Head of Strategic Finance, Africa

South San Francisco, CaliforniaFull-TimeLeadAccounts / Finance

You will be redirected to the company career page

Through robotics, autonomy, and advanced logistics, we are decarbonizing delivery, decreasing road congestion, and expanding equitable access to essential goods for billions of people worldwide.

Reporting to the Global Head of Strategic Finance, this role sits at the intersection of enterprise-wide decision-making and regional execution. Strategic Finance at Zipline owns the company’s consolidated business model, long-range planning, capital allocation, and global financial strategy – this role is a key leader within that function. You will ensure Africa strategy, investments, and performance are tightly integrated into Zipline’s overall business plan.
This role also carries responsibility for building a small, high-impact team. Your team will provide direct, embedded partnership to leaders across Africa’s Go-to-Market, Engineering, Operations, and G&A functions. Driving financial literacy across the organization so teams understand unit economics, tradeoffs, and long-term implications of their decisions is critical to Zipline Africa’s success.

Own financial strategy, planning, and performance management for Zipline’s Africa business as part of the company’s global consolidated business, reporting into the Global Head of Strategic Finance.
Act as a strategic advisor to Zipline’s Africa leadership on investment decisions, growth strategy, unit economics, and long-term sustainability.
Contribute directly to Zipline’s enterprise-level strategy, long-range planning, and capital allocation decisions.
Develop and maintain long-term financial models to evaluate market strategies, expansion plans, and new business initiatives.

Lead budgeting, forecasting, and performance analysis for Africa operations within Zipline’s global planning framework.
Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, profitability, and capital effectiveness while maintaining operational excellence.
Translate complex operational and commercial dynamics into clear, actionable financial insights for executive and regional leadership.

Serve as a financial thought partner to Africa operations leadership, helping teams navigate financial complexity while driving sustainable growth.
Partner closely with Go-to-Market, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Deployment, and G&A teams to support cost-effective execution and strong unit economics.
Work with government, donor, and commercial partners to structure financially viable contracts and long-term partnerships.

Build a small, high-caliber team to manage Zipline’s Africa business model.
Provide direct, embedded partnership to GTM, Engineering, Ops, and G&A teams to guide strategic choices and investment decisions.
Drive financial literacy across the organization, ensuring leaders and teams understand unit economics, tradeoffs, and long-term financial implications.
Establish finance as an enabling function that helps teams move faster and make better decisions while balancing growth and sustainability.
Set a high bar for analytical rigor, clarity of communication, and business judgment across the Strategic Finance team.

Partner with regional finance and accounting teams to ensure accurate financial reporting, efficient close processes, and strong internal controls.
Work with US-based finance leadership to standardize financial practices across global operations.
Support audits and regulatory engagements; coordinate with local and US-based tax advisors to ensure compliance across African entities.

Lead financial analysis to support the scalability and profitability of Zipline’s Platform 1 operations in Africa.
Evaluate pricing strategies, market expansion opportunities, and operational tradeoffs to drive sustainable growth.
Partner cross-functionally to assess the financial feasibility of launching new products and services, including Platform 2, in Africa.

10+ years of experience in finance, including 5+ years in a senior or leadership role.
Experience supporting or leading finance for a high-growth, operations-intensive business (e.g., logistics, supply chain, manufacturing, infrastructure).
Strong financial modeling, forecasting, and strategic analysis skills, with the ability to operate at both detailed and enterprise levels.
Experience partnering with international or regional finance teams; exposure to African markets is strongly preferred.
Experience working with governments as clients or partners, including structuring, pricing, or supporting complex public-sector engagements.
Experience working with the U.S. government (e.g., federal agencies, state or local governments, or U.S.-based public-sector programs) is a strong plus.
Working knowledge of IFRS and familiarity with multi-entity, multi-currency environments.
Proven experience building and leading small, high-performing teams.
Ability to translate complex financial concepts into clear, actionable guidance for non-finance partners.
Strong executive presence, communication skills, and comfort operating in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
Experience operating in a matrixed leadership environment, balancing enterprise ownership with regional leadership responsibilities.

The starting cash range for this role is $220,000-$250,000, plus equity. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.
Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.