Director / VP of Finance

About PORTA – Tradizione Italiana

PORTA represents one of North America's rapidly expanding frozen pizza brands, celebrated for delivering authentic Italian craftsmanship through over 3,000 retail outlets across the U.S. and Canada. Originating from the culinary experts behind Terroni, PORTA blends chef-driven recipes with premium Italian ingredients, redefining frozen food quality. The brand emphasizes traditional methods like slow-fermented dough and flash-freezing at its freshest to ensure restaurant-level pizza quality consumed in less than 15 minutes. Beyond pizza, PORTA's mission is to simplify authentic Italian cuisine preparation at home and introduce the finest Italian flavors to a wider audience. Candidates will join an innovative company focused on quality, customer experience, and strong presence in natural product retailers.

Role Overview

The Director / VP of Finance is a full-time position based in the Greater Toronto Area with a flexible hybrid work setup allowing some remote work. This role entails full responsibility for finance and accounting functions including budgeting, forecasting, cash flow oversight, and conducting monthly, quarterly, and annual financial closings. The role demands preparing, reviewing, and scrutinizing financial statements to ensure accuracy and compliance while delivering timely reports to leadership and stakeholders. This leader will support strategic initiatives by offering financial analysis, business modeling, and assessing investments, pricing strategies, and product profitability. Daily duties involve managing financial controls, overseeing external audit coordination, optimizing finance workflows, collaborating closely with operations, sales, and supply chain teams, and scaling the finance department in tandem with rapid company expansion.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Robust finance background with demonstrated leadership in financial operations and executive partnership.
• Expertise in financial planning including budgeting, forecasting, and long-term financial models.
• Ability to produce and interpret financial statements rooted in strong accounting knowledge.
• Proficient in financial reporting encompassing management reports, KPI dashboards, and presentations at board level.
• Advanced analytical skills for performance evaluation, risk assessment, strategic decision support, and process improvements.
• Experience in consumer packaged goods (CPG), food & beverage, or retail sectors preferred.
• Proven capability leading teams and developing finance functions in high-growth environments.
• Professional certifications such as CPA, CFA, or similar, accompanied by a university degree.

Candidate Profile

• University or college qualification in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related discipline; MBA or CPA credentials advantageous.
• At least eight years of progressively responsible finance roles, ideally within CPG, food & beverage, or consumer products; start-up experience is beneficial.
• Deep proficiency in FP&A with a strategic approach to interpreting financial data.
• Strong understanding of retail and grocery industry economics including trade spending, slotting fees, deductions, retailer margins, and sales velocity metrics.
• Commercial acumen with a history of effective cross-functional collaboration and senior stakeholder influence.
• Experience handling investor relations, board reporting, or fundraising efforts in early-stage or growth-focused companies.
• Hands-on and resourceful approach, thriving in lean teams, managing analysts and outsourced resources.
• Excellent communication skills for translating finance concepts to non-finance colleagues.
• Highly organized and deadline-driven with keen attention to detail.
• Adept at navigating fast-paced, dynamic work environments.

Benefits

• Competitive remuneration package.
• Comprehensive employee benefits.
• Hybrid and remote work opportunities.
• Complimentary pizza for employees.

Additional Information

The company operates remotely within Canada and the US but offers a hybrid work culture for staff located in the Greater Toronto Area. PORTA is committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion, valuing diverse perspectives and providing accommodation to candidates upon request.