Director of Accounting, Assistant Controller

CleanChoice Energy•Washington, DC

About The Position

About CleanChoice Energy We serve retail and commercial customers across multiple states. CleanChoice Energy also develops, constructs and manages a portfolio of distributed generation solar projects and utility-scale generation assets. We deal with the full range of complexity that comes with that — project financing and tax equity structures, growing our customer base, expanding markets and deliver sustainable solutions for our customers The company is PE-backed and in a significant growth phase — we’re working toward growing our capital, driving significant OpEx optimization, and building institutional-quality financial infrastructure to support our growth. We’re scaling fast, and this role is central to how we get there. The Opportunity We’re hiring a Director of Accounting / Assistant Controller to take ownership of the accounting function and professionalize it. This is a build role. You will be expected to establish processes, documentation, and structure to operate at the level the business requires. If that sounds like a problem you want to solve, keep reading. You’ll own the month-end close, stand up a structured close checklist (the framework has already been designed — you bring it to life), implement controls, and develop a team of 4-5 accountants into a unit that can close the books reliably and on time without depending on any one person. This is a long-term leadership position with a clear path to Controller within 12-18 months.

Requirements

8-12 years of progressive accounting experience with at least 3 years in a management role.
CPA required.
Deep hands-on experience with multi-entity consolidation and elimination entries — you’ve done these yourself, not just reviewed them.
ASC 842 lease accounting.
You’ve designed or significantly improved a month-end close process before.
Track record managing and developing accounting teams, not just being the best individual contributor.
Sage Intacct or comparable mid-market ERP (NetSuite, Dynamics, etc.).
Comfortable operating in an environment where you’re building the playbook as you go.

Nice To Haves

Energy, utilities, renewables, or project-based industry background.
Experience in a turnaround, restructuring, or rapid-growth environment where you had to stand things up from scratch.
PE-backed or public company experience — even if the company is private, we want someone who thinks with that level of rigor.
Construction or project accounting exposure (relevant given our solar asset portfolio).

Responsibilities

Own the Close Process: Lead the monthly, quarterly, and year-end close across a multi-entity structure.
Take the structured close checklist we’ve built and put it into practice — defined owners, deadlines, dependencies, accountability.
Get the monthly close down to 8-10 business days.
Make sure every journal entry has documentation, approval, and supporting work papers.
Build the Team: Manage a core team of 4-5 staff and senior accountants directly.
Figure out who’s strong, who can grow, and where you need to make changes. You’ll have the authority to make those calls.
Stand up training on the fundamentals — AP reconciliation, ASC 842 lease accounting, consolidation entries, intercompany eliminations. Some of this knowledge doesn’t exist on the team today.
Put a clear RACI in place for every close task so there’s no ambiguity about who prepares, who reviews, who signs off.
Build the Infrastructure: Eliminate key-person risk. Right now, consolidation and elimination entries live in one or two people’s heads.
Document processes and policies — we need an accounting operations manual.
Get proper reconciliation procedures in place for every balance sheet account.
Coordinate with FP&A and Treasury on handoffs between the close, reporting, and forecasting cycles.
Technical Accounting & Compliance: ASC 842 lease accounting across the portfolio — solar asset leases, office leases, equipment.
Consolidation and eliminations across 10+ entities.
Support four concurrent external audits — you manage PBC lists, work paper preparation, and the auditor relationship.
GAAP compliance across all entities with a coherent allocation methodology.
Systems & Tools: Sage Intacct is the primary GL. It was recently reimplemented and still needs optimization.
Various sub-ledger systems that need better integration.
DataRails for planning and budgeting (supporting FP&A’s adoption of the platform).
Excel for modeling, reconciliations, and close tracking.