Head of Financial Operations/ Controller
Ready to accelerate your career?
Clara is the fastest-growing company in Latin America. We've built the leading solution for companies to make and manage all their payments. We already help over 20,000 large and growing businesses operate with agility and financial clarity through locally issued corporate cards, bill pay, financing, and a powerful B2B platform built for scale.
Clara is backed by some of the most successful investors in the world, including top regional VCs like monashees, Kaszek, and Canary, and leading global funds like Notable Capital, Coatue, DST Global Partners, ICONIQ Growth, General Catalyst, Citi Ventures, SV Angel, Citius, Endeavor Catalyst, and Goldman Sachs - in addition to dozens of angel investors and local family offices.
We’re building the financial infrastructure that powers high-performing organizations across the region. We invite you to join us if you want to be part of a fast-paced environment that will accelerate your career and support you to do some of the best work of your life alongside a passionate and committed team distributed across the Americas.
We’re looking for a Financial Operations Lead / Global Controller to join Clara’s dynamic finance team. This role offers a unique opportunity to help scale a best-in-class controllership function at one of the region’s top startups.
In this role, you’ll own controllership end-to-end, from the monthly close to the annual audit, while modernizing how the function operates. We’re looking for candidates with an AI-native mindset and proven experience automating key finance workflows.
You’ll report directly to the CFO and work closely with the country controllers, as well as FP&A, Treasury, Legal, and our external auditors.
We’re prioritizing applicants based in Mexico City and São Paulo, but are open to remote arrangements for the right candidate.
Responsibilities
Controllership
- Own the month-end financial close and consolidation across all our entities.
- Lead our end-to-end annual financial audit, working closely with our external auditor and local controller teams. Plan the audit calendar, resolve technical accounting questions, and manage the relationship through to a signed opinion.
- Take a global perspective on our financial operations, supporting treasury, regulatory, tax, and other relevant requirements.
- Maintain a strong internal controls environment: policies, close checklists, and account reconciliations as we continue scaling toward public-market expectations.
- Support lenders, investors, and regulators with audited financials and relevant due diligence requests as they arrive.
Transformation
- Own NetSuite as our system of record, while also implementing AI tools and automation across the closing cycle and other key finance team workflows.
- Build a unified controllership operating model across our local teams so every country controller works the same way.
Qualifications
- 8 - 10+ years of accounting or controllership experience, including ownership of multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation.
- Startup and fintech experience is also a plus – you understand the regulatory and operational context of running finance in LatAm.
- Proven track record leading annual audits with a Big 4 firm from planning through opinion, including technical accounting memos.
- Deep, hands-on NetSuite expertise – you can go into the system yourself, not just direct others.
- Demonstrated success deploying AI tools and automation to modernize financial workflows.
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or business. MBA or CPA is a plus.
- Bilingual proficiency in English as well as Spanish and / or Portuguese is required.
Why join Clara
At Clara, you’ll have the autonomy, speed, and support to make meaningful impact — not just on your team, but on how organizations are run across Latin America.
Who we are
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We’re the leading B2B fintech for spend management in Latin America.
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Certified as one of the world's fastest-growing companies, a Great Place to Work, and a LinkedIn Top Startup.
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Passionate about making Latin America more prosperous and competitive.
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Constantly innovating to build financial infrastructure that enables each of our customers to thrive.
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Product-led, high-talent-density culture — designed for builders who raise the bar.
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Proud of our open, inclusive, and values-driven environment.
What we believe in
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#Clarity. We say things clearly, directly, and proactively.
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#Simplicity. We reduce noise to focus on what really matters.
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#Ownership. We take responsibility and never wait to be told.
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#Pride. We build products and experiences we’re proud of.
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#Always Be Changing (ABC). We grow through feedback, risk-taking, and action.
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#Inclusivity. Every voice counts. Everyone contributes to our mission.
What we offer
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Competitive salary and stock options (ESOP) from day one
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Multicultural team with daily exposure to Portuguese, Spanish, and English (our corporate language)
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Annual learning budget and internal accelerated development paths
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High-ownership environment: we move fast, learn fast, and raise the bar — together
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Smart, ambitious teammates — low ego, high impact
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Flexible vacation and hybrid work model focused on results
If you’re ready for growth, ownership, and impact — apply now and help us redefine B2B finance in Latin America.
Clara’s Hybrid Policy
Claridians in a hybrid mode split their time between working from the office, talking to or visiting customers, or working from home. This hits a balance between bringing people together for in-person collaboration and learning from each other, while supporting flexibility about how to do this in a way that makes sense for each individual and team.
We don't enforce a minimum number of days for most roles, but you're expected to spend time at the office organically, and be at the office most days during your ramp-up or when required by your leader.
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