Head of Strategic Finance, Zipline
Africa
$220-250k
+ Equity
3-5 days a week in office
Transforming the way goods move
Be an early applicant
Transforming the way goods move
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$220-250k
+ Equity
3-5 days a week in office
1001+ employees
Company mission
To build the world's first logistics system that serves all people equally.
Role
Who you are
- 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
What the job involves
- As Head of Strategic Finance, Africa, you will be a senior leader on Zipline’s Strategic Finance team and a core member of Zipline’s Africa Leadership Team
- You will have end-to-end responsibility for financial strategy, planning, and performance management for Zipline’s Africa business, while playing a critical role in shaping Zipline’s global, consolidated financial strategy
- 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
- As a member of the Africa Leadership Team, you will serve as a trusted financial partner to regional leadership, supporting operational execution, growth initiatives, and partnerships across multiple African markets
- 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
- This is an in-person role based in South San Francisco, CA, where Zipline’s Strategic Finance team and many of our go-to-market, operations, and engineering partners are located
- The role includes periodic travel to Africa to work closely with in-country operators and to engage with key government, donor, and commercial partners
- 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
Our take
Zipline is reinventing how the world moves goods - one flight at a time. What started as a bold idea to deliver life-saving medical supplies by drones has grown into the world's first logistics network designed to serve everyone, everywhere. From rushing blood and vaccines to remote clinics, to dropping off everyday essential for Walmart customers, Ziplines's autonomous drones are proving that fast, reliable delivery doesn't have to be limited by roads or geography.
Zipline has an edge over potential future competitors as the company has thousands of hours and over 35 million miles of flight to prove the system is safe and effective. It’s also one of the first companies to receive a full commercial operating certificate, putting Zipline in a strong position to continuously branch out to other markets.
The unicorn company operates globally and has signed its first government contract with Rwanda to provide up to 2 million drone deliveries by 2029. Beyond government partnerships, Zipline has its sight set on everyday consumers, preparing to launch commercial deliveries straight to individuals houses. With its Walmart collaboration expanding and even Chipotle orders taking to the skies in Texas, Zipline isn't just redefining delivery - it's aiming to reach every corner of commerce, with a future that looks as bright as its ambitions.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
34% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 10 rounds)
Jan 2026
$600m
LATE VC
Nov 2025
$150m
GRANT
Total funding: $1.6bn
Company HQ
South San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Keller Rinaudo Cliffton
(Co-Founder & CEO)Having studied Economics and Biotechnology at Harvard, they worked for almost 11 months as a self-employed rock climber. They combined their academic and practical experience to co-found Zipline in July 2011.
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