Head of Finance and Accounting

People Principles•New York City, NY

12d•$175,000 - $225,000•Remote

About The Position

Jesse & Ben's is scaling from breakout to a household name — new retailers launching, record setting growth, and a product people are genuinely obsessed with. This role is our first full-time finance hire. You'll build the financial systems, controls, and strategic muscle that let the business grow confidently and fast. You are the person who makes sure we know exactly where we stand — cash, margins, runway, trade spend — at all times. You'll build these systems from scratch, own the numbers and make sure every commercial and operational decision is backed by real financial clarity. Investor reporting is an output of the strong fundamentals you’ll build, not the core job. This is a builder role that plays an important part on our leadership team. We’re a fully remote team based around the US. Salary range $175k - $225k (bonus & equity is also included).

Requirements

5+ years in finance or accounting roles at CPG, food & beverage, or consumer brands.
Built financial and accounting systems (cash forecasting, close process, reporting) from scratch at a brand doing $10M–$75M in revenue — not just inherited or managed them.
Deep understanding of CPG financial mechanics: trade spend, COGS structure, retail margin math, co-manufacturer economics, distributor deductions.
Experience managing cash-constrained growth — you've run a weekly cash view and made real decisions off of it.
Strong accounting and controller-level fundamentals, including inventory, cost accounting, and close ownership
Hands-on executor who will personally own the model, run the close, and build the reports. No team to delegate to on day one.
Comfortable operating in ambiguity — you build a process where there is none, without waiting for perfect information.

Nice To Haves

Experience in frozen, refrigerated, or perishable CPG categories specifically preferred.
Familiarity with UNFI/KEHE distribution economics preferred.
Has supported or led a Series A or B close from the operator side preferred.

Responsibilities

Build and own the accounting and financial infrastructure that gives the team confidence to make fast, smart decisions, while protecting margin, cash, and cost discipline as the business scales.
Financial Systems & Controls Build and own the 13-week rolling cash forecast — updated weekly, consumed by leadership, drives real decisions.
Establish the monthly close process and ensure it's clean, timely, and decision-grade.
Own inventory and cost accounting fundamentals, including standard costing, variance analysis, yield loss and manufacturing cost leakage.
Conduct a full payment terms audit across customers, co-manufacturers, freight partners, and distributors to map our true cash conversion cycle.
Design and implement cash guardrails — approval thresholds for inventory builds, promo spend, and any deal that breaches our contribution floor.
Own the financial model and annual operating plan (AOP). Make it a living tool, not a fundraising artifact.
Commercial Finance Partner with Sales and the President to evaluate every retailer, promo, and slotting decision through a financial lens — contribution margin, cash impact, and payback period.
Build account-level P&Ls that let us understand true profitability by retailer, SKU, and channel.
Support the 52-week commercial calendar with financial analysis — focused on pre-approval, economic gating and post-event accountability (rather than perpetual modeling).
Be the financial voice in the S&OP process, connecting demand, supply, and cash in every cycle.
Strategic Finance Model the cash and margin impact of major business decisions: new retailer launches, SKU extensions, co-man transitions, pricing changes.
Build scenario analysis for key growth levers — what does Costco at 500 stores do to our cash cycle? What if Kroger doubles volume in Q3?
Identify and flag financial risks early. Bring data, options, and a recommendation — not just the problem.
Partner cross-functionally with Ops, Sales, and Marketing to ensure financial discipline without slowing tempo.
Work directly with Operations to identify and execute cost savings across the supply chain, including co-man costs, freight, packaging, yield, labor and logistics. This role is expected to actively find pennies and nickels once foundations are in place.
Reporting & Investor Support Build and deliver the monthly board pack and investor updates, clear, concise, and investor-grade.
Own financial reporting accuracy and cadence; external relationship management may be shared with leadership.
Support future fundraising with scenario modeling, data rooms, and financial narratives.
Participate in investor and board discussions as needed, grounded in operational and accounting truth.
Building for the Future Transition the business from fractional CFO support to full-time financial leadership. Own the handoff.
As the brand scales, define when and how to build the finance team — analyst, controller, AP/AR — and help hire them.
Evaluate and implement financial tools and systems (NetSuite, Modus, planning software) as complexity grows.
Build repeatable processes and templates so the finance function scales with the business, not against it.