Job Title: Director of Finance
Location: Albany, NY
Firm: The Colwell Law Group, LLC
Compensation: $130,000 — DOE
Work Location: In person, Monday through Friday
About The Colwell Law Group
The Colwell Law Group is a rapidly growing family and matrimonial law firm that has served clients across Upstate New York for more than two decades. With a strong reputation for integrity, operational excellence, and a supportive work environment, we are expanding our leadership team and seeking a highly engaged Director of Finance.
This role is ideal for a finance leader who thrives in a hands-on environment, values structure and accountability, and wants to make a meaningful operational impact within a well-established and growing professional services firm.
Position Overview
The Director of Finance is responsible for both the day-to-day management of the finance department and the firm’s long-term financial health. This is an intentionally hands-on leadership role—not one that is removed from execution.
This position requires a finance leader who can manage the numbers, lead the people, and strengthen the systems. The Director of Finance will oversee all finance functions, lead a dedicated team, maintain visibility into daily operations, improve processes, and ensure timely and accurate reporting that supports executive-level decision-making.
Equally important, this individual must be able to lead through communication, structure, accountability, and change. The Director of Finance will be expected to coach team members, address performance gaps, collaborate with other firm leaders, and participate in ongoing leadership development as part of CLG’s commitment to building strong, aligned leadership across the organization.
The Director of Finance is a member of the firm’s leadership team and is expected to actively participate in weekly leadership meetings, leadership development, strategic planning, and cross-functional initiatives. Leadership engagement is an essential function of this role—not an optional activity.
What Makes This Opportunity Attractive
- High-impact leadership role within a well-structured, growing law firm
- Direct oversight of accounting, billing, collections, and accounts payable
- Strong cross-department collaboration and operational visibility
- Opportunity to build, refine, and elevate financial systems and processes
- Ability to influence firmwide planning, budgeting, and growth strategy
- Active participation in leadership development and firm leadership initiatives
- Culture that values clarity, ownership, consistent communication, and follow-through
Key ResponsibilitiesFinancial Leadership and Team Oversight
- Lead and manage the finance team, including accounting, billing, collections, and accounts payable
- Set clear expectations, deadlines, workflows, and priorities for the department
- Hold regular team meetings, one-on-one meetings, and cross-functional check-ins
- Coach, support, and develop team members to strengthen individual performance and overall department effectiveness
- Identify performance gaps and address them directly, professionally, and constructively
- Ensure the team operates with accuracy, consistency, follow-through, and accountability
- Create a finance department culture rooted in communication, ownership, transparency, and continuous improvement
- Build succession plans and cross-train team members to reduce operational risk and eliminate key-person dependency
Operational Ownership and Visibility
- Maintain hands-on oversight of daily cash flow, billing, collections, and trust activity
- Ensure all reporting deadlines are met on time and without exception
- Act as the primary escalation point for finance-related operational issues
- Maintain visibility into the day-to-day work of the finance department
- Document processes and eliminate single-point-of-failure systems
- Ensure the department operates with transparency, accuracy, and consistency
Reporting, Accuracy, and Timeliness
- Own and enforce the firm’s monthly close calendar
- Review all financial reports before they are provided to leadership
- Deliver timely, accurate, and actionable financial reporting
- Translate financial data into practical operational insights for decision-makers
- Provide leadership with clear visibility into financial performance, trends, risks, and opportunities
- Maintain high standards for accuracy, deadlines, and financial accountability
Processes, Systems, and Controls
- Standardize and document finance workflows, procedures, and standard operating procedures
- Improve communication between finance and other departments
- Ensure transparency, accessibility, and cross-training across the finance team
- Identify and implement process improvements that reduce errors, delays, and bottlenecks
- Strengthen internal controls and ensure consistent compliance with financial procedures
- Evaluate current systems and recommend improvements that support firm growth and scalability
Strategic Support and Growth
- Partner with executive leadership on budgeting, planning, forecasting, and financial strategy
- Provide data-driven insights that inform hiring, expansion, and operational decisions
- Support the firm’s long-term financial sustainability and scalability
- Help leadership understand financial performance in a clear, practical, and actionable way
- Contribute to firmwide strategic planning and operational decision-making
- Support growth initiatives through strong financial analysis and leadership partnership
Our Leadership Philosophy
At The Colwell Law Group, we believe leadership is measured by the success of your people. Great leaders develop others, remove obstacles, create clarity, and build an environment where their teams can consistently perform at a high level.
Individual success matters, but the true measure of leadership is the success, development, and accountability of the people you lead.
Leadership Expectations
Leadership is a core component of this position and a significant part of the culture we are continuing to build at The Colwell Law Group. The Director of Finance must be more than a technical finance expert. This individual must be an active, visible, and accountable leader.
The right candidate will be expected to lead with clarity, consistency, emotional intelligence, and professional courage. This includes setting the tone for the finance department, communicating expectations clearly, supporting team development, and helping create a culture built on trust, ownership, and follow-through.
The Director of Finance must actively seek feedback as part of their own growth and leadership development, provide direct and constructive feedback to others, and apply leadership concepts in real time. This role requires someone who can pivot when priorities, people, or operational needs change while maintaining appropriate structure, accuracy, and accountability.
The Director of Finance will be expected to:
- Lead through change with professionalism, composure, and flexibility
- Communicate directly, respectfully, and consistently
- Hold themselves and their team accountable to deadlines, expectations, and results
- Coach and develop team members rather than simply manage tasks
- Understand that leadership is measured not by personal achievement alone, but by the success, development, and accountability of the people they lead
- Identify gaps in performance, processes, or communication and address them constructively
- Collaborate with leaders across the firm to solve problems and improve operations
- Remain hands-on while continuing to think strategically
- Lead with curiosity before jumping to conclusions
- Take ownership, follow through, and model the standards expected across the firm
- Actively seek, apply, and learn from feedback
- Participate in weekly leadership meetings, strategic planning, leadership development, and cross-functional initiatives
- Participate in leadership development and leadership bootcamp opportunities as part of their integration into the firm
Who Will Thrive Here
You will be successful here if you:
- Enjoy building and improving systems
- Believe leaders should coach—not just supervise
- Like collaborating across departments
- Value accountability, transparency, and direct communication
- Are energized by growth and continuous improvement
- Want your work to directly influence the firm’s future
This position is likely not the right fit if you prefer working independently, avoid difficult conversations, dislike organizational change, or are looking for a role focused solely on technical accounting.
Qualifications
- Eight or more years of finance or accounting leadership experience
- Proven experience actively managing teams and daily financial operations
- Demonstrated success leading organizational, operational, or process improvements through periods of growth or change
- Law firm or professional services experience strongly preferred
- Strong communication skills with the ability to bring structure, clarity, and accountability to a department
- Ability to work effectively in the details while maintaining a big-picture perspective
- Strong proficiency with financial software systems and general ledger accounting
- Expertise in balance sheet reconciliation, accrual accounting, revenue recognition, and cash flow analysis
- Excellent financial reporting, writing, analysis, and interpretation skills
- Strong emotional intelligence and the ability to lead effectively through change
- Ability to provide direct, constructive feedback and actively seek feedback as part of ongoing growth and leadership development
- Demonstrated ability to coach team members, address performance concerns, and improve individual and team performance
- Willingness to participate actively in ongoing leadership development, strategic planning, and firm leadership training
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required
- Advanced degree or CPA preferred, but not required
Pay: From $130,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Disability insurance
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
