What are the responsibilities and job description for the Financial Controller | Profitable DTC platform position at Ember Search?
Ember Search has been retained on a Controller search for a fast-growing, profitable, direct-to-consumer consumer brand backed by a top-tier VC firm.
The company has grown from single-digit millions in revenue in 2024 to approaching triple-digit millions today, 10x year over year while staying profitable. It sits in a large, repeat-purchase consumer category that almost no one is doing at scale, and unlike most DTC brands, it owns its own R&D lab and invests heavily in product development. The business is actively exploring M&A to vertically integrate its supply chain, and is being run with a near-term exit clearly on the horizon, likely in the next 2 to 3 years
.
The leadership team is ex-McKinsey across the board, with a CFO who comes from a strategic finance background in banking and PE. The company hires for smart and humble, runs on high trust and autonomy with strong documentation underneath, and has scaled the business 10x in a year without losing operating disciplin
e.
Location: New York, NY (Hybrid, 3 to 4 days/week in office, Brookl
yn)
The
Role
You will be the senior accounting leader inside the business, reporting directly to the CFO and owning the build of the accounting function as the company scales toward exit. The company currently works with an outsourced accounting partner, so you will not be building from scratch. You will inherit that relationship and own building the company's internal accounting capability from t
here.
You
will:
- Manage the outsourced accounting partner and lead the monthly close, building toward a clean, repeatable, audit-ready set o
f books- Lead the company's first audit, including selecting and managing the aud
it firm- Drive the timing decision and transition from QuickBooks Online to a more sophistica
ted ERP- Partner with the CFO on M&A activity, including diligence support and post-close integration of any acquired b
usiness- Build inventory, cost accounting, and manufacturing accounting capability inside the
company- Support board, lender, investor, and diligence r
equests- Prepare the financial backbone for a near-term exit, including the cleanup, controls, and reporting an acquirer will want
to see- Build the accounting team underneath you as the business
scales
Candidate
Profile
- 8 to 12 years of accounting experience, including meaningful time at a high-growth CPG, consumer, or e-commerce
business- CPA
required- Strong physical inventory and manufacturing accounting experience (candidates with only CPG experience will be considered if they are smart, hungry, and ready to learn the manufactur
ing side)- Has led an audit, or been a strong number two th
rough one- Track record of building and managing account
ing teams- Growth-stage exposure, ideally from $20M scaling towa
rd $100M - Bias to action, builder mindset, and comfort operating in
ambiguity
Why
This RoleThis is a build seat, not a maintain seat, at a profitable DTC business pointed at a near-term exit. You will own the accounting function end-to-end at the moment the company professionalizes its back office for a first audit, an ERP migration, potential M&A, and a transaction. You will partner directly with a strategic finance CFO who wants a real right hand and the lead accounting voice, not a number two. The team is small, the operators are exceptional, and the seat carries genuine ownership of audit, integration, ERP, and the ru
n to exit.
Equal Opportunit
y StatementEmber Search and our client are equal opportunity employers. We are committed to building diverse and inclusive teams and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other protec
Salary : $200,000 - $230,000