Job Description:

VP Finance / Head of Finance

Location: Chennai

Role Type: Full-time

Industry: High-growth, investor-backed, engineering / manufacturing / technology-led business

Reporting To: Founders / CEO / Leadership Team

About the Role:

We are hiring a senior finance leader for a high-growth, founder-led business based in Chennai. The company is at an important scale-up stage and is looking to strengthen its finance leadership layer across controllership, financial planning, governance, investor readiness, capital allocation, project finance and business partnering.

This is not a narrow accounting or compliance role. It is a full-stack finance leadership mandate requiring strong operating depth, strategic judgment and the ability to build institutional finance discipline in a fast-moving environment.

The role is best suited for a CFO-track finance professional who can work closely with founders and senior leadership while also being hands-on enough to build processes, systems, controls and reporting frameworks from the ground up.

The ideal candidate should bring a strong mix of controllership, FP&A, cash-flow management, investor reporting, audit, compliance, capex planning, project-cost tracking, treasury, governance and team leadership.

Key Responsibilities:

Finance Leadership & Business Partnering:

- Act as a senior finance partner to the founders, CEO and leadership team.

- Build financial discipline across the organization while supporting business speed and execution.

- Provide financial input on growth plans, cost structure, capital allocation, project priorities and commercial decisions.

- Convert business and operating plans into clear financial models, budgets, dashboards and decision frameworks.

- Partner with business, operations, engineering, manufacturing, commercial, legal and external advisors.

Financial Planning, Budgeting & Strategic Finance:

- Own annual operating plans, budgets, rolling forecasts and long-range financial planning.

- Build strong visibility on cash runway, burn, capex, project spends, working capital and milestone-linked financial requirements.

- Track budget versus actuals across functions, projects and cost centres.

- Create dashboards and MIS packs for founders, leadership reviews, board reviews and investor updates.

- Support pricing, margin analysis, project economics, commercial models and business case evaluation.

Controllership, Audit, Compliance & Governance:

- Own accounting, book closure, statutory reporting, audit, tax, compliance and internal controls.

- Ensure timely and accurate monthly, quarterly and annual financial reporting.

- Strengthen financial policies, approval workflows, SOPs, delegation of authority and control frameworks.

- Manage statutory audit, internal audit, tax audit and compliance reviews.

- Ensure compliance across GST, TDS, income tax, company law, FEMA, transfer pricing, payroll and other applicable regulatory requirements.

- Build documentation discipline across contracts, approvals, board matters, vendor records and statutory filings.

Investor Readiness, Fundraise Support & Board Reporting:

- Support equity, debt, grant or strategic capital-raise processes as required.

- Prepare investor-ready financial models, business plans, forecasts, MIS packs and diligence material.

- Maintain data-room readiness across finance, tax, legal, compliance, contracts, payroll, assets, liabilities and related-party matters.

- Coordinate with investors, lenders, auditors, bankers, law firms, consultants and diligence teams.

- Support board presentations, investor updates and strategic finance discussions.

Capex, Project Finance & Operating Finance:

- Build financial visibility around capex, procurement, vendor development, inventory, fixed assets and project execution.

- Evaluate capex proposals, vendor contracts, make-versus-buy decisions and project budgets.

- Track committed versus actual spend, cost overruns, project milestones and cash impact.

- Create controls around fixed assets, tooling, equipment, stores, inventory, R&D capitalization and project cost tracking.

- Work closely with technical, operations and commercial teams to bring financial discipline to long-gestation projects.

Treasury, Cash Flow & Working Capital:

- Own treasury, banking, cash-flow planning and fund utilization.

- Build short-term and long-term cash-flow forecasts.

- Manage working capital, vendor payments, receivables, advances, deposits, guarantees and banking relationships.

- Evaluate debt, working capital lines, equipment finance, project finance or structured funding options where relevant.

- Ensure disciplined deployment of funds aligned with business priorities and project milestones.

Systems, Process Build-out & Team Leadership:

- Strengthen finance systems, ERP, MIS, budgeting tools and reporting automation.

- Improve speed, accuracy and quality of financial reporting.

- Build scalable processes across accounting, procurement, payroll, compliance, payments and reporting.

- Build, lead and mentor the finance team across accounting, reporting, compliance, taxation, FP&A, treasury and business finance.

- Manage external advisors effectively while building internal capability.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

Experience:

- 12-16 years of relevant finance experience.

- Current or recent experience as VP Finance, Head Finance, Deputy CFO, CFO-1, Finance Controller, Business Finance Head with controllership depth, or CFO in a growth-stage business.

- Experience in a founder-led, investor-backed, manufacturing, hardware, engineering, infrastructure, energy, EV, aerospace, electronics, deep-tech, industrial or other project-heavy environment will be highly relevant.

- Strong exposure to both finance operations and strategic finance.

Qualification:

- Chartered Accountant preferred.

- Additional qualifications in CS, CFA, CPA, IFRS, treasury, valuation or corporate finance will be useful but not mandatory.