Dairy Accounting Practice Leader

Gilder Search Group; Kansas City (MO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Gilder Search Group is seeking a Dairy Accounting Practice Leader to take the reins of an established dairy practice within a Top 100 U.S. public accounting and advisory firm. You will lead a portfolio of dairy clients, serving as their trusted advisor on accounting, tax, and business strategy.

You will mentor the team, expand client relationships, and work with industry associations nationwide, shaping the next chapter for the dairy practice.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive public accounting experience with meaningful dairy clients.
• Dairy-specific accounting and tax expertise.
• Track record leading client service teams and developing people.
• Executive presence and ability to advise owners and executives.
• Growth mindset with skill in expanding relationships and closing new business.
• CPA strongly preferred, though not required for the right candidate.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow an established dairy practice with a portfolio of industry clients.
• Guide a team handling dairy work and elevate performance under your leadership.
• Build relationships with dairy owners, operators and executives; represent the firm at industry events.
• Expand existing client relationships, pursue new business opportunities in the pipeline.
• Mentor and coach the dairy team to strengthen bench depth.
• Operate on a national platform, collaborating with colleagues across related sectors.

Skills

Dairy accounting

Public accounting

Leadership

Executive presence

Business development

CPA preferred

Job description

The Opportunity

Our client is a Top 100 U.S. public accounting and advisory firm with deep roots in food, agriculture, and protein industries, and a national reputation built on serving complex, sophisticated clients without the bureaucracy of a mega-firm. They're looking for a Dairy Accounting Practice Leader to take the reins of an established dairy practice and take it into its next chapter.

This isn't a blank-sheet build. There's an existing client base, an existing team, and real prospects in the pipeline. What's missing is a dedicated dairy expert to lead it. If that's you, this is a rare chance to step into a practice with real traction and shape where it goes next.

What You'll Be Doing

Lead and grow an established dairy practice. Take ownership of a portfolio of dairy industry clients, serving as their primary trusted advisor on accounting, tax, and business strategy. Guide a talented team already doing dairy work, and help them level up under your leadership.

Build real relationships in the dairy industry. Get in front of dairy owners, operators, and executives. Represent the firm at industry associations and events. Be someone people in dairy know and trust.

Expand what\'s already working. Deepen existing client relationships, help convert prospects already in the pipeline into new clients, and partner with the firm\'s business development team to go after the significant growth this practice is positioned for.

Develop the next generation. Mentor and coach the team supporting dairy clients today, and help build the bench strength this practice needs to keep growing.

Operate as a national player. This is a national platform. You\'ll work with larger, more complex dairy operations than most firms can offer, and you\'ll do it alongside colleagues serving adjacent protein and food & ag sectors, so you\'re never on an island.

What You\'ll Bring

• 8+ years of progressive public accounting experience or equivalent industry accounting experience, with meaningful, hands-on experience serving dairy industry clients


• Real dairy expertise: you understand dairy-specific accounting and tax issues, you can pick up a dairy client\'s financials or tax return and know what you\'re looking at, and you know your way around the business side of how dairies operate


• A track record of leading client service teams and developing people, not just doing the technical work yourself


• Executive presence and the ability to operate as a trusted advisor to owners and executives


• A genuine growth mindset: comfort expanding relationships, recognizing opportunities, and helping close new business


• CPA strongly preferred, though not required for the right candidate

What\'s In It for You

• A running start. Existing clients, an existing team, and a real pipeline. You\'re building on momentum, not starting from zero.


• Room to shape it. Real autonomy to help define the direction and growth of the practice, backed by the firm\'s marketing, business development, and technical resources.


• National scale, not mega-firm bureaucracy. Work with sophisticated clients across the country without the size and red tape of a several-thousand-person firm.


• A growth path. For the right person, this includes a development path toward Principal, and for a seasoned leader, a real conversation about ownership.


• Flexibility. Remote, hybrid, or office, depending on you and your location. National travel is part of the role, with a national client base to match.


• Highly competitive compensation, tailored to experience and location.

Is This You?

You\'ve built something real in dairy accounting, whether that\'s at a regional firm, a national firm, or inside a large dairy operation. You\'re ready for more: bigger clients, a national stage, and the chance to lead a practice rather than just work in one. You want to build something, not inherit something already finished. And you\'re excited by the idea of being known in the dairy industry, not just doing the work behind the scenes.

If that sounds like you, we\'d love to talk.

Apply confidentially by submitting your resume or profile using the link on this posting.