Vice President, Finance

Job Summary

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Vice President, Finance is a senior member of the Leadership Team responsible for leading the company’s Finance function and supporting its financial health, operating priorities, and growth objectives. The Vice President, Finance serves as a strategic financial partner to the President/CEO and Chief Business Officer and is responsible for financial planning and analysis, accounting operations, financial reporting, treasury, internal controls, financial systems, and financial governance.

• Lead all Finance staff and oversee accounting operations, including the general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll accounting, financial close, and tax and audit coordination.
• Lead the annual budgeting, long-range planning, and forecasting processes, translating corporate strategy, development plans, headcount, contractual commitments, and operating priorities into integrated financial forecasts and cash requirements.
• Oversee the preparation of timely and accurate monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, management reports, program-cost reporting, cash forecasts, and Board financial materials.
• Develop and maintain a robust financial control environment, including Finance policies, approval authorities, segregation of duties, related-party controls, financial systems governance, and audit-ready documentation.
• Serve as a strategic financial partner to the CEO, providing financial modeling, scenario analysis, and recommendations to support organizational priorities, investment decisions, financing readiness, and long-range planning.
• Serve as the primary Finance partner to the CBO for business development, licensing, collaboration, and partnership opportunities, including financial modeling, valuation support, deal-economics analysis, financial due diligence, and monitoring of obligations under executed agreements.
• Partner with the COO to align financial resources with operating priorities, monitor company and program spending, identify financial and operational risks, and support enterprise risk management and insurance activities.
• Oversee treasury operations, including cash forecasting, liquidity reporting, banking administration, investment administration, payment controls, and authorized access to company funds.
• Lead the development of scalable Finance systems, processes, reporting tools, and data standards that improve financial visibility, control effectiveness, organizational accountability, and decision-making.
• Manage relationships with the company’s auditors, tax advisors, banks, valuation providers, and other external financial service providers.
• Support Board reporting, investor and financing diligence, capital-raising analyses, and strategic transactions under the direction of the COO and CEO, without independent responsibility for capital strategy, investor relations, legal oversight, or final transaction authority.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
• More than 10 years of progressive finance experience, including senior financial leadership in life sciences or a similarly complex industry.
• Demonstrated experience in financial planning and analysis, accounting and reporting, budgeting, forecasting, treasury, internal controls, audit, and tax compliance.
• Experience developing financial models and translating corporate, program, and operating plans into forecasts and cash requirements.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP, financial governance, and scalable Finance processes and systems.
• Proven ability to lead Finance staff, manage external service providers, advise senior executives, and communicate effectively with financial and non-financial stakeholders.
• Strong judgment, integrity, analytical ability, attention to detail, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Preferred

• CPA, MBA, CFA, or another relevant advanced degree or professional credential.
• Experience in a privately held, venture-backed, or pre-commercial life-sciences company.
• Experience supporting financing diligence, business development, licensing, or strategic collaborations.
• Experience with NetSuite, program finance, R&D accounting, cost allocation, related-party transactions, and collaboration accounting.

**GEMMABio does not accept resumes or CVs from external staffing agencies, recruiters, or consulting firms. We do not accept unsolicited submissions, and we will not engage with any third-party vendors that send unsolicited candidate profiles. No fees will be paid for unsolicited resumes received under any circumstances.**