Remote Vice President Lab Operations Jobs in Illinois

Founded in 2008, Blessings in a Backpack (Blessings) mobilizes communities, individuals, and resources to provide weekend food for school-aged children across America who might otherwise go hungry. Blessings envisions a future where every school-aged child has the nourishment needed to learn and grow. Guided by a 'One Team for All Kids' philosophy, Blessings is transforming operations to drive measurable impact and growth in core markets, building on a legacy of providing 30M hunger-free weekends and reaching more than 1M children in just 15 years.

Founded in Louisville, Kentucky with an office in downtown Chicago, Blessings currently consists of 5 regions, including 7 chapters, 1,200+ community-driven programs, 45 employees across 11 states, and a $16M operating budget. Blessings is focused on evolving operations, maximizing mission delivery, and cultivating a culture of collective achievement.

Blessings in a Backpack seeks a dynamic and experienced Vice President of Finance to serve as the organization's senior-most finance leader and a key partner to the CEO, executive team, and Board of Directors. Reporting to the CEO, the VP will lead all core finance functions, including accounting, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, audit, compliance, payroll, treasury, grant and fund tracking, in addition to financial systems and technology.

This role is designed for a strategic, hands-on finance leader who can strengthen the financial infrastructure needed to support Blessings' next stage of growth while ensuring sound stewardship, strong internal controls, accurate reporting, and long-term financial sustainability. The VP will partner across development, programs, regions, chapters, and operations to improve financial visibility, support better decision-making, and build the people, processes, and systems required for sustainable growth and greater mission impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic financial leadership and clear insight to the CEO, executive team, and Board.
• Lead accounting, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, audit, compliance, payroll, treasury, and cash/investment oversight
• Build annual budget and long-range financial plans aligned with fundraising and program goals
• Oversee grant accounting, restricted/ unrestricted/ designated fund tracking, and donor/grantor compliance
• Steward and evolve internal controls, financial policies, GAAP/nonprofit reporting, and Form 990 readiness
• Partner with development, programs, and regional/chapter leaders to improve financial visibility and decisions
• Modernize finance, payroll, ERP, and reporting systems; lead implementations, integrations, and vendors
• Lead, mentor, and develop the finance/accounting team; build scalable people, processes, and systems

Qualifications & Skills

• 10+ years progressive financial leadership; nonprofit experience required; CPA preferred, MBA a plus
• Strong expertise of nonprofit accounting, fund accounting, grants, donor restrictions, and multi-stream budgets
• Proven ability to translate complex financial information for non-financial leaders, board members, and fundraisers
• Experience overseeing audit, compliance, IRS/nonprofit reporting, payroll operations, and internal controls
• Demonstrated success leading financial systems and technology initiatives, including system implementations, process redesign, and change management.
• Background in complex fund environments, multi-market organizations, and donor-funded organizations
• Collaborative leader with strong analytical, communication, and change-management skills
• Familiarity with Blackbaud preferred; NetSuite, Sage Intacct, ADP, and reporting tools a plus

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• The ability to communicate with colleagues, partners, and clients via phone, video call, and email.

Work Environment

This position may be hybrid or fully remote, depending on the candidate's location. Relocation assistance is not provided. Occasional travel will be required for team meetings, training, and organizational events.

Benefits

Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability Insurance, Paid Time Off, Paid Holidays, Paid Winter Break, Summer Fridays, FSA Plan, 403(b) Plan

Equal Opportunity Employer

Blessings in a Backpack is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, sex, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender or transsexual individual), sexual orientation, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current or prospective service in the uniformed services, predisposing genetic characteristic, domestic violence victim status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

Blessings in a Backpack is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the recruitment process, please email HR at: HR @blessingsinabackpack.org