Job Description

Job Description

About Trade

Trade Coffee is building the future of specialty coffee at home. We've created the country's largest marketplace of exceptional independent roasters, using personalization technology and deep coffee expertise to match hundreds of thousands of customers with coffees they love. Our platform connects people to 500+ coffees from America's best roasters. Every bag is roasted fresh to order and shipped directly from the roasters to the customers home. We're not just selling coffee; we're democratizing access to world-class specialty coffee while empowering small roasters to scale and thrive. As we move from early momentum to disciplined growth, we're at an inflection point. We're building the infrastructure, margins, and financial rigor to become the definitive platform for coffee discovery. Every cup builds confidence. Every delivery feels personal. And every decision we make now shapes the next decade of specialty coffee.

How We Work

We're in our Midtown Manhattan office three days a week (Tuesday through Thursday), and we love it. There's energy in being together. Whiteboard sessions that solve problems faster, spontaneous conversations that spark ideas, and the momentum that comes from building side by side. We're a team that values the speed and clarity of in-person collaboration, especially at this stage of growth. If you thrive in environments where you can walk over to someone's desk, jump into a room to work through a model, or grab coffee with a teammate between meetings, you'll feel at home here.

The Role

The VP of Finance is the architect of our financial foundation and the most senior leader on the finance team. You'll own financial planning, reporting, forecasting, cash management, and controls, translating our ambitions into sustainable growth. You ensure every dollar works hard, resources align with strategic priorities, and the company has the clarity to make fast, confident decisions. You anticipate risks before they materialize and bring solutions that move the business forward. This is a hands-on, high-impact role. You move seamlessly between building multi-year models with the CEO and fixing a broken expense process the same afternoon. You lead and develop your team while staying in the details yourself. Finance at Trade isn't a back-office function. It's a strategic partner embedded in every major decision across the company.

CEO Partnership

You're a trusted thought partner to the CEO and a key voice in shaping the company's trajectory. You translate ambitious strategy into actionable financial plans, pressure-test ideas with rigor, and surface tradeoffs before they become problems. You work closely with the CEO on long-range planning, capital allocation, and growth strategy while staying fully integrated with the leadership team. Your influence comes from sharp judgment, intellectual honesty, and the ability to bring clarity without creating friction. You make the company smarter and faster every day.

Responsibilities:

Financial Leadership

• Lead FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting cycles
• Own unit economics, performance analysis, and scenario modeling
• Deliver daily, weekly, and monthly reporting with speed and accuracy
• Prepare board materials and support investor communication

Team Leadership

• Manage and develop the finance team to their full potential
• Build scalable capabilities and processes that grow with the company
• Work alongside the team on critical deliverables
• Create a culture of ownership, rigor, and continuous improvement

Operational Excellence

• Manage cash flow with discipline and optimize working capital
• Drive margin improvement and cost optimization across the business
• Establish strong financial controls, systems, and hygiene
• Coordinate audit, compliance, and tax work
• Manage banking relationships and maintain line of credit compliance

Business Partnership

• Partner with marketing, product, operations, and every function as a trusted advisor
• Support leaders with clear analysis that enables confident decision-making
• Identify risks early and present actionable solutions
• Build models and dashboards that make performance transparent and intuitive
• Drive accountability and performance improvement across the organization

What Success Looks Like

You bring exceptional financial judgment and the rare ability to operate at both 30,000 feet and ground level. You don't wait for perfect systems. You build them while running the business. You've thrived in early-stage, high-growth environments and know how to scale with discipline without killing momentum.

You're a strong people leader who elevates everyone around you. You make complex financial concepts accessible to non-finance partners. You understand subscription and DTC economics at an expert level. You communicate with clarity, hold high standards, and act with integrity. Most importantly, you improve the business through both strategic thinking and hands-on execution. You're equally comfortable in a board meeting and in a spreadsheet.

Requirements:

Experience:

• 10+ years in finance roles with deep FP&A expertise
• Experience across company stages: small/early-stage startups through high-growth scale-ups
• Track record helping businesses mature operationally while maintaining speed
• Strong background in subscription, ecommerce, or consumer businesses
• Demonstrated success managing and developing finance teams
• Deep partnership experience with marketing, product, and operations
• Ownership of budgets with a track record of driving performance improvement

Skills and Mindset:

• Expert financial modeling and analytical capabilities
• Deep fluency in subscription and ecommerce unit economics
• Exceptional communication skills and business judgment
• Comfort operating at both strategic and tactical levels
• Willingness to roll up your sleeves in fast-moving environments
• Strong people leadership with a results-driven orientation
• Ownership mentality and bias toward action
• Relentless focus on outcomes and continuous improvement

Why This Matters

Trade is at a defining moment. We're transitioning from startup momentum to scaled, disciplined growth, and the decisions we make in the next 12-24 months will determine whether we build an enduring company or plateau. We need sharper financial operations, faster insights, stronger margins, and the infrastructure to support our ambitions. This role shapes how we allocate capital, set priorities, and build for the long term. The right leader brings clarity when things are complex, rigor when speed tempts shortcuts, and confidence when the path forward isn't obvious. If you want to help build the definitive platform for specialty coffee while shaping financial strategy at a critical inflection point, this is your opportunity.

Salary Range: $150,000–$250,000

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