[Hiring] VP of Finance @Etude

Role Description

You will own the financial performance of Etude's investment portfolio: budgeting, forecasting, investor and lender relations, and analysis of property- and investment-level results. You will work directly with our CEO, CFO, and senior leadership; oversee institutional third-party operators and in-house teams; and have direct influence on acquisitions, financing, dispositions, and our growth strategy.

You will build the systems to see the portfolio from 10,000 feet, then get directly involved in major transactions, including negotiating with counterparties, understanding legal contracts and structuring deals to maximize return on equity. Our data and accounting teams build the pipelines and run the close; you set the standards and drive the decisions (while financial controls/audit experience is a plus, this is an operating and decision-making seat, not a reporting one.)

Etude uses AI tools, agents, and automated workflows across every aspect of our business; are looking for someone energized by what is newly possible and with experience using LLM tools to drive business outcomes, so the team spends its time on decisions rather than spreadsheets.

We are looking for a hands-on executive who can walk into ambiguity, self-direct, design process where none exists and deliver measurable results in the first 3–6 months.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in finance, FP&A, asset management or investment management, including 5+ years in self storage or commercial real estate at an institutional owner, REIT, operator or fund.
• Prior senior finance leadership (VP, Director of Finance or Head of FP&A) with ownership of an annual budget and forecast for a multi-asset portfolio of comparable scale.
• Deep, hands-on budgeting and forecasting expertise: building driver-based budgets and rolling forecasts, and explaining variances in a way that leads to action.
• Direct investor relations experience: owning reporting and relationships with family offices, LPs, institutional capital partners and/or lenders, and presenting to them with confidence.
• A sharp, skeptical eye: able to read a store P&L, balance sheet and rent roll and quickly find what is wrong, what is missing and what is driving NOI.
• Advanced financial modeling and Excel; fluency with CRE financing (CMBS, lender reporting, covenant compliance) and with loan, purchase and joint venture documents.
• Track record of replacing manual processes with scalable reporting systems, using AI and automation (Claude, Claude Code) and BI tools (Power BI, Tableau or similar).
• Proven people leader who can build a team and lead through data, accounting and legal partners.
• High agency and high urgency: comfortable in a lean, founder-led environment with broad responsibility and limited bureaucracy.
• Clear, concise writer and communicator who can turn numbers into a story and a plan.
• Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, economics, real estate or a related field.

Requirements

• CPA, CFA or MBA.
• Experience in debt capital markets, capital raising or equity and credit investing beyond real estate.
• Exposure to acquisitions underwriting, lease-up and development tracking, and dispositions.
• Exposure to public markets or REIT reporting standards.
• Experience with Python, SQL and/or Claude.
• Hands-on knowledge of self storage economics: revenue management, ECRI programs, occupancy and rate dynamics, delinquency and auctions, and the drivers of store-level NOI.

Benefits

• If you don't have all the qualifications listed, don't worry! We understand everyone's career path is unique and still encourage you to apply if you feel this role is aligned with your career trajectory.
• Employment at Etude is contingent upon a satisfactory verification of a general and criminal background check.