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Agency Background:

Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC) is a community-based, not-for-profit organization founded in 1979. NMIC has grown into a leading multi-service agency with over 140 staff members serving New York City with a focus on upper Manhattan and the Bronx. NMICs mission is to serve as a catalyst for positive change in the lives of the people in its community on their journey to secure a prosperous future. Integration is the cornerstone of NMICs programs. Its staff identify and address a broad array of immediate needs through comprehensive crisis intervention services. With matters resolved, clients move seamlessly to capacity building services through holistic programs designed to transition individuals and families to self-sufficiency.

NMIC serves its clientele through two program areas:

• Legal, Organizing, Advocacy, and Weatherization programs meet community members basic needs including legal representation in immigration related matters, housing, financial services and health related matters.
• Education & Career Services programs impart individual community members with the practical tools necessary to build secure and prosperous futures.

Job Title: Chief Financial Administrative Officer (CFAO)

Department: Administrative

Reports To: Executive Director

Location: 45 Wadsworth Ave. New York, NY 10033

FLSA Status: Exempt

Model: Hybrid

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Chief Financial & Administrative Officer (CFAO) is a newly refined position on the Senior Leadership team and plays a critical role in overseeing the financial and administrative functions of NMIC. The CFAO position requires a strategic, operational, and results-oriented leader who has deep experience managing financial strategy and operations and partnering with administrative functions to drive organizational efficiency. The CFAO must be both a true financial and operational thought leader for NMIC and a pragmatic doer with exceptional strategic change management and collaboration skills.

The CFAO reports to the Executive Director (ED) and they, along with the Deputy Executive Director (DED), constitute the executive leadership team (ELT) and meet weekly. The ELT expands to the Senior Leadership Team with the inclusion of the three program directors and directors of HR, Finance, and Development. The CFAO works closely with the Board and the Senior Leadership Team to drive strategic direction and sustainable growth, and to enhance organizational effectiveness to support the organization's mission. The CFAO will serve as an ex-officio member of the Finance/Audit Committee, and other Board Committees as requested. The CFAO will provide strategic financial and operational leadership to enable informed decision making and resource allocation, optimize internal operations, and foster cross-departmental collaboration. The CFAO has three direct reports (Finance, HR and Operations), with a total team of 20 professionals. S/he will build and maintain strong relationships with all members of staff across the organization, in particular the finance leads in the various programs, and will serve as their internal advocate. The CFAO will prioritize infrastructure needs and incorporate into each function the necessary ownership governance, control and guardianship processes, including legal, compliance, and risk management.

The CFAO should be an inspirational, hands-on, data-driven leader who promotes reliance on data across Finance, HR, Operations, and Programs to support decision-making, monitor trends, and proactively identify areas for improvement. The CFAO will prioritize the effective operations of the finance team, leading a culture change in accountability and responsibility. Additionally, s/he supports the establishment of policies that promote NMICs vision and culture and ensure its financial health. This role will have a comprehensive range of responsibilities including general oversight, coordination, and control of policies, processes, and compliance relating to finance and accounting, grants and contracts, HR, information technology, and facilities management. The CFAO and the finance and administrative teams will continuously evaluate and develop innovative and strategic opportunities to improve the finance and administrative functions to support the organization and its mission.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serve as a strategic partner within a collaborative leadership structure, acting as the finance leader, thought partner, and advisor to the ED and DED and developing a key working relationship with the Head of Development.
• Lead efforts to develop the department into a trusted entity producing clear, accurate, timely, and actionable data and analyses to promote informed decision-making and rigorous financial management across the organization.
• Prepare and present financial strategy, forecasting, and reporting to the Finance Committee, Board of Directors, Senior Leadership Team, and key stakeholders.
• Lead the annual and multi-year budgeting processes in coordination with the organizational planning processes to ensure alignment with organizational priorities and resource allocation.
• Partner with program leaders to measure financial performance, optimize resource allocation, and evaluate return on mission.
• Provide strategic financial oversight and partner with the DED to drive long-term financial planning and risk management by developing forecasting models and scenario plans to anticipate risks and opportunities, and to balance financial sustainability with program growth, including reserve management and capital strategy.

