VP of Finance

AML Oceanographic Ltd.; Dartmouth; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

AML Oceanographic Ltd. is seeking an experienced senior finance leader to own the operating plan, rolling forecasts, and monthly executive reporting. You will partner with the COO, VPs of Business Units, and the Controller to drive operating discipline and decision-useful insight.

You will lead the finance team, manage cash, and oversee integration of acquired entities onto AML’s platform. This role may evolve into CFO as AML grows and absorbs new businesses.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in finance, accounting, economics, or business required. CPA, CMA, or MBA strongly preferred. CFA a plus.
• 10+ years finance leadership experience with FP&A at a $25M-$100M company; hands-on operating plans and rolling forecasts; decision-useful reporting.
• Marine/oceanographic industry preferred; multi-jurisdiction experience (Canada/US/UK) a plus; PE-backed operating experience preferred.
• Canadian work authorization; willing to be based in Victoria BC or Halifax NS with periodic travel; senior financial voice on Leadership Team.

Responsibilities

• Owns the Operating Plan and rolling forecast, aligning to shareholders’ commitments.
• Manages annual plan, forecast cadence, and monthly Leadership Team reporting pack.
• Partner with COO, VPs of BUs, and Controller as the financial business partner.
• Inherits and integrates financial operations of acquired entities onto AML’s platform.
• Leads and develops the finance team with a culture of discipline and insight.
• Over time, the role may evolve into CFO with focus on platform integration.

Skills

FP&A Fluency

P&L Literacy

Cash Flow Sense

Decisions Translation

Scale Systems

Talent Leadership

Coaching & EI

Strategic Finance

Education

Bachelor's in Finance/Accounting/Economics

CPA / CMA / MBA preferred

CFA a plus

Tools

ERP Systems (SAP/Oracle)

BI Tools (Power BI/Tableau)

Advanced Excel

Job description

The AML Story

We've come a long way. AML has 52 years of experience designing and building oceanographic instrumentation and we have clocked consistent year-on-year growth of greater than 15%. We have customers on all seven continents. We have a 70+ person team of employees that care deeply about customer outcomes. In our market, we are known for two things: 1) Going to the ends of the earth to make our customers successful; and 2) Bringing fresh ideas to an established market.

Earlier this year, we were acquired by Union Park Capital. Our mission? To drive the success of Union Park's marine technology thesis. AML is the operating foundation of that thesis, and our focus is on growing the core business while carefully extending our solution set via acquisition. We anticipate dramatic growth and significant change in the next 3 to 5 years.

How we Operate

At AML, we do things a bit differently. Think daily huddles. Think Rockefeller Habits, Scaling Up, and the One Page Plan. Think town hall meetings with on-the-fly Q&A sessions. If you are familiar with these concepts - or they are of interest to you - then you might be a fit for AML. We want people who want to commit their hands, their heads, and their hearts to their position. You see this commitment in our employee Glass Door rating: an impressive 4.70 on 5.00.

What you inherit

A 51-year-old marine instrumentation business with established customer relationships across seven continents. Operating in multiple currencies across Canada, the US, the UK with regular Foreign Exchange exposure. A finance team of 3 is anchored by an experienced Controller and Accounts Payable / Accounts Receivable coordinators in Victoria BC. In this role, you will be hands on!

We are PE-backed and actively acquiring complementary marine-tech businesses. The PE sponsor handles deal sourcing, financial diligence, and capital structure decisions. You will inherit a clean but informal finance function — strong on transactional accuracy, building toward decision-useful insight.

Your Mission

Predictable Numbers! You will build AML's operating financial leadership. You will own the annual operating plan, the rolling forecast that tells the Leadership Team where we're headed, and the monthly reporting cadence that turns numbers into decisions. You will be the financial business-partner for the COO and the individual VPs of Business Units.You will absorb the financial operations of acquired companies onto AML's platform, post close. You will lead the Controller and the broader finance team into a culture of financial discipline.

As AML grows, this seat may evolve into a true CFO role; today the focus is sharp on operating financial leadership and platform integration.

