Posted on February 17, 2012

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Chief Financial Officer

The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services (“JBFCS”) was born in the 1890’s out of the need to address the poverty, crime, disease and family dysfunction in the Jewish community. Today, it has grown into one of the largest social service nonprofit organizations in the City, providing comprehensive support and care for those in need in all of the city’s diverse communities and distinctive neighborhoods. Its 175 programs provide a wide range of mental and behavioral health services, including services for people with psychological disabilities, programs to address early childhood delays, preventive and domestic violence programs, adolescent treatment and counseling services, and Jewish community social services. JBFCS serves over 55,000 people every year with a dedicated staff of 2000 and another 2000 volunteers.

JBFCS has a complex budget approaching $190 million. Because of the nature of its work and responsibility to its clientele, JBFCS must be absolutely certain that its accounting practices and financial management procedures are state of the art and above reproach. Towards that end, JBFCS places the highest regard on having the best and brightest financial management executives on staff to oversee the accounts with precision and integrity, ensuring that all parties are adequately served and protected.

The Position:

The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services is seeking a very intelligent, strategic, highly skilled, energetic and experienced financial executive who has proven leadership in significant management positions to become its new Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”). Reporting directly to the CEO, the CFO will be responsible for all financial management activities and will provide counsel and advice to the executive staff and the Board on all financial matters. The CFO will oversee and implement financial policies and plans for JBFCS and will provide overall management and direction for the accounting, budgeting, treasury, banking, grant review, payroll and tax reporting functions. The CFO will also be able to think strategically about fiscal issues related to the changing environment faced by nonprofits in the health care world.

The successful candidate must be able to work closely and collaboratively with the Chief Operating Officer and other members of the senior management team, and be able to integrate smoothly into the senior management at JBFCS, fitting into the organization’s culture. The CFO oversees a fiscal staff of 45 supervised by a Controller located in JBFCS’s Hawthorne office. He or she will necessarily work with staff in other offices at JBFCS as well as externally and he or she must work with the Board and staff in a supportive and direct manner with a minimum of ego. The successful candidate will have strong interpersonal skills, excellent written and oral communication skills, a hands-on management style and the ability to address and solve problems or issues as they arise. In addition, he or she will be diplomatic, of the highest integrity, and possess sound judgment as well as a sense of humor.

Specific Responsibilities include:

General:

• Oversees all finance and accounting functions
  
• Represents JBFCS to outside lending institutions, rating, regulatory and funding agencies and other social service and/or educational agencies.
  
• Ensures timeliness, accuracy and usefulness of financial and management reporting for federal and state funders, foundations, and JBFCS Board of Trustees.
  
• Serves as a member of the Executive Cabinet and participates as appropriate in developing the agency’s strategic plan, in setting policy and monitoring performance.
  
• Assures that the Fiscal Department is supervised, trained and motivated to maintain the highest levels of teamwork and partnership with other functions and departments within the agency.
  

Compliance:

• Coordinates, prepares and oversees all fiscal audits; insures that JBFCS is in full compliance with all municipal, state and federal legal and regulatory financial requirements. Ensures proper filing of tax returns.
  
• Performs risk assessment and protection, and communicates risk information to the Board of Trustees, the CEO and executive leadership team.
  

Budgeting, Cost Reporting and Financial Analysis:

• Develops strategies for, communicates about, and oversees development of all initial and ongoing operating budgets.
  
• Develops and maintains capital budget.
  
• Oversees cash flow planning and ensures availability of funds as needed.
  
• Works with members of executive leadership team to ensure maximum participation by program staff in the budget development and implementation process. Monitors organization performance against budget and recommends required actions to control spending.
  
• Creates financial models and forecasts; provides clear and complete communications to support or explain financial data.
  
• Insures the accuracy and reliability of all financial data; assures all financial transactions and reporting systems are supported by consistent and ongoing user training and are audited periodically for use and integrity.
  

Board Relations:

• Serves as principle staff liaison to the Budget and Finance Committee of the Board, assisting in defining the agenda and providing appropriate reports and analyses.
  
• Reports and interprets financial information to the Board and the Finance Committee; serves as a resource for interpreting Board-level requirements as mandated by the federal government.
  
• Reports, as needed, to the Audit Committee and attends its meetings.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor degree in finance, accounting or related field required; advanced degree in a related field, MBA and/or CPA preferred.
  
• Minimum of 10 years related experience, preferably in a large, complex organization, preferably in a nonprofit healthcare agency or a related field.
  
• Demonstrated leadership ability, team management and interpersonal skills.
  
• Knowledge of generally accepted accounting practices and principles as relevant to nonprofit entities.
  
• Knowledge of internal control systems used for general accounting principles and specialized nonprofit industry accounting practices and procedures.
  
• Expertise in publicly funded health care and human services programs.
  
• Acumen in maintaining accurate financial records and preparing clear and accurate reports for informational, auditing and operational use.
  
• Ability to read, analyze, interpret and explain complex financial data.
  
• Ability to work independently, prioritizing workflow to meet critical deadlines and paying exceptionally close attention to detail.
  
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Application Instructions

To Apply:
The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services has retained the services of Harris Rand Lusk to conduct this search. Inquiries, nominations, and applications may be directed in confidence to:
Jack Lusk, Managing Partner
or
Anne McCarthy, Senior Director
Harris Rand Lusk
261 Madison Ave., 11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
amccarthy@harrisrand.com