Head of Finance

Overview
The Head of Finance leads financial strategy, planning, and operations for Sightglass and reports to the CEO. As a member of the executive leadership team, this person owns cash management, accounting, manufacturing cost accounting, and FP&A across our retail, wholesale, and e-commerce channels and our roasting operations, and works closely with leadership to make sound decisions about growth, profitability, and liquidity.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You’ll set financial strategy and build the function while staying close to the modeling, analysis, and close. On a given week, that could mean updating the 13-week cash forecast, digging into a roasting yield variance, tightening the monthly close, and helping shape long-term strategy with the CEO. Over time, this leader will move the finance function from recording what happened to guiding where the business goes next, giving Sightglass the infrastructure it needs to grow profitably.

Qualifications

Responsibilities

Financial Leadership & Strategic Partnership

- Serve as the CEO’s strategic finance partner, turning financial insight into clear recommendations and challenging assumptions about the trade-offs between growth, profitability, and liquidity.

- Own board, investor, and executive financial reporting, and serve as the primary finance contact for investors, lenders, and regulators.

- Partner with retail, wholesale, and production leaders to improve channel and store-level margins.

- Set the standards for vendor selection, contract review, and key customer agreements, and approve material commitments.

- Build and lead a lean, high-performing finance and accounting team with a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement.

Financial Planning & Analysis

- Own the annual operating plan across retail, wholesale, e-commerce, roasting, and corporate, and hold department leaders accountable for their budgets.

- Oversee rolling forecasts and an integrated three-statement model tied to the business’s key operating drivers.

- Lead the monthly performance review with leadership, explaining variances and driving corrective action.

- Establish margin and profitability reporting by product, customer, channel, and store so leaders can make informed decisions.

- Set the investment framework for capital decisions, including new cafes, equipment, product launches, and pricing, and make recommendations to the CEO and board.

Cash & Capital Management

- Hold accountability for liquidity, including a rolling 13-week cash forecast that gives leadership early warning of risk.

- Set working capital strategy across inventory, receivables, payables, and purchasing.

- Establish spending controls, approval authority, and cash prioritization, and recommend corrective action when liquidity is at risk.

- Own capital structure, the cap table, debt obligations, and banking and lender relationships, including covenant compliance and lender reporting.

Finance, Accounting & Manufacturing Cost Oversight

- Hold ultimate accountability for the integrity of Sightglass’s financial statements, close process, and internal control environment, and make sure the company is audit-ready at all times.

- Lead the accounting team and set the standards, policies, and close calendar it works to, holding owners accountable for accuracy and timeliness.

- Own the company’s cost model for roasted coffee and manufactured goods, making sure standard costs, variances, and inventory valuation give leadership a reliable picture of margin and profitability.

- Turn manufacturing and inventory performance (yield, waste, shrink, capacity, utilization) into insight that shapes pricing, sourcing, and production decisions.

- Partner with production, roasting, and procurement leadership on cost reduction and planning, and bring the financial trade-offs to the executive team.

- Set tax and insurance strategy, and own the relationships with outside auditors, tax advisors, accountants, and insurance brokers.

Systems & Process Improvement

- Assess finance systems, processes, and data integrity, and set a prioritized roadmap for the finance function.

- Sponsor system implementations and integrations across ERP, POS, inventory, production, payroll, and the general ledger.

- Establish a standardized chart of accounts, cost center structure, and reporting framework across departments and stores.

- Drive automation and real-time reporting that give leadership timely visibility into performance.

Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.

- 7+ years of progressive finance and accounting leadership experience.

- Significant manufacturing finance experience, including cost accounting, inventory valuation, production variances, and gross margin analysis.

- Proven track record managing cash flow and working capital in a growing or capital-constrained business.

- Strong command of GAAP, balance sheet reconciliations, and financial close management.

- Experience building budgets, rolling forecasts, and integrated financial models and presenting them at the CEO and board level.

- Experience implementing accounting systems, internal controls, and financial processes, including system conversions.

- Hands-on player-coach who can build systems while running day-to-day operations in a lean organization.

- Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills.

- Clear communicator and skilled negotiator who can explain financial matters to non-finance leaders and influence decisions at every level of the company.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience in food and beverage manufacturing, coffee roasting, CPG with retail and wholesale channels, or multi-unit retail.

- Familiarity with commodity-based or perishable raw materials, ideally green coffee procurement, price fluctuations, and roasting yields.

- Finance leadership in a high-growth, investor-backed, or startup environment.

- Working knowledge of NetSuite, Toast, and FileMaker.

- Prior role as Head of Finance, VP Finance, Finance Director, or hands-on Controller with significant FP&A responsibility.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

- Ability to travel regularly between San Francisco and Los Angeles facilities, with additional travel as needed.

Benefits

- Salary Range: $200,000 - $250,000 plus bonus potential

- Medical, dental, and vision coverage for all full-time employees: 80% of base medical plan for employee.

- 401(k) plan.

- Paid time off + Paid Volunteer time off

- Free coffee at any Sightglass cafe and a weekly bag of beans.

- Discounts on food, merchandise, extra bags of beans, and more.

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Sightglass is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We deliver an ever-evolving and consistently excellent coffee experience. We approach coffee holistically, establishing relationships at every step. We stay true to our welcoming and resourceful culture.