Director, Finance & Accounting

Ascend Advanced Therapies Group is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) supporting the development and commercial manufacturing of gene therapies, viral vectors, and vaccines. Following the 2024 acquisition of ABL Inc., Ascend operates GMP manufacturing sites in Rockville, Maryland;
Alachua, Florida; the United Kingdom; and Munich, Germany, partnering with biopharmaceutical innovators to help bring life-changing therapies to patients around the world.
Position Summary

The Director, Finance and Accounting reports directly to the CFO and serves as the principal finance partner and the highest-ranking finance leader in the organization outside of the CFO. This role owns the operational backbone of the finance function – accounting, controllership, financial reporting, FP&A, and accounts receivable/payable – across Ascend's global manufacturing sites, while also playing an active role in audit, tax, treasury, board reporting, and strategic transactions.

This is a high-visibility, high-scope role for a hands-on finance leader who can build rigorous process and infrastructure, drive accountability across the organization, and serve as a trusted right hand to the CFO on virtually every aspect of the finance agenda.

Financial Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting

• Own the global annual budgeting process and rolling forecasts across all Ascend sites, translating operating plans into clear financial targets.
• Design and institutionalize the calendars, templates, and governance needed to build, update, and hold the organization accountable to budgets and forecasts.
• Partner with site and functional leaders across Operations, Commercial, Quality, and HR to build bottoms‑up plans grounded in real capacity, staffing, and cost drivers.
• Develop multi‑year financial models supporting strategic planning, capacity expansion, and capital investment decisions.

Performance Reporting, Variance Analysis & Accountability

• Build and own management reporting that gives leadership a clear, timely view of actual performance against budget and forecast.
• Lead monthly and quarterly variance analysis, identifying root causes and translating them into actionable insight for the CFO and executive team.
• Instill a culture of financial accountability across the organization, ensuring budget owners understand, own, and are held to their numbers.
• Develop and maintain a KPI/metrics dashboard covering revenue, margin, cash, and key operational drivers.
• Partner closely with Operations and Sales/Commercial to optimize the conversion of backlog into recognized revenue.
• Build and maintain backlog, bookings, and book‑to‑bill reporting; identify and resolve bottlenecks between contract signing, manufacturing execution, and revenue recognition.
• Ensure revenue recognition for CDMO service and manufacturing contracts is applied consistently and in accordance with U.S. GAAP (ASC 606).
• Develop early‑warning indicators for schedule or revenue slippage and work cross‑functionally to protect the plan.
• Oversee global accounting operations across all sites, ensuring accurate, timely, GAAP‑compliant close, consolidation, and reporting.
• Maintain and strengthen internal controls, accounting policies, and procedures across a multi‑site, multi‑entity organization, including the UK and Germany.
• Own the monthly and quarterly close calendar and drive continuous improvement in close cycle time and reporting quality.
• Ensure balance sheet integrity through a disciplined account reconciliation and review process.

Audit, Tax & Treasury

• Serve as the primary day‑to‑day owner of the external audit relationship, partnering with the CFO to ensure an efficient, clean annual audit.
• Partner with outside tax advisors to ensure timely,…