Chief Financial Officer

Gilder Search Group; Kansas City (MO); On-site; USD 250,000 - 400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401K with match

Paid time off

Job summary

Gilder Search Group is seeking a hands-on Chief Financial Officer for a PE-backed manufacturing company in the Kansas City metro. The CFO will own finance, accounting, treasury, and controls, acting as the CEO's financial partner to enable a bold growth plan.

Responsibilities include integrated forecasting, project accounting governance, and leading acquisitions. This role requires operating impact, cash discipline, and the ability to present to lenders and the PE board.

Qualifications

• Requires strong financial leadership in a project-based industrial or capital-equipment business.
• Experience with percentage-of-completion / project accounting and EAC forecasting.
• Experience with private equity-backed environments and covenant management.

Responsibilities

• Own all finance, accounting, treasury, reporting, and controls for a growing middle-market manufacturer.
• Partner with the CEO as a financial partner to drive a growth agenda.
• Build integrated forecasting linking bookings, backlog, schedules, revenue, margin, and cash.
• Establish project governance: POC, EAC, change-order visibility.
• Drive cash flow and working-capital discipline.
• Present to PE board, sponsor, and lenders; manage covenants.
• Lead the finance side of acquisitions, including due diligence and integration.
• Build a scalable finance organization and modern systems.

Skills

Financial leadership

Project accounting

ERP / reporting transformation

M&A integration

Cross-functional collaboration

Board and lender communications

Cash and working capital management

Education

Bachelor's in Accounting/Finance

CPA / MBA valuable

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

#jobalert | DIRECT HIRE | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | PE-BACKED MANUFACTURING | Kansas City Metro

A growing, private equity-backed industrial manufacturer in the Kansas City metro is hiring a hands-on Chief Financial Officer to serve as the CEO's financial partner through an aggressive, multi-year growth plan. This is not a maintenance or accounting-only seat: the CFO protects financial integrity today while building the financial operating system the business needs to scale - partnering directly with operations, engineering, sales, and project teams rather than reporting results after the fact. Growth is pursued both organically and through acquisition. It is a rare seat for a finance leader who is technically excellent and equally at home on the plant floor, in a project review, and in front of a private equity board.

• Competitive base commensurate with experience, plus annual incentive and long-term / equity-style value-creation participation
• Benefits include: Health, Dental, Vision, 401K w/ match, PTO, holidays
• Based in the Kansas City metro with periodic travel to other company locations (30%+); relocation support available for the right candidate

Overview

• Own all finance, accounting, treasury, reporting, and controls for a growing middle-market manufacturer
• Serve as a close financial partner to the CEO - the discipline behind an aggressive growth agenda
• Build integrated forecasting linking bookings, backlog, schedules, revenue, margin, billing, working capital, and cash
• Establish project financial governance: percentage-of-completion / project accounting, estimate-at-completion discipline, margin and change-order visibility
• Drive cash and working-capital discipline
• Present candidly to a private equity board, sponsor, and lenders, and manage covenant relationships
• Lead the finance side of acquisitions - diligence, integration, and post-close performance
• Build a scalable finance organization and modern financial systems

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Bachelor's in Accounting, Finance, or related field; CPA and/or MBA valuable - but operating impact matters more than credentials alone
• Finance leadership in a project-based industrial or capital-equipment business
• Command of percentage-of-completion / project accounting, EAC forecasting, backlog, and project cash conversion
• Private equity-backed experience - board, sponsor, lender, and covenant readiness
• M&A across diligence, integration, and post-close measurement
• Operational partnership with sales, operations, engineering, and project teams
• Hands-on leadership in a lean organization - builds a stronger team over layers of staff
• ERP / reporting transformation in a multi-entity environment
• Experience scaling through organic and acquisition-driven growth

Keywords

CFO, Chief Financial Officer, VP Finance, Divisional CFO, private equity, PE-backed, portfolio company, project accounting, percentage-of-completion, POC, estimate-at-completion, EAC, backlog, capital equipment, industrial, manufacturing finance, working capital, cash conversion, milestone billing, treasury, FP&A, M&A, acquisition integration, EBITDA, board, sponsor, lender, covenants, controllership, GAAP, Kansas City