Element451 is a fast-growing, AI-powered CRM, CDP, marketing automation, and student engagement platform serving higher education and learning institutions. Element451’s innovative solutions leverage data and AI to optimize student acquisition, enrollment, and retention. By streamlining the student communication management process into a unified platform, Element451 integrates modern data management, marketing automation, and key student communication channels (SIS, ERP, etc.) to enhance visibility, operational efficiency, and ROI. AI is deeply embedded across the platform, with additional AI-driven tools designed to automate internal tasks, retrieve knowledge, and generate actionable insights.
The VP of Finance will lead the Company’s financial and accounting functions, serving as a key strategic partner and advisor to the executive leadership team. As the organization’s chief financial spokesperson, the VP will play a pivotal role in shaping financial strategy, aligning metrics with overall business goals, and overseeing the development and monitoring of financial systems, reporting, and controls to drive growth.
Working closely with the leadership team, the VP of Finance will guide the development of financial strategies, ensuring robust systems, processes, and KPIs are in place for effective performance management across the Company. This role is essential in providing strategic financial advice as the business scales.
The ideal candidate will have proven experience as a senior financial executive in a high-growth SaaS company, ideally with $30 to $100+ million in revenue. They should bring a track record of operational excellence and a hands-on approach, with the ability to lead a small team while maintaining a focus on both strategy and execution.
This opportunity is remote with a hub in Raleigh, NC.
Investor Overview:
PSG is a growth equity firm that partners with software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities and build strong teams. Having backed over 140 companies and facilitated over 500 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology, and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams.
Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City, London, Madrid, Paris and Tel-Aviv. For more information, visit www.psgequity.com.
What you'll do:
- Implement strategic finance and accounting initiatives to drive visibility within the company’s operations to further enable data-driven decision-making: Implement FP&A, forecasting, financial modeling, long-term strategic planning, and comprehensive KPIs.
- Strengthen the finance and accounting operations: By building out and optimizing systems, policies, metrics, and reporting packages. Develop optimized workflow and review processes for budgeting and reporting packages. Communicate financial goals of the business with functional leaders. Hold functional leaders accountable for performance against KPI targets and collaborate to identify and address trends and corrective actions designed to improve performance. Drive further alignment of resources and capital to support profitable growth.
- Work effectively with the investor(s) and board of directors: Deliver good news fast and bad news faster. Be a brutally honest truth teller. Build positive, high-trust relationships between the board and the management team. Prepare board and investor presentations that clearly articulate historical, current, and probable future performance and related risks and opportunities.
- Directly manages accounting personnel including the following areas: General Ledger Accounting, Transactional Accounting (AP/AR), Payroll, Tax, Financial Reporting. This includes Preparing the business for its first annual audit.
- Drive Optimized Growth: Identify and drive profitability improvement initiatives such as optimizing customer and vendor agreements, pricing, and maximizing operational efficiencies. This includes holding leadership accountable to budget and digging in with them when variances exist to find better solutions.
- Financial Reporting and Budgeting: Lead all financial reporting activities for the organization, including timely preparation of financial statements, budget development and management, forecasting, and consistent monitoring of actual-to-budget results.
- Execute a timely and accurate monthly financial close. Prepare a preliminary variance analysis and work with functional leaders of the business to refine said variance analysis. Communicate material positive and negative financial and operational aspects of the business to the leadership team and investor(s) in “real-time”.
- Strategy Implementation: Partner with the leadership team and stakeholders to provide strategic business input and support implementation of the organization’s business strategies. Provide strategic financial input and leadership to support decision-making within the Company.
- Financial Control and Risk Management: Develop and maintain systems of internal controls to safeguard financial assets of the organization. Ensure controls remain adequate and effective and that documentation for transactions is comprehensive and retained for audit purposes. Oversee the coordination and activities of independent auditors to ensure all audit issues are resolved in the preparation of annual financial statements and all compliance issues are satisfied related to federal, provincial, and other statutory reporting requirements.
- Managing tax, treasury, credit management, and audit functions: Responsible for the creation and issuance of high-quality financial statements in accordance with US GAAP. Manage cash flow by focusing on Balance Sheet and Income Statement drivers and bank covenant requirements. When applicable, act as the primary interface with banks, as well as audit firms and other outside third parties.
