Director of Finance

Director of Finance

Location: Chicago, IL

Office: 3 days/week in South Loop office

Reports to: Chief Business Officer

About Tavern Research

Tavern Research is a political tech startup building tools and insights to help our customers win elections and make better, evidence-based decisions. We specialize in scaling expert human work, such as content generation and survey research to support thoughtful, data-driven civic engagement. We're a venture-backed, mission-driven, fast-moving, and mostly technical team focused on supporting campaigns and organizations working to strengthen democratic participation. We are experimental by design and expect every team member to continuously improve how they work using new tools and technology. Everything else is on ourwebsite. If you still have questions, let us know when you apply!

About You

You’ve owned the full financial function at a high-growth startup, closing books that hold up under institutional scrutiny and building models that perform in partner meetings. You are fluent in complexity: cycle-driven, lumpy revenue is familiar territory, and you know what a diligence-ready data room looks like. You are not looking for a narrow role. You want to own finance end-to-end, from investor narrative to invoice processing, and you are prepared to lead that work with precision through a Series A close.

You are motivated by mission-driven work and bring a measured, professional approach to environments that operate outside the norm. Political revenue structures, mission-locked governance, and FEC-driven payment timing are well within your expertise. You can walk a prospective investor through our SAFE structure with clarity and confidence.

About the Role

This is Tavern's first dedicated finance hire, and it's a critical one. We're targeting a Series A launch in early 2027, and this role exists to make that process airtight. You'll own the financial model, the data room, the accounting function, and the investor process from warm intros through term sheets and close. By October, you're full-time on Series A preparation. By Q1 2027, you've helped close a raise that funds our next stage of growth.

This is not a narrow function. You'll be operating across financial planning, accounting, investor relations, and financial operations, all at once, in a fast-moving political tech environment. Beyond fundraising preparation, this role will play an important part in improving Tavern’s financial operating rhythm, helping leadership make smarter decisions around budgeting, hiring, and resource allocation as the company scales.

We value in-person work and expect employees based in Chicago to work regularly from our South Loop office.

Responsibilities

Series A Process

• Own the Series A process end-to-end: data room, financial modeling, diligence, and term sheet negotiation support
• Build and maintain the investor model, unit economics, and KPI dashboard; defend them in partner meetings
• Run a structured, parallel process across a 25–30 firm target list, supporting 30+ partner-level meetings
• Prepare and deliver investor-ready financial snapshots that anchor warm-intro conversations in summer and fall 2026
• Stand up the data room to institutional standards: financials, cap table, customer cohort data, contracts, governance docs, and hiring plan
• Coordinate with Series A legal counsel on our mission-locked SPV structure and explain it credibly to investors

During the fundraise

• Quarterback diligence: triage investor requests, maintain a tracker, ensure consistent answers across firms
• Run weekly fundraise standup with CBO and CEO; maintain live pipeline of firms, stages, and next steps
• Prep founders before every partner meeting and turn around model updates in hours, not days
• Pressure-test term sheets as they come in: economics, board, protective provisions, dilution across competing offers

After the close

• Run closing mechanics: wires, stock issuances, updated cap table, 409A refresh, board consents
• Translate the investor model into departmental budgets, hiring sequencing, and burn targets
• Establish board governance and investor reporting cadence (monthly updates, board materials, minutes)
• Upgrade finance ops to match new scrutiny: tighter close, GAAP financials, audit readiness, KPI reporting infrastructure

Financial Planning and Operations

• Build and maintain the forward financial model: cash flow, runway, scenario analysis, and revenue projections through Series B milestones
• Track and report on revenue performance, burn rate, and cycle vs. off-cycle revenue mix
• Manage complex political invoicing. Customers and funders are often different entities, invoice names shift for political sensitivity, and payment timing follows FEC filing deadlines
• Manage ACH/wire processes for same-day political disbursements
• Document invoicing and compliance workflows clearly enough that a diligence team can follow them without raising flags

Accounting and Financial Hygiene

• Own or oversee the accounting function (currently outsourced; you'll decide what stays and what changes)
• Manage the finance stack (QuickBooks, Rippling, Mercury, Ramp, Bill.com) so it's diligence-clean by October 2026
• Drive the Q3 2026 accrual-basis close and coordinate a refreshed 409A in time for pre-launch investor updates
• Maintain clean books, reconciled accounts, and a documented revenue recognition policy

Qualifications

• 8–12 years of experience in finance, with meaningful time in high-growth startups
• Has owned a full Series A (or beyond) process at a venture-backed company: diligence, data room, term sheets, and close
• Strong financial modeling skills: built bottoms-up revenue models, headcount plans, and scenario analyses from scratch
• Experience forecasting cash flow under lumpy or campaign-style revenue (seasonality, event-driven concentration)
• Has driven an accrual-basis close at a startup; comfortable with deferred revenue, WIP, and unbilled receivables
• Accounting and bookkeeping fundamentals, not just the modeling side
• Comfort with politically-exposed revenue, mission-locked governance, or regulated industries is a meaningful plus
• Prior experience at a company that successfully raised a $50M+ round is a plus; MBA or CFA is nice but not a substitute for operating experience
• Preferred: experience working on financings, acquisitions, or other major business transactions, whether at an investment bank, investment firm, or similar environment.

Benefits

• Premium health insurance
• Unlimited PTO
• Office closed for all federal holidays
• 401k match
• Equity

Tavern Research is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.