SVP, Finance & Operations

Why You Should Join Us:

At Sound Agriculture, we are revolutionizing the way the world grows food. Our innovative technology and solutions empower farmers to maximize nutrient efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and feed the world sustainably. Through a deeper understanding of plant and microbial biology, we are leveraging the natural power of plants to make agriculture more agile and resilient. If you’re passionate about cutting-edge science, making a real-world impact, and being part of a team that’s dedicated to transforming agriculture, we want you on our team! 

Sound is a Series D startup funded by leading investors in food and agriculture including Leaps by Bayer, Syngenta Group Ventures, S2G Ventures, BMO Impact Investment Fund, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Fall Line Capital, Cavallo Ventures, FootPrint Coalition and Northpond Ventures.

What We'Re Seeking:

We are seeking a finance and operations leader who has experience with physical products sold to farmers. We have a strong finance and accounting team in place and are looking for someone to add strategic oversight as the company continues to grow.  The Senior Vice President is a critical leadership role for Sound as we continue our global expansion and scale towards $100M revenue, preparing for exit in the next two to four years. The ideal candidate has experience as a finance leader as well as a breadth of operational prowess, ensuring our systems and processes enable accurate, timely, and scalable business results. 

This role serves as a member of the Leadership Team who works to develop and improve a resilient financial plan for the long-term that pursues high growth, while moving towards a near-term path to profitability. In addition to core financial leadership, it’s critical that this role also has experience connecting the financial health of the business to the operational elements of manufacturing and supply. The SVP is responsible for knowing our business in and out, representing our financial performance to the Board, and translating heavy data into meaningful insights for our employees and customers. Routine responsibilities include:  audits, budgeting, monthly performance, cash runway strategies, supporting inventory and product logistics, M&A opportunities, and scenario analysis. 

This position supervises the finance and accounting team and manages our legal and IT vendors/partners. The SVP, Finance & Operations reports to the CEO and may be based remotely across the United States.  

Compensation Target

$220,000 to $250,000 base salary plus an annual bonus target of 25% 

Bonuses are earned based on annual company and individual performance and are prorated based on start date. Sound reserves the ability to adjust the compensation range based on the final candidate’s experience, skillset, and geography. In addition to on target earnings, we offer above average equity grants for the industry as we believe that every employee should have a stake in the company’s growth. If you’re above this compensation target, we encourage you to reach out and discuss the entire package and opportunity before deciding not to pursue this position. 

Responsibilities

• Executive Leadership 
• Serve as an executive partner to the CEO and the leadership team with vital financial information and operational analytics, driving a culture of accountability across company KPIs, implementation of data-driven performance dashboards and quality improvement plans
• Play a critical role as a thought-partner across the leadership team in developing strategies to hit our near and long term financial targets 
• Establish strong relationships with members of the Board of Directors, lead the Risk & Audit Sub-Committee and attend Board meetings and staff Board committees at the direction of the CEO
• Financial Management and Strategic Decision Support
• Develop and steward Sound’s financial strategy to maximize revenue growth while moving towards near-term profitability 
• Lead all financial planning and analysis functions, including developing Sound’s annual operating budgets, cash and working capital (A/R, A/P) management, financial forecasts, budget-variance process, scenario analyses and ad hoc financial analysis
• Evaluate and advise on the impact of key strategic decisions, new product launches, market entry, joint ventures and strategic partnerships
• Steward and grow cash, minimize currency risk, and execute the company’s Treasury function
• Supply Optimization 
• Ensure our supply and demand forecasts are optimized for maximum sales and minimal excess inventory
• Collaborate and improve our S&OP process each month
• Lead the strategy to optimise supply chain for new markets (initially LATAM and EU)
• Engage in manufacturing partnerships that enhance our current practices, processes, and relationships
• Support logistics efforts, warehousing, and returns 
• Legal and Administrative
• Manage corporate and commercial legal activities, including financial closings, co-promotion, licensing, development and collaboration agreements

Targeted Skills & Experience

• Experience leading finance and accounting functions at companies with a manufacturing component and/or physical supply chain non-negotiable. Candidates without this experience will be declined at application review. 
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or Business Management required; Master’s degree or CPA a strong plus
• Experience with new product launches and international market entry, with direct accountability over key financial and/or operating metrics
• Strong critical thinking skills; able to see the big picture, prioritize critical focus areas, and generate strategic options
• Partnership approach to collaborating with business leaders to earn trust and solve challenges quickly through influence and ownership
• Polished modeling and presentation skills, able to synthesize complex technical and business concepts with both narratives and numbers for executive audiences and the company alike, adjusting tone as appropriate
• High attention to detail, able to quickly review complex financial models and analyses and spot errors and potential to improve their use and accuracy
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and collaboration skills across levels with an ability to persuade, influence, and build enthusiasm and commitment
• Supply chain experience, specifically as it relates to the agriculture industry or another chemical industry corollary. 

This role demonstrates our values by:

• Creativity: Explores new ways to solve routine challenges with an emphasis on simplicity. Leads with curiosity and seeks to understand rather than implement established practices that may not address the core issue. 
• Boldness: Position the company for continued growth and category leadership, both deepening and expanding our product reach.
• Ownership: Operate as a player-coach, willing to dive into details and fully own outcomes and financial decisions like the company’s money is your own.
• Tenacity: Pushing on outcomes and efforts when conviction is high and don’t shy away from tough conversations or decisions. 

#Li-Remote

What We Offer:

• Opportunity to work in an incredible team with a drive to build alternative solutions to age old practices that increase farmer ROI
• Competitive total rewards package including base compensation, performance bonus structure or uncapped commission plan for sales positions, and above market equity 
• Comprehensive health care plans including Medical, Dental and Vision coverage 
• Flex Spending Account (Healthcare, Dependent Care & Commuter Benefit for US-based employees)
• Health Savings Account with monthly employer contribution (for US-based employees on qualifying health plans)
• 401(k) with 3% company match (for US-based employees)
• Flexible time off policy empowering employees to use time how they need, when they need 
• Mental health and wellbeing benefits - including dedicated monthly meeting free Focus Days 
• Paid parental leave (for US-based employees)
• Regular events and engagement activities (we actually like hanging out with each other!) 

Sound Agriculture does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third party recruiting agencies responding to job postings. We will not respond to unsolicited requests to submit candidates.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We seek a diverse pool of applicants and consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, ancestry, color, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, citizenship, disability, Veteran status, marital status, or any other protected status.

Sound participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the United States. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, Sound is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before Sound takes any action, including terminating your employment.