R

Releaf

Palm oil processing and biochar production

Financial Planning & Analysis Manager

Full-TimePosted on 10/16/2026
£65k - £75k+ Performance-related bonus
Mid
Remote in UK
RemoteRemote working with occasional UK travel.
Finance & BankingCorporate Finance & FP&A

About the job

Requirements
  • Be fully qualified ACA, ACCA, or CIMA and have at least three years of post-qualification experience.
  • Have demonstrable ownership of budgeting, forecasting, and management or Board reporting, rather than only supporting someone else's work.
  • Have demonstrable experience producing Board packs and presenting financial performance to senior leadership with clear, decision-focused commentary.
  • Have advanced Excel skills, including driver-based modeling with large datasets, and be able to build a three-statement or driver model from scratch.
  • Have hands-on, current experience using AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, or Microsoft Copilot in finance work, with real examples to discuss at interview.
  • Use sound judgment with AI output, understanding its limits and checking it before relying on it.
  • Have a track record of building or materially improving a reporting process, ideally through automation and AI.
  • Have experience structuring and managing finance data for reporting or analytics.
  • Demonstrate that analysis has changed a decision, with the resulting numbers.
  • Be confident communicating with and challenging senior non-finance stakeholders.
  • Be comfortable with incomplete data and imperfect systems, and be inclined to fix them.
Responsibilities
  • Own development and preparation of the annual budget and quarterly reforecast based on business drivers.
  • Own preparation and reporting of the rolling three-month revenue and gross margin forecast, and remain accountable for its accuracy.
  • Own preparation of the group cashflow forecast, including working capital, stock purchasing, and intercompany flows across the group.
  • Support the Finance & Commercial Director on target-setting and report performance against budget and target.
  • Build scenario and sensitivity analysis into planning so the Board sees a range of outcomes rather than a single line.
  • Own end-to-end production of the monthly performance reporting pack covering revenue, gross margin, cost of sales, overheads, cash, and operational KPIs.
  • Prepare the monthly Board pack and slide deck, including commentary, for review and sign-off by the Finance & Commercial Director; use AI to accelerate drafting and review while remaining accountable for every number.
  • Own monthly cost of sales analysis and the margin bridge, including price, volume, mix, discount, freight, and fulfilment.
  • Report on international entities' commercial performance as they become material.
  • Issue a mid-month flash on revenue, gross margin, and cash ahead of the full pack.
  • Support investor updates with consistent, reconciled numbers and clear narrative.
  • Own the design, development, and maintenance of a governed finance data warehouse bringing together Xero, Spendesk, Stripe, and Releaf's ERP; ensure data quality, ledger reconciliation, access controls, and exclusion or anonymization of patient-identifiable data.
  • Own implementation and management of AI initiatives across finance; set the roadmap with the Finance & Commercial Director and CFO, incorporate AI into planning and reporting, build reusable workflows for variance commentary, flash reporting, pack review, reconciliations, and data preparation, train the team, and measure time released and accuracy gained.
  • Lead automation of reporting across Xero, Spendesk, Stripe, and Releaf's ERP, replacing manual consolidation with automated processes.
  • Work with the Group Finance Manager to identify and deliver ways AI can reduce manual effort in the close and reporting cycle, and measure the time released.
  • Set and apply AI-use guardrails for finance, including human review of outputs, an audit trail, and appropriate handling of commercially sensitive and patient-related data in a regulated healthcare business.
  • Map and upgrade the end-to-end planning and reporting workflow, documenting controls, assumptions, AI workflows, and change logs.
  • Own unit economics and cohort analysis, including CAC, LTV, and retention, to support commercial and marketing decisions.
  • Translate financial information for non-finance leaders and challenge them when appropriate.
  • Support the Finance & Commercial Director with departmental cost analysis and budgeting for Marketing, Clinic, Operations, and IT.
  • Contribute to business cases and investment appraisal.
  • Help colleagues outside finance use AI for their own reporting and analysis.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience building repeatable AI workflows, such as shared prompt libraries, AI connected to finance systems or data, or AI-assisted automation of a reporting cycle.
  • SME or scale-up experience.
  • Multi-entity or group reporting experience.
  • Experience with Xero, Spendesk, Stripe, Power BI or equivalent, SQL, or Python.
  • Experience with stock, cost of sales, or supply-chain-intensive operations.
  • Experience in healthcare, pharmacy, e-commerce, or another regulated sector, including responsible handling of sensitive data.
  • Involvement in an ERP or reporting system implementation.

