Finance Lead

Our client is an early-stage ClimateTech venture building a one-stop shop to aid the decarbonization and ESG management of commercial real estate. They tackle everything from energy consulting, energy-efficient renovations, and long-term ESG management.

They make sustainability economically viable and individually tailored to enable the decarbonization and green transition of real estate assets.

They have already received early VC backing from Atlantic Labs and Speedinvest and are now looking to start scaling their Berlin-based team as they expand their operations.

About the Role

As Finance Lead, you will be responsible for building the finance function from the ground up and ensuring a solid financial basis to enable the company to scale. You’ll be tasked with building the framework to ensure robust financial management and strategic planning in a high-growth business environment. You’ll start as a Finance Generalist with a strong spike in Financial Modeling and building KPIs, Reporting, and Budget Management across the business. Over time, you will build out a finance team to support you in key areas. This position will interact with all facets of the business and report directly to the Founders. Specifically, you will:

• Build and lead the finance department, including managing an Accounting Manager and establishing key functions like controlling and financial planning.

• Develop and implement a comprehensive finance strategy and model that aligns with our mission and business objectives.

• Introduce and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for financial performance and efficiency across the business

• Collaborate closely with department leads to ensure financial alignment and support for business initiatives.

• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis to drive informed decision-making.

• Ensure compliance with financial regulations and standards.

• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance financial operations and reporting.

• A proven track record of operating within a high-performance finance function at an early-stage start-up, ideally within an operationally complex and fast-moving environment within the DACH region

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or another related field. Advantageous if you hold additional certifications eg. CPA or CFA.

• A solid understanding of how to set up and implement a finance function within a VC-backed start-up from scratch including FP&A, Controlling, and Budget Management.

• You bring a strong spike in strategic finance and experience in building robust financial models for senior leadership within rapidly growing businesses

• You are adept at implementing and managing business KPIs for financial performance across the business

• Previous experiences in building and managing high-performance finance teams in complex environments

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. You can effectively work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders at a range of different seniority levels

• Highly adaptable to changing business needs and environments with a focus on problem-solving

• Fluent in written and spoken English and German are mandatory.

Why Join:

Our client creates innovative, holistic solutions for energy retrofit and long-term ESG management of real estate. Their mission is to transform real estate in a sustainable and economically viable way by not only providing energy-efficient upgrades and financial support for green projects but also implementing comprehensive, ongoing ESG management. 

By joining them, you will actively contribute to creating lasting value, reducing the environmental footprint, and providing security and confidence to both real estate owners and asset managers. Become part of a movement that is changing the real estate world for good.