Controller

About Us

Elevate Commercial is a fast-growing real estate investment firm that prioritizes social impact. We invest in assets throughout the United States, with an emphasis on affordable housing and manufactured housing communities. We have big ambitions and are still early in where we want to go.

We are looking for an experienced Controller who can help strengthen our accounting function, improve the review process, and bring more consistency to the team as we grow.

Our Why

We seek to deliver significant and positive returns to investors, while having a significant and positive impact on residents’ lives. We believe in using business as a force for good, and take pride in our social impact programs that build community and enrich lives. We aim to set an example for other firms in our industry.

Our Core Values

These values are at the core of how we approach business and operate day to day.

• Always Do The Right Thing: We do right by investors, partners, residents, and each other, even when it is not the easiest option.
• Have A Growth Mindset: We are always learning, improving, and looking for better ways to do the work.
• Play With Fanatical Effort: We show up, take ownership, and give the work our best effort.
• Keep It 100: We communicate directly, openly, and honestly, and we deal with issues without being passive aggressive.

The Role

You will oversee the day-to-day accounting work, including monthly close, key reconciliations, internal controls, team follow-up, and process improvement. You will work closely with the CFO to keep the close organized, strengthen the review process, and make sure the financials are accurate and well-supported.

What You Will Own

• Own the monthly close across a growing real estate portfolio and make sure financials are ready for CFO review.
• Oversee key account reconciliations.
• Maintain practical controls over accounting processes and approvals.
• Identify recurring accounting issues and improve the process behind them.
• Manage the accounting team’s workload and deadlines.
• Set clear ownership for recurring tasks.
• Lead the accounting team, set clear expectations, and follow through.
• Hire, onboard, and train accounting team members as the company grows.
• Build simple, repeatable processes and review steps that stick.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, and variance review across the portfolio.
• Support new acquisitions from an accounting and reporting standpoint.
• Support reporting, tax, audit, and due diligence requests.
• Keep entity records and financial support organized.
• Track key reporting and compliance requirements in company agreements and loan documents.
• Bring accounting, tax, cash, or reporting issues to the CFO early.

The First 90 Days

• First 30 days: Learn the portfolio, entities, team, systems, close process, and reporting needs. Understand how the key accounting workflows connect to the general ledger.
• Days 31 to 60: Tighten the close process, clarify ownership, improve balance sheet review, and start addressing the highest-priority reconciliation issues.
• Days 61 to 90: Put consistent review steps in place, reduce recurring issues, and work with the CFO to make financial review smoother and more consistent.

What Success Looks Like

• Monthly close runs on a clear calendar, with defined owners and fewer surprises.
• Financials are well-supported, easier to review, and have fewer open questions.
• Key reconciliations are completed on time or have clear explanations for open items.
• Portfolio reporting is easier to understand, with major variances explained.

What We Are Looking For

• 7+ years of accounting experience, with prior Controller, Assistant Controller, or similar experience.
• Experience with multi-entity accounting.
• Real estate accounting experience is strongly preferred.
• Strong experience with monthly close, account reconciliations, and financial review.
• Experience managing accountants, reviewing work, setting deadlines, and following up directly.
• Ability to train the team, explain accounting clearly, and improve processes without overcomplicating them.
• Curious about AI tools and able to use them in a practical way to improve accounting processes.
• Comfortable working across multiple systems and platforms.
• Strong Excel skills and comfort working through detailed accounting support.
• QuickBooks Online, AppFolio, and a CPA license are a plus, but not required if the experience is strong.

Who This Fits

This role is a good fit for someone who likes clear ownership, clean accounting, and steady improvement. You should be comfortable getting into the details, asking questions, and helping the team follow through without making the work more complicated than it needs to be.

It may not be the right fit for someone who only wants to review from a distance or needs every process to be fully built before they can make progress.

A Few Things to Know

• There may be occasional busy periods around closings, tax season, and major reporting deadlines.
• We have systems and processes in place, but we need someone who can keep improving them as the company grows and hold the team accountable.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary range of $110,000 to $140,000, based on experience.
• Health insurance with employer coverage.
• 401(k) plan.
• Bonus opportunities.
• Promote participation in company deals.
• Unlimited PTO.
• Flexible work schedule, with Eastern Time overlap required.
• Remote work.
• Opportunity to grow with a scaling real estate company and help build the accounting team.

Reports to

CFO

Pay: $110,000.00 - $140,000.00 per year

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Opportunities for advancement
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s)

• Do you have experience in real estate, property management, multifamily housing, commercial real estate, or manufactured housing accounting?
• Can you work Eastern Time hours?
• Do you have experience managing month-end close?
• Do you have experience with multi-entity accounting?

Experience

• Accounting: 7 years (Required)
• Team management: 3 years (Required)

Work Location: Remote