Director of Finance And Operations

Director, Finance & Operations

Toronto | Full-time | In person

About AXL

AXL is an AI venture studio with a mission to flip the script of Canadian innovation - creating great companies that carry Canadian values and innovations to the world.

We are looking for a Director of Finance & Operations to build the financial and operational foundation that will enable AXL to grow.

The Role

This is not a conventional comptroller role. We need an entrepreneurial, systems-minded operator who combines financial discipline with a relentless focus on improving how the organization works.

You will treat AXL’s operations as a product and our team members as its customers. When a process fails, your first response should be to understand why - and then simplify, automate, or redesign it.

While you should be biased towards action, you will not perform every function yourself. AXL works with bookkeepers, lawyers, accountants, technology providers, and other specialists. You will determine what capabilities are needed, engage the right people and tools, and ensure that their work is timely, integrated, and excellent.

You also do not need to be a programmer. You must be able to identify opportunities for automation, define the desired outcome, assemble the right resources, and define the goals for an implementation.

You will report to the CEO and work across AXL and the companies we create.

What you will own

• Budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow planning, financial reporting, and controls.
• Oversight of bookkeeping, payroll, payables, receivables, tax, audit, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
• Clear, decision-useful financial information for the leadership team.
• The financial and operational foundations used to launch new ventures.
• AXL’s relationships with bookkeepers, accountants, lawyers, banks, insurers, technology vendors, and other providers.
• Clear responsibilities, deliverables, and accountability across employees, contractors, and vendors.
• The design and continuous improvement of internal workflows and services.
• The identification and implementation of useful automation and AI-enabled tools.
• A coherent operational environment in which systems, providers, and processes work together.
• A world-class internal experience that allows team members to focus on AXL’s mission rather than administration.

What success looks like

Within your first 3 months:

• The entire leadership team has a reliable, forward-looking view of AXL’s finances, commitments, and risks.
• Our fund investors have a reliable report on their investments designed and delivered.
• Core financial and operational responsibilities have clear ownership and are completed consistently.
• External providers operate as part of an integrated system, with strong oversight and no important work falling through the gaps.
• Employees spend materially less time on administrative tasks.
• Recurring problems are redesigned rather than repeatedly escalated.
• Appropriate controls become stronger while compliance becomes easier.
• New ventures can be launched using repeatable financial and operational foundations.
• Team members experience internal operations as responsive, intuitive, and reliable.

What you bring

We care more about demonstrated capacity than a particular sequence of titles. You should have:

• Experience owning both financial and operational outcomes in a growing organization.
• Strong command of budgeting, forecasting, cash management, reporting, accounting operations, and financial controls.
• A record of building or substantially improving systems - not merely administering them.
• Experience defining and overseeing work performed by employees, contractors, and professional-services firms.
• Examples of using technology, automation, or workflow redesign to reduce manual work.
• An entrepreneurial mindset: you actively find opportunities, test better approaches, and carry improvements through to completion.
• Strong judgment, discretion, follow-through, and the ability to bring structure to ambiguity.
• A customer-centric view of internal operations and genuine respect for your colleagues’ time.

A CPA or equivalent qualification would be valuable but is not sufficient on its own. Experience in a startup, venture studio, professional-services organization, investment environment, or multi-entity business would be an asset.

Apply here: Director, Finance & Operations