Director of Client Implementation (Accounting Services)

Job description

Gray Fox Collective is a national outsourced accounting and advisory firm serving contractors, architects, and engineers from Start-up to $150M in revenue. Our Financial Operations, CFO Advisory, and Transaction Services divisions give owners the financial foundation and technology to scale predictably and profitably.

We are headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado and serve clients nationally. We run on an EOS-based operating framework, we are deliberately lean, and we are growing fast. Our people are given real ownership of outcomes, not tasks.

Job Overview

We have learned that the first 90 days of a client engagement determines everything that follows. A clean transition produces a profitable, durable relationship. A messy one produces two years of cleanup, scope creep, and a client who never fully trusts us.

This role exists to make sure that doesn’t happen.

As Director of Client Implementation, you own every new client from signed engagement letter to a fully operating, documented, handed-off engagement. You lead the diagnostic, design the accounting architecture, drive the cleanup, install the operating rhythm, and transfer ownership to the Engagement Manager who will run the account long-term.

You are not doing all of this yourself. You direct a team on every implementation — the receiving Engagement Manager, a senior accountant, and offshore support. Your job is to scope it, sequence it, own the hard technical calls, and get it across the line on time and on budget.

This is a consultant's seat inside an accounting firm. If you are looking for a steady month-end close, this is not it. If you like walking into a mess, seeing the path through it, and building something that works — keep reading.

Responsibilities Include

Diagnostic and scope

Assess the true condition of the client's books, systems, and processes against what was scoped and sold

Identify gaps, risks, and re-scope requirements inside the first two weeks — not month three

Build the implementation plan, timeline, budget, and resource assignment for each engagement

Technical architecture

Design the job cost structure, cost code framework, and chart of accounts for each client's operation

Build the WIP schedule and percentage-of-completion methodology, including retainage and change order treatment

Specify the technology stack — GL, AP, payroll, project management integrations — and own the configuration decisions

Make the judgment calls on cleanup: what gets restated, what gets a clean starting line, what gets left alone

Execution leadership

Direct the implementation team — the incoming Engagement Manager, senior accountants, and offshore resources — through cleanup, migration, and setup

Hold the timeline. Escalate early when a client is not delivering what the plan requires

Manage scope against budget and flag margin risk to leadership before it becomes a write-off

Own the executive relationship with the client owner or leadership team through the implementation window

Set expectations, run the cadence, and deliver hard messages when the client's own data, staff, or processes are the constraint

Train the client's internal team on their responsibilities in the new process

Transition to steady state

Bring the long-term Engagement Manager in from day one so the client relationship transfers warm, not cold

Document the engagement: SOPs, close calendar, reporting package, client-side responsibilities, known issues

Run the new client onboarding process and transfer client engagement ownership on a joint sign-off with the receiving Engagement Manager

Feed what you learn back into a repeatable implementation methodology that improves with every engagement

Who you are

Required

Ten or more years in accounting, with meaningful depth in construction or project-based industries

You have built or rebuilt a job costing system and a WIP schedule from scratch, not just maintained one

Working command of percentage-of-completion revenue recognition, retainage, change orders, and contractor cash flow

Demonstrated project management ability — you have run multiple workstreams and deadlines simultaneously without a PM tool telling you what to do

You can hold an executive-level conversation with a contractor owner and be taken seriously

You are comfortable directing people who do not report to you

Based in the Denver metro area, or willing to relocate. This role is primarily in-office and on client sites.

Strongly preferred

CPA, or public accounting experience serving construction clients

Prior experience in outsourced accounting, client accounting services, fractional controller, or consulting

Hands‑on with QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, and construction‑specific platforms such as Procore, Buildertrend, or Foundation

Experience implementing or migrating accounting systems

How you work

You walk into ambiguity and build the plan yourself. Nobody is going to hand you one.

You would rather deliver a hard message early than a comfortable one late.

You finish things. The first 80 percent is not where you lose interest.

You are energized by variety and new problems, not by the same close every month.

Our values define who we are and how we hold our team accountable. Please review these as they are critical to our long-term success and collaboration.

Positive Energy. We bring optimism that makes work and relationships better. We create environments where clients and teammates feel encouraged, and we spark creativity and collaboration even in hard stretches.

One Team. We succeed together. We respect each other's time, share knowledge, and never let work fall through the cracks — we anticipate a teammate's needs and step in before being asked.

Extreme Ownership. We own outcomes, not excuses. We take responsibility for results even when circumstances are outside our control, and we lead the solution rather than assigning blame.

Empathy with Boundaries. We care deeply, but we protect our standards and our value. We listen with compassion, we do not give away work because we feel bad, and we turn tough conversations into trust.

Grit. We persist and solve problems even when it is hard. We do not quit at the first sign of difficulty or drop problems on others.

Base salary: $150,000 – $180,000, commensurate with experience

Performance incentive structure to be determined, tied to implementation outcomes — on-time new client onboarding, budget performance, and post-handoff client retention

Health (100% Coverage), dental (75%), and vision coverage (75%)

401(k) with company match – 3.5%

Professional development and continuing education support, including CPA license fees

A seat with real authority in a firm that is scaling, and a clear path to leading an implementation function as we grow

Pay: $150,000.00 - $225,000.00 per year

401(k) matching

Flexible spending account

Health insurance

Health savings account

Paid time off

Vision insurance

Experience:

Accounting: 10 years (Preferred)

Construction Accounting: 5 years (Preferred)

Consulting: 5 years (Preferred)

Work Location: Hybrid in Lakewood, CO 80228

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Worksite address

denver, CO, 80285, US

Who can apply

Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.