularly across the UK and USA, the successful candidate must have flexibility around working hours and international time zones. There will be occasions when availability is required outside conventional UK office hours for important matters involving: The CEO. US operations. International suppliers. Customers. Banks. Accountants. Tax advisers. Other international partners. We are therefore looking for someone comfortable working in a high-responsibility international environment where flexibility and responsiveness are expected. What Success Looks Like Within the first 6–12 months, we would expect the successful CFO to have: Developed a deep understanding of the company's financial mechanics. Established accurate and reliable management reporting. Created robust cash-flow forecasting. Established visibility of profitability by SKU, product, customer, channel and territory. Developed accurate landed-cost models. Reviewed UK and US tax structures and identified risks and opportunities. Established clear oversight of US state and sales-tax obligations. Improved financial controls. Improved working-capital management. Identified margin and cost-saving opportunities. Developed CEO-level financial dashboards. Reduced unnecessary manual financial processes. Introduced meaningful Claude and AI automation throughout the finance function. Created repeatable AI-enabled analytical workflows. Developed a scalable financial infrastructure capable of supporting further international expansion. Upwork Application Requirements Please do not submit a generic CFO proposal. To be considered, applicants should answer the following questions and provide specific, measurable examples wherever possible: International Trade: Describe a business where you were personally responsible for the financial aspects of importing/exporting physical products. Which countries were involved? USA Tax: Explain your direct experience with US federal, state and particularly sales-tax/nexus requirements. Financial Modeling: Describe a sophisticated financial model you personally built. What was being modelled, and how did it influence a commercial decision? Profitability: Give an example where your analysis identified an opportunity to improve margin, cash flow or profitability. What was the measurable result? Problem Solving: Describe a complex financial, taxation or commercial problem that you personally identified and solved. Claude — Current Usage: Explain specifically how you use Claude in your current working day and approximately how much you use it. Claude Connectors & Skills: What experience do you currently have with Claude Projects, Connectors, Skills, MCP or similar advanced functionality? AI + Finance: Give a specific example of a financial process, model, analysis or workflow that you have improved or automated using Claude or AI. Systems: Which accounting, ERP, BI, spreadsheet, database and automation platforms are you experienced with? Availability: Confirm that you are seeking a full-time position of at least 40 hours per week and can provide reasonable flexibility around UK/US working hours. Important This is a hands-on CFO position, not an advisory or fractional CFO assignment. We want someone who will become deeply involved in the business, work directly with the CEO and take long-term ownership of the financial infrastructure required to support international growth. The ideal candidate combines the experience of a traditional CFO with the analytical ability of a financial modeller, the international knowledge of a cross-border finance specialist and the technology mindset of a modern AI-enabled operator.