About the company

Releaf connects smallholder palm oil farmers with large food manufacturers in Nigeria. It buys palm nuts from over 2,000 farmers and uses a proprietary Kraken de-sheller to process nuts 25 times faster with 95% purity, then sells high-quality kernels to consumer goods brands while offering farming financing and training; a USSD-based SITE software manages the supply chain. The company also turns palm kernel shells into biochar through pyrolysis, producing carbon removal credits verified with partners, while the biochar acts as a soil amendment and has shown yield gains in pilots. Its goal is to remove 700,000 metric tons of CO2e by 2030 and generate revenue from kernels, biochar, and carbon credits, setting it apart with a tightly integrated farmer network, faster processing, and a new climate-focused revenue stream.

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

Early VC

Total Funding

$8M

Headquarters

Nigeria

Founded

2017

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • February 2026 Salesforce bought Releaf Earth’s inaugural 190-ton carbon removal credits.
  • May 2025 Cross River plant gave Releaf Nigeria’s first industrial biochar platform.
  • March 2026 Releaf raised $10 million, funding expansion across Nigeria and West Africa.

What critics are saying

  • Cross River biochar economics depend on steady shell supply and Carbon credit buyers after 2026.
  • Palm processors like Presco and local mills can squeeze margins before Releaf scales.
  • Single-site industrial exposure at Iwuru creates existential outage risk from fire, permits, or logistics.

What makes Releaf unique

  • Kraken processes palm nuts 25x faster than local equipment, raising 95% kernel purity.
  • Releaf controls farmers, processing, and financing across 2,000+ suppliers in Nigeria.
  • Releaf Earth links palm waste to biochar, carbon credits, and soil amendments.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Flexible Work Hours
  • Mental Health Support
  • Paid Holidays
  • Remote Work Options
  • Life Insurance
  • Professional Development Budget

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

-23%
One Stop ESG
Mar 23rd, 2026
Nigerian agritech Releaf raises $10M turning palm waste into biochar and carbon credits

Releaf, founded in 2017 by Ikenna Nzewi and Uzoma Ayogu, has raised $10 million to scale its palm processing and climate technology in Nigeria. The company has evolved from early marketplace concepts to developing Kraken, a proprietary palm nut processing system designed for African conditions that improves efficiency and reduces waste. The startup has expanded into climate finance through Releaf Earth, which converts palm kernel shells and agricultural waste into biochar. This carbon-rich material improves soil quality whilst generating measurable carbon removal outcomes, enabling participation in international carbon markets. Releaf's dual revenue model combines processing income with biochar sales and potential carbon credits. The company aims to demonstrate that traditional agricultural systems can be redesigned into modern value chains delivering stronger incomes, better resource use and measurable climate benefits simultaneously.

Carbon Herald
May 7th, 2025
Releaf Earth Launches First Industrial Biochar Production Plant In Nigeria

To generate the carbon removal credits, Releaf Earth has partnered with the Riverse registry, which will monitor operations to ensure transparency and traceability.

LinkedIn
May 29th, 2024
Scaling digital Agriculture Innovations through Start-ups (SAIS) on LinkedIn: 💥Welcome to our new 2024 cohort who have just joined our SAIS IRP…

💥Welcome to our new 2024 cohort who have just joined our SAIS IRP programme!💥 We are extremely delighted to welcome 22 promising new African start-ups from…

HTL Vane
Dec 31st, 2023
Nigerian agritech Releaf gets more capital as it launches new tech for food processing

Nigerian agritech Releaf gets more capital as it launches new tech for food processing.

The Charlotte Observer
Jul 1st, 2023
Marylanders buy recreational weed legally for first time ever with strong demand at dispensaries | Charlotte Observer

Whelton said ReLeaf recently invested $1.2 million in a second-floor storage and processing facility in order to keep up with expected legal demand.