Director of Finance - Upscale Restaurant Group

Willow Tree Recruiting; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance

PTO and vacation

401k with company match

Job summary

Willow Tree Recruiting is seeking a Director of Finance for a high-growth upscale restaurant group in San Francisco. The role leads financial strategy, planning, forecasting, and performance across multiple locations, partnering with ownership to drive growth and profitability.

You will own budgeting, cash-flow planning, and multi-entity reporting while overseeing accounting, controls, and risk management. This hands-on leader collaborates with operations, culinary, and purchasing to optimize

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive finance leadership in multi-unit settings.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or Business; CPA/MBA preferred.
• Deep understanding of restaurant unit economics and key financial metrics.
• Experience with multi-entity reporting and budgeting.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial strategy, planning, forecasting, and reporting for multi-location group.
• Own annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, cash flow forecasting, and liquidity planning.
• Evaluate new restaurants, leases, and growth opportunities with financial modeling.
• Oversee accounting via Accounting Manager, ensure close, GL, AP/AR, payroll, inventory.
• Lead P&L reviews with operations and drive corrective actions.
• Collaborate with operations, culinary, beverage, and purchasing to improve profitability.
• Build financial literacy across the organization with reporting and training.
• Governance and risk management including banking, insurance, tax, licensing.

Skills

Financial leadership

Strategic planning

Forecasting

Financial analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Accounting/Business

CPA/MBA preferred

Tools

POS systems

Payroll software

Inventory management

General ledger systems

Job description

Director of Finance – Upscale Restaurant Group

$140,000 - $160,000 + Bonus

This respected, multi-location hospitality group is seeking an experienced Director of Finance to lead financial operations across its portfolio, with competitive compensation, strong support, and excellent growth potential.

About the Company:

• Award-winning San Francisco restaurant group known for its refined approach to modern Italian cuisine and exceptional hospitality
• Multi-location group offering event spaces from private dining rooms to full venue buyouts

What We Offer You:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• PTO and vacation
• 401k with company match

Your Role with the Company:

The Finance Manager leads financial planning, reporting, and performance management across a multi-location hospitality group. Your responsibilities will include:

• Lead financial strategy, planning, forecasting, and reporting across a multi-entity hospitality organization, providing ownership with timely, accurate, and actionable insights to support business performance and long-term growth
• Own annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, cash flow forecasting, and liquidity planning, establishing clear financial targets for labor, cost of goods, prime cost, controllable expenses, and overall profitability by location and department
• Serve as a strategic partner to ownership in evaluating new restaurants, management and licensing agreements, leases, capital projects, and other growth opportunities through financial modeling, return analysis, scenario planning, and risk assessment
• Oversee the accounting function through the Accounting Manager, ensuring accurate and timely period closes, general ledger activity, AP/AR, payroll accounting, inventory, intercompany transactions, financial reporting, and appropriate internal controls
• Lead P&L reviews with operations and department leadership, identifying performance drivers, establishing corrective actions, and holding teams accountable to financial and operational targets
• Partner closely with operations, culinary, beverage, and purchasing leaders to improve profitability through disciplined labor management, cost controls, pricing and revenue strategy, purchasing oversight, and vendor negotiations
• Build financial literacy throughout the organization by equipping General Managers, chefs, and department leaders with the reporting, tools, training, and guidance needed to understand financial performance and make informed operating decisions
• Oversee financial governance and risk management across the organization, including banking and investor relationships, insurance programs, tax and audit partnerships, licensing and compliance requirements, major contracts, and the financial infrastructure required to support new openings and continued growth

Your Qualifications:

• 5+ years of progressive finance and accounting leadership experience, ideally within multi-unit restaurants, hospitality, or a similarly complex operating environment required
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or a related field highly preferred; CPA, CMA, or MBA strongly preferred
• Deep understanding of restaurant unit economics, including prime cost, cost of goods, labor modeling, menu profitability, pricing strategy, and the operational drivers of financial performance
• Demonstrated ownership of the full financial planning cycle, including annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, cash forecasting, and multi-entity financial reporting
• Advanced financial modeling and analytical capabilities, with experience underwriting new locations, capital projects, or other growth initiatives and translating financial analysis into clear business recommendations
• Strong systems orientation, with experience overseeing finance and accounting technology, reporting infrastructure, and integrations across platforms such as POS, payroll, AP, inventory, and general ledger systems
• Proven leadership and communication skills, including managing and developing finance team members, presenting credibly to ownership and external stakeholders, and holding cross-functional leaders accountable to financial targets
• Highly hands-on and commercially minded, with the ability to move from detailed unit-level analysis to strategic decision-making, build structure in a growing organization, and communicate financial information in a way operators can understand and act on