Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer

About Us:

Ports America is the leading marine terminal operator and stevedore in the United States, committed to delivering exceptional service while adhering to our core values of safety, integrity, respect, innovation, and excellence. We believe in creating a positive impact by working with our people, partners, and communities. At Ports America, we are dedicated to leading with integrity, embracing new challenges, and fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace.

Role Overview:

As the Principal Accountant for Ports America, the VP, Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) will lead and manage the financial reporting function across the organization. This critical role includes overseeing general accounting, credit and collections, accounts payable, and revenue services.

Key Responsibilities:

• Direct and oversee the company’s accounting operations, ensuring compliance with accounting policies, procedures, and financial controls.
• Manage the financial reporting function to ensure timely and accurate reporting, including the supervision of credit and collections, accounts payable, and revenue services.
• Lead the development, implementation, and enforcement of accounting policies and practices that align with corporate objectives, while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
• Partner with senior leadership to ensure financial priorities are aligned with the strategic goals of the company, with a focus on maintaining robust financial controls and compliance across the organization.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives, ensuring that all accounting services and transaction processing adhere to best practices, operational excellence, and Ports America’s commitment to safety, integrity, and innovation.
• Lead accounting operations, ensuring strong internal controls across all business functions.
• Design and implement advanced financial information systems, optimizing reporting and controls.
• Provide expert guidance on business development projects, including mergers and acquisitions, deal evaluation, purchase accounting, and due diligence.
• Assist in re-engineering financial systems and processes to enhance management reporting, facilitating scalability and growth.
• Ensure compliance with all financial regulatory requirements and manage external financial auditor and internal audit relationships through effective communication and coordination.
• Stay informed on regulatory and accounting pronouncements that impact the company’s financial statements and position.
• Lead due diligence, integration, and financial reporting efforts for mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to define and improve corporate performance metrics and keep the CFO, CEO, and executive leadership team (ELT) informed of financial conditions, trends, and activities.
• Take on or lead special projects as directed by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Leadership:

• The VP, CAO will directly supervise Directors and Managers and indirectly oversee approximately 60 exempt and non-exempt employees across various levels within a matrix organizational structure.
• This role requires a strong leader capable of driving financial excellence and supporting strategic initiatives to ensure long-term success and value creation for the organization.

Key Competencies:

• Business Acumen: Understands the core business and essential skills required for the role. Learns new methods and technologies easily and grasps how businesses operate and make money.
• Leadership & People Management: Effectively leads teams by setting clear goals, holding people accountable, and providing constructive feedback. Delegates tasks, develops talent, and communicates goals clearly.
• Process Management: Designs efficient workflows and systems. Knows what to measure and how to track progress. Diagnoses and solves workflow problems while seeking continuous improvement.
• Action-Oriented: Tackles challenges with energy and drive, aiming for results. Initiates action without waiting for all details and sees tasks through to completion.
• Organizational Savvy: Knows how to navigate organizational dynamics to get things done. Politically aware and knows where to go for information or resources.
• Effective Communication: Communicates clearly in writing and speaking, tailoring the message to the audience. Gets the point across effectively.
• Stakeholder Management: Builds strong relationships with diverse groups at all levels, both inside and outside the organization. Treats everyone fairly and equitably.
• Integrity & Ethics: Demonstrates high moral character, is consistent with values, speaks truthfully, and maintains confidentiality. Shows strong leadership and organizational skills.

Required Qualifications:

• Education & Certification: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting required, CPA certification mandatory.
• Experience: A minimum of 10+ years of experience in the accounting profession, with recent financial leadership in a publicly held company or a medium to large private equity-backed company.
• Audit & M&A Expertise: Big 4 audit manager experience and audit committee experience are highly preferred, along with strong technical accounting and financial reporting background, including significant M&A exposure.
• Strategic Acumen: Ability to evaluate opportunities with a focus on the bottom line, driving company performance and executing strategic decisions.
• Leadership & Integrity: Must have a reputation for integrity, maturity, and sound business judgment. Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to contribute both individually and as part of a team.
• Asset Management: Proven experience in planning, organizing, controlling, and safeguarding financial assets, with a strong track record in developing and implementing asset management strategies.
• Technical Proficiency: Proficiency in MS Office and financial management software is essential; Oracle experience is preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Education & Certification: MBA along with a CPA certification.
• Industry Experience: Prior experience working within industries such as marine terminal operations, shipping, logistics, transportation, distribution, or other asset-heavy businesses with revenues exceeding $1 billion.
• Mergers & Acquisitions: Successful experience with large-scale mergers and acquisitions is preferred.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties as needed to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.

Ports America is an Equal Opportunity Employer encouraging diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; religion; national origin; sex (including pregnancy); sexual orientation; gender identity and/or expression; age; disability; genetic information, citizenship status; military service obligations or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

This role does not offer sponsorship for work authorization. External applicants must be eligible to work in the US.