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About the Company
Our client is a leading Canadian managed hosting and cloud infrastructure services provider with a reputation for delivering white-glove customer experience. Its customers run mission critical demanding applications and web environments that benefit from our hosting platforms that include the Carbon60 cloud, private cloud and public clouds like AWS and Azure and any combination to deliver high-performance, scale and security. They also have unique expertise in delivering high security and scalable enterprise WordPress and Drupal website platforms for large enterprise and public sector clients. The company takes pride in its security and compliance posture driven by strong operational processes that exceed the needs of customers in the healthcare, financial services and public sector verticals that often have the most stringent compliance requirements.
Our client has recently acquired a Vancouver based competitor to add significant scale and people to serve customers nationally with combined data centres in Toronto, Vancouver, Kelowna, New York and London. Looking forward, our client is quickly establishing an industry leader position in Canada as we expand its capabilities in managing customer workloads on AWS and Azure clouds in a growing market that requires the skills of talented cloud engineers to build, manage and optimize cloud infrastructure. Consistently recognized by Growth500 as one of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies and by IDC Canada as a Major Player in the data centre management and operations space, our client has a bright future ahead poised to grow in the Canadian market as it evolves with new cloud native needs and digital transformation.
Profitable and well-funded with a recent round of venture capital the aim is to scale the business through acquisition and organic growth. To help facilitate that growth the company is looking to add a CFO to the senior management team.
Scope of Position
Reporting to the CEO, the CFO will be responsible for overseeing all financial matters of the company and reporting on such matters in a timely and accurate fashion to the executive management team and Board of Directors.
As well, the CFO will partner with the CEO and the operating team providing financial guidance and counsel on all matters relating to the finance function including strategic business planning, budgeting and forecasting, business analysis, and corporate growth strategies.
Responsibilities
- Contributing to the overall management of the firm, as part of the senior management team.
- Acting as the business partner for the CEO in providing guidance and counsel on all major strategic issues.
- Provide hands-on leadership, guidance, mentorship and performance management to the finance staff in the organization.
- Ensure that finance organization is structured and sized, so as to be optimally aligned to the needs of the business.
- Continuously assess the finance organization and its practices to ensure that the team and its processes evolve to suit the business as it grows and matures.
- Working with and supporting the CEO with all ongoing fundraising activities while managing the company’s cash effectively.
- Oversee and manage all financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting and reconciliations along with preparation of financial statements and cash flow projections, ensuring that the interests of all stakeholders are served.
- Manage relationship with audit firm for annual audit/income tax activities and all related matters.
- Leverage a detailed understanding of ‘what’s driving the numbers’ to act as a key strategic and operational contributor to the overall growth of the business.
- Ensure appropriate internal controls are developed and in place for the benefit of all stakeholders and the more efficient operation of the business.
- Effectively manage the company’s cash and securities position and drive any supplementary initiatives deemed necessary by the company
- Serve as a champion for enterprise excellence and the maximizing of value creation.
- Ensure all stakeholders including lenders and financial institutions are kept up to date on all relevant financial matters in a timely manner.
- Remain informed about the business, put measurements and reporting dashboards into place enabling real time assessment of performance and ‘what’s over the horizon’.
Competency Profile
The following competencies listed below define the role of Chief Financial Officer:
Strategic Approach
Develops a strategic plan to realize the vision. Revises strategy in light of changing circumstances. Takes a long-term view of organizational success. Works to clarify long term organizational goals. Able to stand back from immediate problems in order to focus on more far reaching ideas.
Role Expertise
Demonstrates critical technical or professional knowledge/skills related to the role. Has thorough knowledge of relevant products, services and methods. Expands technical knowledge/skills and keeps up-to-date in own area of expertise.
Commercial Acumen
Applies appropriate commercial and financial principles. Appreciates the commercial impact of own work on the organization’s total expenses and revenues. Understands situations in terms of costs, profits, added-value and return on investment.
Results Orientation
Focuses strongly on achieving agreed upon outcomes and ensures that key objectives are met. Conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure. Aims to improve upon past performance. Establishes aggressive personal targets and strives to achieve them.
Adaptability
Can alter own perspective and behaviour in order to adjust to changing demands and plans. Open to change and readily adopts new methods in the face of shifting priorities and ambiguity. Quickly adapts to new situations and approaches.
Preferred Experience / Education
The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables:
- A minimum of 10-15 years of senior financial management experience at the CFO level with responsibility for the day-to-day financial operations.
- CPA, CA designation.
- Technology sector experience with preference to experience working within the managed services environment or other recurring revenue business models.
- Experience within mid-sized technology company, concerns dealing with issues of scaling and growth as well as M&A and post-acquisition integration.
- Experience in negotiations with customers, suppliers and distribution partners, investors and debtors, etc.
- A hands-on, ‘roll up your sleeves’ orientation when required.
- Experience with acquisitions and their integration, strategic alliances and positioning in a hyper growth environment.
- Experience in best practices for financial strategies, reporting, controls and other processes for companies with $50 million+ revenue.
- Experience in preparing and presenting to venture capital companies and other outside shareholders.
Remuneration & Benefits
- Highly competitive base salary, variable compensation along with other compensation.