Careers

We’re a small highly collaborative team of about 40, based primarily in and around London, with an increasing global presence. Working at A4S provides a distinct career opportunity to engage with some of the worlds’ leading financial professionals, businesses and institutions.

At A4S we value our people, and strive for a collaborative, supportive and non-hierarchical structure. Our dedicated office is in Mindspace Shoreditch – a vibrant, modern and dog-friendly co-working space, with frequent activities and social events. 

Twice a year we gather the whole team for “Away Days” in places like Brighton and Oxford. This is an opportunity to strategize and discuss company priorities collaboratively, but also to spend time with colleagues – including our more far-flung, international co-workers. 

Diversity is important to us, and we are actively developing a strategy to enhance our inclusivity and create a more representative environment where everyone feels welcome.  

Our values

• A4S is a brilliant place to work because of the team – who we are, how we work together and what we do – and because every team member is valued and adds value 

• We inspire positive change and make a difference

• We are credible and relevant 

• People want to work with us because we deliver consistent quality, have tangible impact and are passionate about what we do

While we are a small organization, we work to support career development through a range of internal and external training opportunities and support mechanisms. 

Many of our senior staff have progressed within A4S, and we have a great track record of interns moving into permanent positions and being promoted. 

Working at A4S will provide you with the opportunity to work alongside senior finance professionals from some of the top companies globally, as well as mentoring from our senior team who are very engaged and take the time to share their knowledge and expertise. 

We understand that life can be busy and work is just one part of the juggling act. 

Our employees’ wellbeing is a priority for us, and we have implemented several practices to support them, such as:

• Supporting our team members to be autonomous in their diary management

• Operating hybrid and remote working (where possible)

• Operating flexible working hours (for example: part-time roles, job share and autonomy around start and finish times)

• Supporting “workations” (eg working from a different country for a short period of time)

• Paid volunteering days, enhanced pay for sick leave, other family-friendly policies with enhanced pay for time off

• Generous annual leave

• Aiming to stay ahead of the curve by trialling different ways of working (for example: we are currently trialling a 4-day week with core hours of Monday to Thursday plus an average of one Friday in four)

We also recognize that supporting work-life balance leads to greater engagement, productivity and loyalty ultimately driving the success of our organization as a whole and maximizing our impact. 

In addition to supporting work life balance and professional development, A4S also offers a competitive range of benefits:

1. 25 days leave, increasing by one day every year to a maximum of 30 days (pro-rata for part-time roles).
2. Up to 5 days per year for volunteering.
3. BUPA private medical insurance which covers GP virtual consultations, hospital treatment, cancer treatment, mental health treatment and more.
4. A 7.5% employer pension contribution, with a 2.5% minimum contribution from the employee.
5. Access to our Employee Assistance programme, providing you and your family or cohabiting partner with access to wellbeing support, guidance on legal and financial issues, and more.
6. Death in service and income protection insurance.
7. Perkbox membership, offering: generous discounts across everyday spending, wellness and fitness, restaurants, gifts, travel, and more; as well as a wellness hub with content covering nutrition, workouts and meditation.
8. A ‘cycle to work’ scheme.

We were thrilled with our most recent team survey, where we received an overall employer rating of 4.3/5! Our team shared that, for the most part they:

• Feel proud to work here

• Feel like they fit in

• Feel well supported by their managers even when working remotely

We recognize that supporting our employees is an ongoing process. To meet these evolving needs, we run quarterly anonymous surveys to assess what’s going well and what needs reviewing or improvement. For example, we are currently reviewing our benefits package and trialling new ways of working to ensure a healthy workplace environment.  

We are open to feedback and try to ensure that the avenues for communicating these are open and accessible.

We’re really pleased that you’re considering applying for a role at A4S, and value your time in doing so. A4S is committed to a fast, efficient and transparent recruitment process, supported by excellent communication with all candidates. 

We ask for a CV and a brief cover letter. Our standard interview process is two rounds, usually over two weeks, where questions and practical exercises help ensure sure you are the best fit for us and the available role – and, equally important, ensure you feel the same. Interviews can usually be conducted online or in person. Please carefully check the job advert for full application instructions, where any variation to this standard process will be made clear.

1. Please upload both a CV and a cover letter. We need to receive both to consider your application. We’re happy for documents to be in either Word or pdf format.
2. In your CV, don’t just describe what you’ve done, tell us about what you achieved and your impact. It will help us to understand what you could bring to A4S if you join us.
3. In your cover letter, tell us about why you’re applying to the role and to A4S as an organization. It really helps us to understand your motivations. If there’s something you want us to know about you that isn’t captured by your CV you can also tell us that in your cover letter.
4. Unless we have indicated that we can consider sponsoring a visa, applicants must have the right to work in the UK – or, if we have specified the role is to be based elsewhere, applicants must have the right to work in that country or region. For permanent roles in the UK, we will consider applicants with Graduate or HPI visas that have at least 18 months remaining. For fixed term roles, such as 1-year internships, remaining time on the visa must be the same as or longer than the employment term. 
5. We’re going to be assessing your application in relation to the employee specification for the role you’ve applied to. Take time to think about how your CV and cover letter demonstrate that you have the types of skills, experience and knowledge we need. Every job has its own requirements, so every application you make should be tailored to that particular role.
6. We hope to get lots of applications, which means we’ll be doing lots of reading. We really appreciate it when CVs and cover letters are clearly laid out and easy to read.
7. We prefer it if you don’t include a photograph with your CV – we’ll be assessing your application based on the knowledge, skills and experience you show us.
8. Before you upload your documents, make sure to spell check them and proofread them for errors that a spell checker won’t pick up. Accuracy and attention to detail are important in all our roles at A4S, so it’s something we pay attention to.
9. Make sure to include your name in the file name of your documents when you upload them – we need to know who they belong to!
10. We encourage all candidates to apply, even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the job description. We value diverse perspectives and experiences, and your skills may align well with what we are seeking.

1. We’ll probably ask you to complete a short exercise and send it to us about 24 hours before your interview. We’ll send you details when we set up the interview with you.
2. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the interview process, please let us now when we contact you to set up the interview time.
3. We’ll try to make the interview as relaxed as possible. We’ll ask you questions about why you would like the role, and ones that help us understand your skills and experience. To prepare for this, remind yourself what is in the employee specification for the role, and think about what examples you have that show how you meet those needs. The STAR framework can be a really useful approach to use. We also recommend taking another look at the A4S website, so you’re familiar with what we’ve been doing and our latest news.
4. The interview is a chance for you to understand more about the role and A4S, as well as a chance for us to understand more about you. Think about any questions you have for us that will help you decide if this is the right job for you.
5. We’re doing most of our interviews online using Teams or Zoom – we’ll send you a link. It’s a good idea to test your technology out in advance to check it’s working. If you have trouble connecting on the day, or problems during the interview, just let us know.
6. If the role is London-based, you are welcome to undertake your interview in person at our office – we will discuss this option with you if it applies. In accordance with our policy, please discuss travel expenses with us before booking or undertaking travel to our address.