Our client is a restaurant technology company specializing in outsourced accounting services, restaurant technology consulting, restaurant cost control systems, business intelligence, customized systems integration, and software development.
They are currently seeking an experienced and strategic Vice President of Accounting Operations to lead their growing Philippines-based accounting team. This senior leadership role is responsible for overseeing multiple accounting functions, driving operational excellence, and ensuring strong alignment with U.S.-based leadership.
The ideal candidate brings deep accounting expertise, proven experience leading large offshore teams (50-80), and a hands-on, process-driven leadership style. This role will be instrumental in scaling the organization, improving efficiency and accuracy, and developing future leaders within the team.
Company culture: Entrepreneurial spirit, detail-oriented mindset with ability to zoom out and optimize processes, constant push for progress and efficiency, fast-paced direct communication, and collaborative input from all employee levels (Voice and input from all levels is valued).
Additional Information:
- Three teams operate in the Philippines including a Manila team where this person would technically work, a team in a different BPO (Luzon-based) that they would oversee, and a virtual team of specialists working throughout the Philippines but not in office.
- US team consists of around 40-50 people while the Philippines team has about 70-plus people.
Key Responsibilities:
Leadership and Oversight
- Lead and manage a team of 70+ professionals across Accounts Payable, General Accounting, and Special Projects teams.
- Establish clear performance expectations and further develop metrics and reporting to monitor efficiency, accuracy, capacity, and service levels.
- Communicate performance insights regularly to the U.S. VP of Accounting Operations and COO.
- Build and oversee structured onboarding, training, and professional development programs.
- Provide coaching, mentorship, and feedback to develop talent and foster a high-performance, accountable culture.
- Majority of the work involves overseeing the entire Philippines team with occasional direct client interaction when team members need clarification or assistance
Strategic Planning and Operations
- Provide leadership aligned with company mission, values, brand standards, and administrative policies.
- Develop and manage a staffing strategy that aligns client complexity, workload volume, and service expectations with individual employee strengths, skill sets, and availability.
- Identify available capacity and deploy team members to special projects and cross- functional initiatives based on required skill sets.
- Review, standardize, and improve SOPs across client groups to drive consistency and operational efficiency.
- Challenge existing workflows and implement process improvements to enhance accuracy, turnaround time, and scalability.
- Lead project management efforts to better utilize existing task management and time-tracking tools.
- Independently learn and assess current systems, understand real-world usage, and design improved workflows aligned with operational goals.
- Own initiatives end-to-end, from concept and design through implementation and sustained adoption.
- Troubleshoot operational issues, perform root-cause analysis, and propose solutions for approval by U.S. leadership.
Technical and Systems Leadership
- Develop deep expertise in the accounting systems, operational tools, and technologies used by the team and supported clients.
- Maintain a strong understanding of company accounting standards, directives, and client requirements.
- Lead process documentation and expansion of the Trainual knowledge base to support consistency, scalability, and knowledge transfer.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting required; CPA preferred.
- 10-15+ years of progressive accounting experience, including at least 3-5 years in senior leadership roles.
- Large team management experience should involve 50-60 to 100 people rather than extremely large teams.
- Proven experience leading large offshore or shared services accounting teams. Restaurant or hospitality industry experience preferred.
- While primarily responsible for strategic oversight, the VP must understand all accounting processes thoroughly enough to perform hands-on work during emergencies, though day-to-day accounting is not the main responsibility.
- Strong knowledge of accounting principles, operational controls, and standard operating procedures. Seasoned accounting background is essential since they must understand what every team member does below them.
- Demonstrated ability to scale teams, processes, and systems in a high-growth environment.
- Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills. Problem-solving and self-starting capabilities are essential as the person will design their daily activities after understanding systems and teams.
- Highly tech-savvy, with the ability to quickly learn and optimize new systems and tools. Preferably someone with experience with multiple large accounting ERPs along with project management and time tracking software proficiency (Highly advantaegous).
- Advanced proficiency in Excel - Strong Excel skills are mandatory, given the heavy reliance on spreadsheet analysis and reporting
- Demonstrated ability to operate with high autonomy and ownership, making sound decisions independently without excessive reliance on leadership direction.
- Proven track record of strategic thinking and initiative, with experience identifying operational gaps and proactively developing and implementing solutions.
- Strong ability to challenge existing processes constructively, provide alternative perspectives, and drive continuous improvement across accounting operations.
- Ability to operate with a sense of urgency and execution focus, prioritizing timely decision-making and delivering measurable operational improvements.
- Experience working in fast-paced, growth-oriented environments, with the ability to balance strategic leadership and execution (highly preferred).
- Strong operational leadership mindset, with a focus on efficiency, scalability, and practical implementation.
- Excellent executive communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly, directly, and concisely with senior leadership and global stakeholders.
Key success indicators:
- Strong root-cause analysis and problem-solving capability
- Ability to design scalable systems and standardize processes
- Operational discipline across teams
- Effective workforce planning and bandwidth optimization
- Autonomous leadership in a fast-scaling environment
- The top three priorities for the first six months include gaining knowledge of company processes and systems, developing a strategy to raise issues and improve operations, and absorbing delegated tasks currently handled by the SVP.
The suitable candidate will be:
- Strategic yet hands-on – Able to see the big picture while driving execution.
- Confident and willing to push back – Not a “yes” person; able to challenge assumptions and provide alternatives.
- Autonomous and self-directed – Thrives with latitude and accountability.
- Process- and systems-driven – Focused on standardization, efficiency, and scalability.
- Strong people manager – Ensures the right people are in the right roles, with optimized utilization.
The role requires full P&L visibility for Philippine operations and will report to SVP and COO, with responsibilities gradually shifting from SVP based on the VP’s aptitude and capability.
Location: Cubao, Quezon City
Working Hours: Monday to Friday; 2pm -11pm