Senior Director - Accounting and Finance

Company Description:
Our client is a Chicago-based private equity firm with a focused strategy of providing growth capital to real estate operating, development, and asset management companies on behalf of its principals and a distinguished group of private and institutional investors through investment vehicles it sponsors. The platform provides capital, strategic resources and access to their extensive relationships to support rapidly growing, market-leading real estate owners and operators executing development, value-add and core-plus strategies throughout the United States. The firm was founded in 2022 by two industry veterans. The firm leverages its experience in building, capitalizing and investing in preeminent real estate operating platforms to support the pursuit of their long-term objectives and simultaneously striving to deliver attractive returns to its investors.

Job Description:
The firm is seeking a skilled and experienced Senior Director of Accounting & Finance to lead the financial accounting and reporting functions for real estate private equity vehicles as well as the firm’s management company. This individual will report directly to and work closely with the Chief Executive Officer and broader senior management team to support all functions of accounting, financial reporting/strategy and tax. This position will manage a junior accountant and work hand in hand with outsourced fund administrators, auditors and tax professionals to deliver accurate and timely financial information to its stakeholders. The firm relies on its dedicated, collaborative and high-performing 10-person team to manage complex financial transactions and contribute to the firm’s continued growth and success.

This is a unique opportunity for a motivated, hands-on financial executive to join a recently established team and contribute to the growth of an entrepreneurial, privately-owned real estate company. The ideal candidate must have a strong technical fund, property and corporate accounting/finance background. They must be eager and confident with new and complex matters, be attentive to details and deadlines, have outstanding internal and external communication skills, be able to juggle varied tasks within a team environment. Regular in-person attendance in Chicago office is expected to promote cross-functional collaboration and a heightened understanding of the firm’s strategy (placing importance on this individual’s trajectory as an executive leader).

Key Financial Reporting & Accounting Responsibilities:
• Funds and affiliated investment vehicles
o Coordinate with outsourced fund administrators to prepare, review, and/or approve quarterly/annual financial statements and other reporting deliverables, investment management fee calculations, capital call, loan funding, and distribution calculations, cash flow analyses, and other analytics.
o Collaborate with the investment team on significant transactions to obtain knowledge related to timing and amounts of contributions, loan-funding requests, and distributions; (ii) Work with the investor relations team to coordinate communications related to capital events and financial reporting, and (iii) Collaborate with COO and CCO to verify actions are in compliance with regulatory guidelines and/or governing documents.
o Develop and maintain working-level knowledge of governing and financing documents to identify issues as they arise and monitor compliance with covenants, reporting requirements, and other terms described in such documents.
o Help to manage future separate accounts requiring familiarity with third-party property accounting.
o Understand and integrate acquisition underwriting and periodic valuations for roll up into portfolio, capital planning and strategy models.
o Active interface with asset management team, including periodic valuations.
o Manage preparation of internally prepared general ledger and workpapers.
o Primary contact with subscription lender, including funding request notices, repayment timing, budgeting for periodic draws and serving as conduit between management and lender with respect to negotiating terms for loans and amendments thereto.
o Primary contact with property accounting teams with the firm’s sponsors to assure such financial reporting is accurate, delivered timely and comports with applicable requirements.

• Corporate Entity
o Facilitate/oversee all treasury management responsibilities including input of electronic transfers, monitoring cash, administration of entitlements within banking portal, and review of monthly bank reconciliations.
o Manage all accounting functions, including preparation, review and approval of monthly financial statements and related workpapers, journal entries, invoices, expense reports, reimbursables and billbacks.
o Coordinate with Chief of Staff to review and approve semimonthly payroll runs and administer all accounting-related software.

• General
o Coordinate annual audits (including valuations) and tax returns.
o Oversee preparation of annual and multi-year budgets and reforecasts as well as short-term cash flow projections and analyses.
o Establish, maintain, and/or enhance robust internal controls to mitigate risk of fraud or improper reporting.
o Conduct search for junior staff hire later in 2025.

Qualifications:
Ideal candidates will have the following attributes:
• 10+ years of real estate investment/private equity firm experience.
• In-depth knowledge of fund and property accounting, joint venture waterfall calculations, and private investment fund structures.
• BA/BS and/or Master’s in Accounting, Finance or Business. CPA preferred.
• Excellent analytical skills, attention to detail, accurately and efficiently, and ability to interpret complex financial data.
• Proficiency in budgeting and forecasting.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Team orientation –comfortable working on small team and “wearing many hats” to support the organization.
• Self-starter with ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously, tenacity toward meeting deadlines.