Vice President - Finance Operations

We are seeking an exceptionally seasoned and transformative Vice President of Financial Operations (VP, FinOps) to lead and optimize our financial operational hub in India. Based in Bangalore, this executive role is critical for driving operational excellence, simplification, and strategic alignment across our global finance functions. The VP will join a team of US VP’s that report directly to the Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) based in California, USA.

This role requires a proven leader with 20+ years of deep, progressive experience who can navigate a complex global grid reporting structure, balancing local team management with strong collaborative partnership with US-based functional owners. The ideal candidate is a proactive agent of change dedicated to simplifying complex processes with an intense focus on end-customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities & Global Mandate: 

1. Executive Leadership & Center of Excellence Management

• Strategic Vision: Provide executive leadership to define the long-term vision and strategy for India's role as a global Financial Operations Center of Excellence.

• Team Leadership (Bangalore & Chennai): Have direct line management responsibility for the large, multi-functional Financial Operations team across Bangalore (focused on Procurement/Sourcing) and the critical compliance functions in Chennai (Accounting, Tax, Internal Audit, and Treasury). This includes executive hiring, talent development, succession planning, and performance management in collaboration with US functional owners .

• Process Transformation: Serve as the primary change agent, leveraging deep experience to identify, champion, and lead high-impact process simplification and automation initiatives across all financial operations globally, focusing on uncomplicating complex processes for the end customer.

2. Grid Management & Global Governance

• Functional Partnership: Collaborate closely with US-based Functional Owners (Heads of Global Accounting, Strategic Sourcing, Internal Audit, etc.) who define the global strategy, policy, and compliance standards. The VP will provide critical operational insights and ensure local execution excellence.

• Local Leadership: Serve as the most senior financial operations representative in India, collaborating with local country leadership on strategic investments, budget execution, and regional initiatives.

• Global Alignment: Ensure all local financial operations and processes are robustly aligned with global policies, systems, and controls defined by US functional owners.

3. Functional Oversight (Execution & Compliance)

• Accounting & Treasury (Chennai Focus): Oversee the operational execution of General Accounting, Revenue Accounting, and Treasury functions in India, ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting compliant with US GAAP and local statutory requirements.

• Tax & Internal Audit (Chennai Focus): Provide executive guidance on the operational execution of all direct and indirect tax compliance (e.g., GST) and support oversee the local execution of the global India Internal Audit plan, guaranteeing the maintenance of world-class SOX compliance and internal controls.

• Procurement & Strategic Sourcing (Bangalore Focus): Direct the operational implementation of global Procurement and Strategic Sourcing strategy, ensuring P2P efficiency, compliance, and driving significant value capture through cost savings.

Qualifications

• Education: Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification is mandatory. A CPA or an Executive MBA is highly desirable.

• Experience: 20+ years of extensive, progressive finance and accounting experience, with at least 10+ years in a senior executive leadership role (VP/SVP) leading Global Financial Operations or Shared Service Centers for a major multi-national company (MNC).

• Leadership of Dispersed Teams: Extensive experience successfully leading, mentoring, and motivating very large, multi-functional teams across different Indian locations (specifically Bangalore and Chennai), with direct oversight of compliance-heavy functions (Accounting, Tax, Audit, Treasury).

• Grid Structure Expertise: Extensive experience successfully navigating and leading within a highly complex, global matrix or grid reporting structure, demonstrating executive-level collaboration and influence across functional and geographic lines.

• Transformation Acumen: Verifiable track record as a successful change agent who has personally led and delivered major, multi-year finance transformation programs, resulting in significant process simplification and efficiency gains.

• Technical Depth: Expert-level, executive-grade knowledge of US GAAP, advanced internal controls (SOX), and India-specific tax, accounting, and treasury compliance.

Additional Information

At Freshworks, we have fostered an environment that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion, welcoming colleagues of all backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and ethnicities. We are committed to providing equal opportunity and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer environment that boosts the goals of our employees, communities, and business. Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.

About the Company

Organizations everywhere struggle under the crushing costs and complexities of “solutions” that promise to simplify their lives. To create a better experience for their customers and employees. To help them grow. Software is a choice that can make or break a business. Create better or worse experiences. Propel or throttle growth. Business software has become a blocker instead of ways to get work done. 

There’s another option. Freshworks. With a fresh vision for how the world works.

At Freshworks, we build uncomplicated service software that delivers exceptional customer and employee experiences. Our enterprise-grade solutions are powerful, yet easy to use, and quick to deliver results. Our people-first approach to AI eliminates friction, making employees more effective and organizations more productive. Over 72,000 companies, including Bridgestone, New Balance, Nucor, S&P Global, and Sony Music, trust Freshworks’ customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) software to fuel customer loyalty and service efficiency. And, over 4,500 Freshworks employees make this possible, all around the world. 

Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.