Financial Management and Operations

• Lead and develop a team comprised of both employees and outsourced staff from RSM. Assist the Director of Finance in the management and oversight of RSM, including fostering collaboration between NMIC and outsourced staff.
• Oversee the Director of Finance in the development and leadership of an annual budget process. Maintain comprehensive knowledge, both documented and experiential, to provide effective backup.
• Streamline AR conversion cycle to ensure adequate cash flow to support operations, the cash monetization of unrestricted net assets, and the development of an investment account.
• Direct the preparation of all financial statements, including balance sheet, P/L, and variance reports for all Departments, Programs, and Grants.
• Oversee and help coordinate the timely completion of annual audits, 990 preparation, and regulatory reporting.
• Serve as the primary contact for external auditors, compliance reviews, and financial stakeholders.
• Willingly step in temporarily to support or directly execute key finance functions during staffing transitions or critical needs.
• Ensure clarity around roles, responsibilities and accountabilities. Continually evaluate and refine Finance infrastructure and related policies and processes against the changing business needs of the organization.
• Oversee the Director of Finance to develop and maintain relevant systems and processes to support current and future organizational needs, including providing appropriate, timely, and accurate reporting to all levels of staff, board members, regulators, and other important external stakeholders, such as donors and partners.
• Manage cash flow, investments, and financial risk to optimize allocation of resources and maintain the financial health of the organization.
• In coordination with RSM and the Senior Leadership Team, establish internal policies and procedures that support overall business transparency and minimize financial risk.
• Promote financial literacy, transparency, and shared accountability by helping non-finance staff understand the expectations, timelines, and documentation required to meet financial standards and by helping finance staff understand and respond to non-finance staffs needs.
• Stay abreast of developments in non-profit best practices and state and federal requirements for non-profit financial operations.
• Assist direct reports in developing functional and individual performance goals, oversee overall capacity and productivity, and build on an inclusive, empowered and engaged culture.

Human Resources

• Evaluate current HR policies, systems and processes, and, in coordination with the Director of Human Resources and the Senior Leadership Team, determine future needs in recruitment, on/off boarding, professional development, performance management, total compensation design, and employee engagement.
• Ensure HR policies and procedures are informed by best practices and are fair, transparent, consistently applied, and aligned with NMICs culture and values.
• Support the Director of Human Resources in prioritizing and implementing new initiatives that will further modernize HR services, optimize resources, and ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements.
• Ensure performance management, recognition and coaching/corrective practices are implemented to foster a culture of continuous improvement, personal growth and teamwork while supporting agency goals.
• With the Director of Human Resources, soundly administrate NMICs benefit plans.
• Assist the Senior Leadership Team in developing future leadership through selection, coaching, and mentoring.

Operations

• Translate organization vision and strategy into policies, directives, and procedures. Manage the operations of NMIC in line with strategic goals and key performance metrics.
• Ensure that robust internal systems and processes are in place to support NMICs mission-driven work. Hold departmental leads accountable for independently maintaining high standards.
• Serve as the executive lead for contracts and vendor relationships affecting operations.
• With the Senior Leadership Team, develop organizational performance goals, design and implement infrastructure improvements, focusing on operational resilience, process efficiency, and reducing single points of failure.
• Supervise the Operations Manager in the management and oversight of Solarus, NMICs outsourced IT service provider. Ensure clarity around roles, responsibilities and accountabilities.
• In coordination with the Operations Manager, continually evaluate IT infrastructure and related policies and processes against changing business needs.
• Review and determine, in coordination with the Senior Leadership Team, information needs and systems that improve productivity, reduce risk, and optimize business processes.
• Source, secure, implement, and maintain tech solutions that span departments and functional areas of the organization.
• Ensure the NMIC information and data are secure.
• Supervise the Operations Manager in ensuring that the organizations physical environment, in two locations, is safe, well-maintained, and efficiently operated. This includes vendor management, space planning, security and procurement (NMIC has a Triple Net Lease at its main location at 45 Wadsworth Avenue. As such, the Facilities Department is responsible for maintenance, repair and replacement of all significant systems and machines)

QUALIFICATIONS:

The ideal candidate will be a successful sitting CFAO, CFO or other senior finance leader (i.e., strong #2) who has significant experience in a comparable non-profit with similar scale and complexity to NMIC. This individual will demonstrate the ability to work effectively with a senior leadership team and to implement creative financial management strategies and other value-added administrative processes and practices. The person will have a strong finance foundation and experience working effectively with Boards, external partners/service providers, and a wide range of internal colleagues. This CFAO must demonstrate a record of accomplishment of being both mission and culture driven AND performance driven, including achieving operational and strategic goals.

The winning candidate should possess the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:

• Passion for NMICs mission and values.
• A bachelors degree is required, and a CPA or equivalent advanced financial training is strongly preferred. An advanced degree in a related field is a plus.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in nonprofit finance, including experience as a CFO or a senior finance leader (e.g., strong #2) with demonstrated readiness to operate at the executive level. Experience managing large, complex public sector grant portfolios; with emphasis on cost reimbursement contracts. NMIC is 95% public sector funded (federal, NY State, and NY City).
• Experience overseeing or closely partnering with human resources and operations functions in a complex, mission-driven organization strongly preferred.
• Experience working closely with the ED, Executive Leadership Team, and Board in developing strategy, best practices, and policies of a comparable / larger organization by anticipating market trends and leveraging expertise to advance the organization.
• Excellent analytical, strategic, abstract-reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. The ability and willingness to quickly and meaningfully engage with new information, identify what matters, explain it clearly to others, and apply sound judgment in decision making is as critical as existing experience.
• Strong foundation in accounting, audit, and compliance, with experience either directly executing core finance functions or overseeing them with sufficient depth to independently assess and validate the accuracy, efficiency, and quality of execution.
• Demonstrated success performing complex analysis of financial data and assessing financially related business capabilities, identifying gaps and recommending solutions.
• Proven record of developing, implementing and sustaining financial systems, budget processes, and administrative infrastructure that support organizational growth and sustainability.
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