Chief Financial Officer

Crafty•Chicago, IL

10h

About The Position

Crafty is on a high-growth trajectory to craft better workplaces, and we’re seeking a seasoned financial leader to elevate us to the next level. Reporting to the CEO as Crafty’s first Chief Financial Officer, you’ll be instrumental in defining our financial strategy. We’re looking for a dynamic individual to oversee all financial functions and collaborate closely with key stakeholders to drive growth and optimize financial performance on our pathway to profitability. Crafty’s Finance team is currently led by our talented VP of Finance, who will report directly to the CFO. Including our VP of Finance, our Finance team today is composed of 11 individuals that support our Accounting, AP, AR, Payroll, and Client Contracts. The ideal candidate will execute a unifying financial strategy across various disciplines: Strategic Finance: Partner with leadership to shape the company's strategy and drive key decisions through a strong understanding of financial metrics and economic factors. Annual Planning: Working with the CEO to set company goals that align with our business strategy and supporting the ongoing operations of our annual operating rhythms (e.g., MBRs, QBRs, All Hands). M&A: Evaluate potential M&A and divestitures from a financial perspective. Capital Allocation: Determine the optimal allocation of resources across the org. Investor Relations: Communicate the company's financial performance and strategy to investors, banking partners, and other external stakeholders. Commercial Finance: Optimize financial performance by driving revenue growth, profitability, and cash flow optimization. Pricing Strategy: Develop pricing strategies to maximize revenue and profitability. Contract Negotiation: Support contract negotiations from a financial perspective. Procurement: Maintain and improve procurement process, negotiating with vendors to improve terms and complete RFPs. Accounting: Oversee the delivery of accurate and timely financial reporting, implementing robust internal controls and risk mitigation strategies to protect the company. FP&A: Oversee the development and maintenance of our financial model (budgeting, forecasting, projection scenarios, goal setting) to support strategic decision-making. Treasury: Optimize the investment of surplus cash to generate returns while preserving capital, ensuring optimal cash flow and sufficient liquidity to meet our needs. Tax, Risk & Compliance: Protect the company's financial interests by managing tax obligations, mitigating risks, and ensuring compliance.

Requirements

Growth Strategist: Demonstrates a deep understanding of how to grow companies from $50 Million to $500 Million. Designs and refines compensation plans and incentive structures, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to achieve company objectives that ultimately drive revenue and profitability. Evaluates M&A opportunities with comprehensive analysis beyond financial criteria (e.g., market analysis, competitive considerations, etc.).
Cross-Functional Leadership: Builds strong relationships with leaders across the company, gaining buy-in for financial initiatives and supporting departments with annual planning and budgeting within their orgs.
Data Driven: Ability to partner closely with our Data Team, who report to our CTO, to translate complex financial information into simple insights that drive business outcomes and team alignment.
Change Advocate: Ability to influence the Executive Team and Board of Directors on key strategic and operational decisions, keeping stakeholders and team members updated (preferably with experience using ADKAR Change Management Framework).
Sound Judgment: Maintains a positive and resilient demeanor in high-pressure environments characterized by rapid change and competing priorities. Demonstrates exceptional ability to make timely, well-informed decisions, sometimes with limited data. Actively seeks diverse perspectives and is open to candid feedback in order to analyze complex situations, identify potential risks, and develop effective solutions.
Effective Communicator: Supports investor relations, including crafting communications, providing timely reports and interacting individually with investors. Executive presence in addition to strong communication and presentation skills (to the board, at All Hands).
Verbal: Articulates concepts in a clear, structured, succinct, and simple manner. Adjusts communication based on the audience. Delivers persuasive presentations and adapts to any audience effortlessly. Leads communication efforts during significant crises, managing complex and difficult conversations.
Written: Crafts impactful written messages for high-stakes communications.
Non-Verbal: Masters active listening, empathy, and cultural sensitivity to foster deep connections.
Collaboration + Feedback: Excels in driving business outcomes through collaboration. Embraces a commitment to giving and receiving feedback, leveraging it to drive improvements within team performance and cross-functional collaboration. Provides feedback to the founders as needed, and leads critical conversations at all levels, holding regular check-ins to assess progress, discuss challenges, and provide support.
People Leader: A highly respected team builder and leader who earns loyalty, trust and a followership. Inspires and motivates team members to exceed expectations, setting a clear roadmap and effectively communicating the "why" behind initiatives. Leads VPs, Directors and Managers of managers by delegating tasks and responsibilities to drive performance and achieve strategic goals within the Finance team.
Deep experience in leading Finance teams (previous CFO experience required)
Experience in scaling companies (250 to 1000 employees, $50 million ARR to $500 million)
Experience in organizations who run zero-based budgeting (ZBB).

Nice To Haves

Previous experience in the Food & Beverage, physical product/service industry

Responsibilities

Strategic Finance: Partner with leadership to shape the company's strategy and drive key decisions through a strong understanding of financial metrics and economic factors.
Annual Planning: Working with the CEO to set company goals that align with our business strategy and supporting the ongoing operations of our annual operating rhythms (e.g., MBRs, QBRs, All Hands).
M&A: Evaluate potential M&A and divestitures from a financial perspective.
Capital Allocation: Determine the optimal allocation of resources across the org.
Investor Relations: Communicate the company's financial performance and strategy to investors, banking partners, and other external stakeholders.
Commercial Finance: Optimize financial performance by driving revenue growth, profitability, and cash flow optimization.
Pricing Strategy: Develop pricing strategies to maximize revenue and profitability.
Contract Negotiation: Support contract negotiations from a financial perspective.
Procurement: Maintain and improve procurement process, negotiating with vendors to improve terms and complete RFPs.
Accounting: Oversee the delivery of accurate and timely financial reporting, implementing robust internal controls and risk mitigation strategies to protect the company.
FP&A: Oversee the development and maintenance of our financial model (budgeting, forecasting, projection scenarios, goal setting) to support strategic decision-making.
Treasury: Optimize the investment of surplus cash to generate returns while preserving capital, ensuring optimal cash flow and sufficient liquidity to meet our needs.
Tax, Risk & Compliance: Protect the company's financial interests by managing tax obligations, mitigating risks, and ensuring compliance.