Controller, Multi-Venue Hospitality; Hybrid

Pave Talent is hiring on behalf of our client, an established San Diego hospitality company operating multiple event venues. This is a ground-floor opportunity to build financial infrastructure from the ground up and make an immediate, visible impact on business operations.

Our client is a well-established, mid-size hospitality venue company in San Diego with 15 years of success, $6M in revenue, and approximately 80 employees across four distinct event venues. Known for a collaborative, entrepreneurial, and people-first culture, this company has grown rapidly and is now ready to bring financial leadership in-house to support continued expansion.

As Controller, you will be the company's first dedicated finance leader, responsible for transforming how the business understands and manages its finances. You will dig into expenses, payroll, commissions, and reimbursements to identify cost savings while building the SOPs and processes that will scale with the company. This is not a high-level strategy role. You will roll up your sleeves and do the forensic work that drives real results.

• Own the P&L across multiple venues and legal entities, providing leadership with clear financial insights and actionable recommendations
• Conduct hands-on expense analysis to identify cost savings in payroll, commissions, mileage reimbursements, and vendor contracts
• Create and implement financial SOPs and processes from scratch to support scalable growth
• Manage relationships with external accountants, holding them accountable to deadlines and quality standards
• Serve as a second set of eyes on California payroll to ensure compliance and accuracy
• Navigate multi-entity LLC structures with intercompany billing between venue and operating companies
• Present financial findings and recommendations to the CEO with confidence and clarity
• Potentially hire and manage an accounting clerk as the function grows

Required:

• 5+ years of Controller or senior accounting experience in multi-venue hospitality, events, or entertainment
• Hands-on experience with expense forensics, cost control, and financial process improvement
• Knowledge of multi-entity LLC accounting and intercompany transactions
• Familiarity with California payroll compliance requirements
• Proven ability to build SOPs and financial processes from scratch
• Strong communication skills with the confidence to present and defend data to leadership

They re close-knit, genuinely likable, and believe in what they re building. The CEO wants people who show up prepared, speak up when something s wrong, and aren t afraid to push back with data. Collaborative, yes. But also willing to shake things up.

Apply via Linked In and Pave Talent will contact qualified candidates within 48 hours. Confidential search. Your application is fully private.