What You'll be Accountable For

• Owns the Operating Plan: Are we tracking to the agreed upon plan?
• Owns Forecast Accuracy: How confident are we in our view of where the business is headed?
• Owns Reporting Cadence: Does the Leadership Team have the financial insight it needs?
• Owns Cash Conversion Cycle: Is AML's cash conversion cycle hitting target?
• Owns Post-Close Financial Integration: Can we see what we need to see, post close?
• Plays for the First Team First: Is Metronomics (the AML Way, 7 systems; core values; Group-level goals, priorities, plans, & cohesion all alive & well in the Finance function?
• Curates a Team of A Players: Are key players delivering A performances?
• Drives Succession Plan Thinking: Do key players on the team have ready successors?

Some Other Daily Duties

• Runs the Operating Plan cycle (3 years, to varying degrees of resolution) department-by-department; aggregates into the Leadership Team-blessed plan; coordinates the commitments to shareholders.
• Owns weekly forecast refresh for cash, EBITDA, and full-year landing; improves forecast accuracy.
• Builds the monthly Leadership Team financial pack; writes variance commentary; ensures pack lands ≥3 days before Leadership Team meeting.
• Daily refresh of cash projection; identifies cash levers early; coordinates with Controller on Accounts Receivable / Accounts Payable / banking ops to hit the projection.
• Active business-partnering relationship with VP of Business Unit, COO, CCO, CTO, CPO; on-call financial counsel for material decisions.
• Holds Controller accountable for close cadence, statutory reporting, audit readiness, and Accounts Payable / Accounts Receivable / General Ledger / tax compliance operations.
• Owns the operating-side prep for quarterly reporting cycle; ensures package is delivered on cadence with consistent narrative.
• For each AML acquisition: leads the financial integration playbook from Day 0 through Day 180; coordinates with sponsor on diligence-to-integration handoff.
• Selects, maintains, and scales the Financial Planning & Analysis stack (planning tool, Business Intelligence / dashboard layer, forecast model architecture); partners with VP of S&S on integration with Enterprise Resource Planning / Customer Relationship Management.

Your Skills & Competencies

• Financial Planning & Analysis Fluency: Technical fluency in plans, variance, and forecasts. Instinct for when a number is wrong.
• Operational P&L Literacy: Sight for margin compression and working-capital drag. Numbers read as operating moves, not just facts.
• Cash Position Sense: Anticipation of cash events. Awareness of bookings-to-cash drag before it lands on the balance sheet.
• Numbers-to-Decisions Translation: Translation of variance into "what should we do." Anticipation of the next question.
• Methodology Implementation & Stewardship: Capacity for turning systems from policy into habit. Patience for the long adoption arc.
• Financial Systems Architecture for Scale: Architectural sense for tooling that holds at 2-3× scale, including post-acquisition shape.
• Talent Density Discipline: Clear sight of each direct report's ceiling. Bench depth as a leadership input, not output.
• Coaching & Emotional Intelligence: In-the-moment read on what a person needs. Calibration of feedback for impact, not comfort.

What Other Experience is Required?

Education

Bachelor’s in finance, accounting, economics, or business required. CPA, CMA, or MBA strongly preferred. CFA a plus.

Experience

10+ years finance leadership experience. At least one cycle running Financial Planning & Analysis at a $25M-$100M company. Hands‑on experience building operating plans, running rolling forecast cycles, and partnering with Business Unit leaders. Track record of producing decision-useful management reporting (not just compliance reporting). Growth‑stage operating experience strongly preferred. Direct experience with post-close financial integration of acquired entities a strong plus.

Industry Background

Marine / oceanographic / industrial sensors / scientific instruments preferred but not required. PE‑backed operating experience preferred. Multi‑jurisdiction (Canada / US / UK) operating experience a plus given AML's geographic footprint.

Other

Canadian work authorization (or eligibility). Willingness to be based in Victoria BC or Halifax NS with periodic travel. Comfortable being the senior financial voice in a Leadership Team that does not currently include a CFO.