Director of Finance/Controller

~ Reviving an ancient tradition of fermentation, Farmhouse Culture is a producer of raw, organic, krauts. ~ 

In 2006, inspired by the idea of regional Slow Foods, our founder Kathryn Lukas began exploring and developing unique hybrid sauerkraut and kimchi recipes using locally sourced organic ingredients. 

The business has expanded significantly over the years, but the central values remain, and to this day Farmhouse Culture makes a variety of award winning krauts that are just as good for the planet as they are for the body. In fact, 99% of our ingredients are sourced within 20 miles of our production facility in Santa Cruz. 

Psoition Overview 

The Opportunity:

The Director of Finance/Controller will lead financial planning, analysis, reporting and business advisory support across the organization, and manage the accounting department. The successful candidate will partner closely with the CEO to drive financial and operational results across the company and manage the annual forecasting and budgeting process.

The ideal candidate will be very hands-on and have the ability to build a competent team and highly effective finance processes in an entrepreneurial and rapidly growing environment. This candidate will be extremely flexible and enjoy the "high-change" environment. 

Responsibilities 

The Challenge: 

• Collaborate and partner with CEO and Board of Directors in the strategic development and monitoring of overall strategies, objectives, policies and annual/quarterly business plans while ensuring results are meeting financial targets.
• Work cross-functionally, establishing close relationships among the sales and marketing teams, production and operations and the finance group to evaluate options and make recommendations.
• Develop and update annual and long-term income statement, balance sheet and cash flow forecasts.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual financial reporting materials and key performance indicator (KPI) reports for updates to the CEO, management team, and Board of Directors, as well as other ad hoc reporting for the CEO and functional teams (sales, production, product development, etc.). 
• Identify and analyze financial opportunities and impacts of business decisions. Recommend actions to improve the profitability of the business. 
• Participate in overall financial management to develop opportunities that mitigate risk: including product pricing and costing, channel management, trade promotion, capital expenditures, etc.
• Continuously review the company's capital structure and financing needs. Keep CEO aware of cash situation and key financial metrics. 
• Identify and develop cost effective sources of capital. 
• Create and manage debt and equity structure and investments. 
• Negotiate financing arrangements and banking relationships.
• Ensure efficient day-to-day management of cash and develop cash reporting system.
• Lead and manage all accounting tasks related to monthly close process and preparation of GAAP-compliant financial reporting with management discussion and analysis
  (MD&A): including general ledger and bank reconciliation, AR, AP, inventory, etc.
• Manage selection and transition to new accounting software (including inventory management) and ensure GAAP-compliant Chart of Accounts. 
• Lead and manage inaugural financial audit.
• Manage and comply with local, state, and federal government reporting requirements and tax filings: including property, payroll, sales, corporate taxes.
• Lead and manage various financial, legal, and operational needs: including, but not limited to, business insurance, equipment purchase, contract review, site locations, stock
  ledger and certificates, trademarks.

Qualifications  

The Essentials: 

Technical Expertise Required 

• Knowledge of key CPG retail sales and food manufacturing metrics (ACV, sales per point of distribution, promotion volume, fill-rate, yield/throughput, etc.)
• Expertise in Microsoft Excel. Strong PowerPoint
  skills.
• Experience with QuickBooks, Inventory Management software.
• Financial modeling and investment analysis techniques (discounted cash flow, ROI, IRR, discounted pay-back and break-even analyses)

Education/Training Required 

• BS/BA in finance, accounting, economics, or business
• MBA strongly preferred; CPA or CFA preferred but not required
• 5-7 years experience in senior finance positions
• 3-5 years of management experience
• Experience in managing HR / Legal / IT management a plus