Position Overview
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) provides strategic, financial, and operational leadership to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), senior leadership, program directors, subsidiary leaders, and CEI’s Board of Directors to plan, direct, and coordinate all financial activities necessary to achieve CEI’s organizational goals. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the CFO ensures that proper financial systems, controls, and resources are in place and conducts financial analysis and modeling of existing and potential financial scenarios, all to effectively support the organization’s mission, growth, and sustainability. The CFO reports to the CEO and leads the finance and accounting staff.
The CFO represents CEI on several subsidiary boards and works closely with subsidiary finance staff to track and incorporate the financial data and forecasts of subsidiaries into CEI’s consolidated budget and financials. In collaboration with CEI’s CEO, President and Chief Lending & Investment Officer (CLIO), the CFO manages relationships with existing and potential capital sources and is responsible for providing financial reporting to these investors.
The CFO brings diverse perspectives, deep technical experience, and leadership skills that allow them to work with people from different backgrounds and foster strong relationships internally with staff and with external partners and networks, and model CEI’s values and good management and supervisory practices as the leader of the department, as well as model CEI’s values and leadership practices as a member of CEI’s Executive Team.
The CFO is responsible for:
Financial Oversight, Capital Raising and Management
Provide overall direction for and leadership of staff who manage CEI’s financial assets. Functions managed include:
- Asset and liability oversight, including cash management and treasury function as well as capital allocation decisions, in conjunction with CEI’s Integration Team.
- Financial modeling of long-term financial projections to support growth strategies and operational changes, providing recommendations for implementation.
- Annual operating budget preparation in collaboration with the CEO and President and in consultation with department heads and the Director of Accounting.
- Trend analysis to ensure CEI is well-positioned to meet its obligations and sustain its corporate status.
- Financial administration of the CEI investment notes product, in collaboration with the CLIO.
Report on CEI’s financial activity to CEI and subsidiary Boards of Directors, committees, and existing and prospective funding sources, including the negotiation, management of, and reporting on financial covenants.
Establish, negotiate, and execute capital raising objectives for CEI and its subsidiaries, proactively participating in fundraising for CEI’s loan/investment funds.
Ensure compliance with public and private grant and loan agreements.
Senior Leadership
Contribute to corporate leadership, direction, and ongoing management:
- Be a proactive and engaged member of and offer expertise to CEI’s Senior Leadership Team, Integration Team, and Operations Leadership Team.
- Present financial statements to CEI to support understanding of CEI financial position and support of CEI activities.
- Contribute to CEI’s strategic planning processes to inform CEI’s strategic direction.
Represent CEI publicly and promote its community development finance role and capacities to serve its markets and audiences:
- Develop and maintain positive relationships with investment funding sources.
- Present at industry conferences and impact investment forums to promote CEI’s mission and finance-related practices.
Provide governance support:
- Serve on the boards of CEI subsidiary entities (at the discretion and request of CEI’s CEO and Board of Directors).
- Attend and present at Board of Directors’ meetings as well as committee meetings, particularly the Executive & Finance and Audit Committees.
- Staff the CEI Audit Committee.
Support the President and the CLIO to plan financial objectives for lending and investing, assess performance, and guide and monitor investment and lending targets.
Produce and manage all external reporting of financial data, including the development of financial information for AERIS, the federal government, NeighborWorks America, specific grant reports and any other requests that arise.
Finance & Accounting Department Staff Management
Lead and empower a collaborative and supportive team of skilled and experienced financial professionals, maximizing individual contributions and team impact.
Oversee the activities and qualifications of the Director of Accounting, Treasurer, and their teams, ensuring they are aligned with the overall direction set by the CFO and departmental workplan.
Ensure systems (e.g., ERP), policies, and processes are in place to support the efficient and effective functioning of the team.
Manage proper implementation and monitoring of any accounting-related technological system changes.
Ensure operations are in place for monthly close of financial books and records with timely production of monthly and quarterly financial statements with review of reports by Senior Leadership, Board and Investors as appropriate.
Support development of all team members to be trained and skilled in accounting knowledge and are pursuing opportunities to expand this knowledge. Provide support with internal training and professional development.
Oversee management and evolution of the finance and accounting department, ensuring appropriate structure for efficient and timely production of the work of the department.
Support cross departmental knowledge sharing opportunities to increase overall financial literacy of family of organizations.
Financial Risk Management
Mitigate CEI’s financial risk:
- Identify potential risks and implement reliable control systems to mitigate those risks. Oversee ongoing monitoring of these risks and controls.
- Oversee the annual external audit process, working with the Audit Committee to engage an external audit firm.
- Engage relevant third parties to support internal audit functions, as required.
- Oversee and review the annual 990 tax filing.
- Oversee annual Single Audit.
Ensure strong and cost-effective relationships with insurance providers. Direct the renewal of all risk insurance policies.
Manage relationships with various tax authorities, local, state and federal.
Experience and Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, management, or a related field.
- At least 10 years of senior financial leadership experience in community development finance, small business finance, or impact investing is strongly preferred.
- Experience at an organization of comparable size, scope, and financial complexity.
- CPA/CFA/CMA/MBA or equivalent is preferred.
- Experienced strategic fiscal leader with a strong background in complex asset-liability management in non-profit and/or for-profit environments, strategic planning, financial and credit analysis, budgeting, and reporting.
- Proven skill managing an organization’s accounting, treasury and financial administrative functions with the ability to reflect on and recommend improvements to policies, procedures, and processes.
- Demonstrated ability managing and working equitably and respectfully with diverse people from a wide range of races, ethnicities, backgrounds, and identities.
- Knowledge of the issues involved in financing and developing small businesses, commercial real estate, non-profit community facilities, and affordable housing is ideal.
- Familiarity with private and public finance institutions, their programs, and reporting requirements.
- Experience with budgeting and fund accounting policies, practices, processes, procedures, and reporting.
Experience overseeing public and private grant management and reporting.
To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.
Compensation and Benefits
The starting salary range for this position is $192,000 to $210,000 annually. CEI is committed to work-life integration and provides a competitive benefits package and total compensation, including health insurance, dental insurance, short and long-term disability, life insurance, long-term care, health savings account, and a 403(b) discretionary retirement match. Our time off benefits include eleven paid holidays, three personal days, a floating holiday, vacation and sick leave, along with a “Work from Elsewhere” up to 20 business days per fiscal year, and a sabbatical benefit after 7 years of employment. CEI operates in a hybrid work schedule, working at least two days a week from the office supporting the team in-person.