- Understand and mitigate key elements of the Company’s risk profile: Ensure that the Company complies with all legal and regulatory requirements; maintain appropriate insurance coverage and construct and monitor reliable control systems.
- Recruitment and retention of a strong finance and accounting team: Emphasis on collaboration and teamwork, while ensuring functions are working together harmoniously.
- Support M&A and Drive Integration: Support the evaluation of M&A opportunities during diligence. Play an integral role in driving smooth and efficient integration (people, systems, clients, real estate etc.) of acquisitions, and drive proper financial and accounting integration.
What you'll need:
This role seeks a candidate with 10+ years of finance experience, including leadership roles in high-performing companies. The ideal individual will excel in an entrepreneurial environment, able to quickly learn, think strategically, and influence across the organization. They should be skilled in building scalable finance functions while also being hands-on when needed.
- The successful candidate will have 10+ years of finance experience with a portion of that as a standalone Controller or VP Finance, in a Software-as-a-Service business, that was backed by Private Equity or Venture Capital.
- Demonstrated experience in being a hands-on, operational leader who not only proactively works across the organization but can wear multiple hats and oversee areas beyond one’s own role when necessary.
- A Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting or related field. A CPA is preferred but not required. MBA or other relevant graduate degree is preferred.
- Residence in Raleigh, North Carolina is highly preferred, with a minimum requirement of Eastern or Central time zones.
- Experience managing accounting operations, including multiple jurisdictions, consolidation, purchase accounting, and multiple systems is required.
- Prior accounting experience within the SaaS education industry is preferred.
- Strong financial planning and analysis orientation, a broad-based analytical thinker, ability to contribute strategically with identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- A track record of successfully scaling businesses organically and inorganically.
- A natural leadership style of being transparent and promptly communicating with all stakeholders.
- Broad experience presenting to, interacting with, and influencing C-level and Board level executives.
- Systematic thinker with the ability to put systems and processes in place to allow the business to scale (e.g. processes for the rapid integration of M&A target financials).
- The desire and ability to apply experience of the highest standards of personal and financial integrity in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment.
- A bright, strategic thinker—someone who is ahead of the curve with a “no surprises” mindset and operates with a high sense of urgency.
- Demonstrated experience with external audits from planning through sign-off. Must have experience preparing GAAP financial statements, including footnotes.
- Demonstrate thought leadership, being a team player, and have experience participating with a small team.
- Strong analytical/quantitative and communication skills.
- Advanced Excel user with the ability to manage/format large files, produce ad hoc reports, and perform data analysis.
Perks
- Competitive salary & benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability & More)
- 401k plan with 4% employer match available after 3 months of employment
- Work from home anywhere in the US
- Paid parental leave
- Time to Relax - 10 company holidays and 20 days of paid time off
- Do work that matters and makes a positive impact on students going to college
We are:
Element451 is the fastest growing CRM Platform in the higher education vertical! We’re the only student engagement CRM provider to leverage AI, student behavior data, and advanced marketing automation to hyper-personalize and scale higher ed student recruitment and enrollment for increased engagement and admissions success.
Our values:
Impactful not Immediate
We prioritize and invest in initiatives that will be most impactful.
Progress before Perfection
We are action-oriented people. We are empowered to make decisions and achieve our goals.
Learners before Masters
We are curious and humble people who strive to constantly improve.
Together not Alone
We rally behind each other and pitch in to support the greater whole.
Customer Success not Support
We solve partner goals and prioritize their success.
Element 451 is an equal employment opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact Human Resources at [email protected]. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
Top Skills
What We Do
Element451 is an advanced student engagement CRM, providing higher ed institutions with a competitive admissions advantage from recruitment to enrollment through the use of AI, student behavior data, and modern marketing automation.
The Element451 CRM leverages millions of behavior-based data insights to reach prospective students where they are -- both in their journey and in their preferred channel. Supporting these insights is a full complement of marketing best practices and AI-driven automation to ensure the right message reaches the right student at the right time. All of the data, analytics and insights are available to the entire admissions team through an intuitive dashboard, simplifying and streamlining reporting and engagement intelligence throughout the entire recruitment and enrollment process
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