Fractional CFO

Avenir Talent Partners; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Avenir Talent Partners is assisting a founder-led, distributed battery storage developer in identifying a fractional senior finance operator to stabilize cash flow, FP&A, and accounting operations. The engagement prioritizes bringing reliable cash decisions and clear reporting for a development portfolio with uneven proceeds.

The CFO will partner with the founder and existing finance resources to own treasury, close processes, and external accounting relationships, with the aim of evolving into

Qualifications

• Hands-on CFO experience in distributed energy or project-development finance.
• Proven ability to manage FP&A, treasury, and external accounting relationships.
• Experience building/overseeing monthly close and lender reporting.

Responsibilities

• Review existing financing facilities and assess amendments against cash cycle.
• Facilitate the completion of an audit as required by funding base.
• Assess the incumbent accounting provider and manage transitions.
• Design controls for urgent wires and payments with defined approvals.
• Establish monthly close, management statements, and forecast cadence.
• Develop a short-horizon cash forecast tied to milestones and asset proceeds.

Job description

Fractional / Project-Based Executive Engagement

A founder-led distributed battery storage developer is seeking a fractional senior finance operator to support a business that develops projects for sale. The company has sold assets, has an active development pipeline and is profitable. Project timing has begun to strain the finance operation. Permitting and asset-sale receipts do not always arrive when development costs and overhead are due. Accounting systems are in place, but monthly reporting and clear ownership of the process are not.

The Mandate

The Fractional CFO will work directly with the founder and existing finance resources. The CFO will take ownership of corporate cash, FP&A, finance operations and the outside accounting relationship. The urgent asks are to help the Company access more working capital, facilitate the completion of an audit, and review its current external accounting relationship and existing reporting processes. Over time, the CFO will evolve the accounting relationship and build a FP&A/reporting function, incorporating key treasury and cash processes. The core mandate is to put dependable cash and reporting decisions around a development business whose proceeds arrive unevenly, then install the people and controls needed to run that system.

Areas of Focus

The engagement is expected to include several of the following:

• Review the existing financing facilities and assess amendments or alternatives against the real cash cycle
• Facilitate the completion of an audit as required by the current funding base
• Assess the incumbent accounting provider for quality, cost, scope and responsiveness; recommend a reset or replacement and manage an approved transition
• Design practical controls for urgent wires and incentive-related payments, including approval authority, backup coverage and agreed turnaround
• Establish a monthly close, management statements, project-level visibility and a forecast review cadence using the existing finance systems
• Build a short-horizon cash forecast tied to development milestones, expected asset-sale proceeds, receivables and downside timing
• Document the reporting, lender and treasury routines so they can continue after the initial build to a more permanent solution (which can include this position at a reduced/advisory scope)

Ideal Background

We are looking for a hands-on CFO or senior finance operator who has worked inside distributed generation, energy storage, solar development or a closely comparable project-development business. Direct sector experience matters. The client has met finance leaders with broad renewable-energy credentials who could not demonstrate how development spend, permitting, project disposition and cash collection interact.

The best candidate can show what they personally built and operated in that setting, not just transactions they advised on or projects that happened while they held a senior title.

Strong Candidates Will Have Experience With

• Finance leadership in a distributed energy developer that originates and sells assets, including the timing gap between project spend and proceeds
• Receivables-backed credit, working-capital facilities, lender reporting or an analogous financing structure
• Cash forecasting and treasury through delayed milestones or uneven collections
• Monthly FP&A and management reporting built from an ERP; NetSuite experience is useful
• Overseeing and, when necessary, replacing an outsourced accounting firm without breaking the close or payments
• Delegated bank permissions, dual approvals and fast payment escalation in a controlled process

Candidate Profile

This engagement is best suited to someone who:

• Takes direct ownership of the model, the operating cadence and the exceptions rather than handing over a finance strategy deck
• Can work with a founder who knows the development business and needs someone else to own the finance process
• Separates senior CFO judgment from close, AP and transaction-processing work, while remaining accountable for the output
• Can test a lender option without promising a financing result before reviewing the facility and project data

This posting invites interest in a prospective client engagement. Selection, client approval, contracting and a final scope are still required.