Description

Executive Director, Finance & Accounting

Position Details:

Position Type: Full Time, Exempt
Reports To: Chief Operating Officer
Work Location: Silver Spring, MD (Hybrid)
Level of Travel Required: Occasional travel per department and organizational needs  
 

Job Overview:

The Executive Director, Finance & Accounting (ED, Finance & Accounting) is responsible for the development of ATD’s financial management and operations strategy and contributes with other senior leadership to the development and implementation of the organization’s strategic goals. In addition to the strategic components, the ED, Finance & Accounting will be charged with developing and implementing business processes, leading and mentoring the finance team to support the organization, and building the budgets, analyses, and forecasting that support the management team, CEO, and Board in their respective financial and fiduciary responsibilities. The ED, Finance & Accounting reports to the Chief Operating Officer. The ED, Finance & Accounting supervises the Controller, Senior Accounting Manager, and Manager, Contracts and Operations.  

Duties and Responsibilities: 

Financial Planning and Strategy (40%) 

• Serve as a thought partner to the President & CEO, COO, and senior leadership team, providing analysis, perspective, and financial modeling to inform organizational strategy, new initiatives, and business model decisions. 
• Lead the annual budgeting process and long-term financial planning, including multi-year forecasts aligned to the strategic plan.
• Develop and maintain forward-looking, predictive models and activity-based financial analyses to provide insight into operations, pricing, and program sustainability.
• Assess the financial viability of programs, products, and revenue streams, including coaching, network fees, other fee-for-service, contracts, grants, and events and provide recommendations to leadership on resource allocation and investment tradeoffs.
• In coordination with consultants, leadership, and services management, support development of organizational pricing strategy. 
• Develop and implement tools and systems to provide critical financial and operational information to make actionable recommendations on both strategy and operations. 
• Build financial literacy across the organization by collaborating with unit leaders and providing timely and accessible reporting and analysis.
• Communicate and present critical financial matters, including quarterly financial statements and budgets, to the Audit & Finance Committee and Board. 

Accounting (35%) 

• Steward ATD's internal controls framework and financial procedures, ensuring policies are current, documented, and consistently followed; partner with the Controller on implementation and monitoring. 
• Oversee preparation of regular financial reports, actuals vs. budget analysis, and cash flow planning and forecasts.
• Lead the annual audit and 990 submission process, serving as the primary organizational liaison to external auditors; direct the Controller in managing day-to-day audit logistics.
• Oversee cash management, banking relationships, and asset management; coordinate with the COO on investment activity and reserve fund execution.
• Ensure proper maintenance of all accounting systems and functions; hold accountability for the integrity of the general ledger, month-end close, balance sheet reconciliations, and overhead cost allocation.
• Oversee grants accounting and compliance, including program budget design, spending forecasts, and decision support to program management to ensure adherence to donor and contract requirements.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulatory requirements, including tax filings, state charitable registrations, and unrelated business income considerations.

Systems and Technology (10%)

• Steward the finance and accounting systems roadmap, in collaboration with Executive Director, Information Technology and Digital Transformation, evaluating, selecting, and implementing software and tools (ERP, reporting, automation) that improve efficiency, data integrity, and scalability.
• Partner with IT leadership to ensure finance systems integration, data governance, and business continuity planning for financial operations.
• Identify and drive automation opportunities to reduce manual processes and strengthen controls.

Team Management & Other (10%) 

• Lead, mentor and develop the team of direct reports, managing work allocation, professional development, performance management, and the building of an effective team with a culture of continuous improvement.
• Remain current on nonprofit accounting standards, audit best practices, and regulatory developments; proactively communicate implications and recommend policy or process adjustments as needed.
• Contribute to organization-wide leadership as a member of the organizational leadership team, bringing a financial perspective to cross-functional decisions and organizational priorities

Skills/Qualifications/Experience:  

        CPA required 

• 10+ years of progressive professional experience in a senior management role ideally with both external audit and in-house financial management experience in a nonprofit organization.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-stream revenue environments including fee-for-service, contracts, grants, and events, ideally in an organization with a budget of $20M+. 
• Deep knowledge of nonprofit accounting standards, fund and grant accounting, Uniform Guidance compliance, and nonprofit tax and regulatory requirements
• Commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the finance function and the broader organization. 
• Experience owning or leading finance systems evaluation and implementation; comfort with technology and data tools. 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills. 
• Strong people leadership skills with experience building and developing finance teams.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present complex financial information clearly to non-financial audiences.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and abstract reasoning skills

Core Competencies:

Collaboration: Demonstrates respect, humility, and willingness to collaborate when seeking to understand others and making decisions. 

Equity Mindset: Demonstrates capacity to recognize and address racialized structures, policies, and practices that produce and sustain racial inequities. 

Learning Orientation: Embraces challenges, new ideas and different perspectives as an opportunity to learn; continually seeks out and applies new learning to activate change or improvements. 

Systems Thinking: Defines the system and one’s role in the system. Sees relationships and the dynamic elements of the holistic system and executes work accordingly. Influences the system and maps connections to ATD’s external landscape.

Physical Demands: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus. 

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Achieving the Dream is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse work environment. Employment policies and decisions are based upon merit, qualifications, performance, and business needs.  All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), gender identity or expression, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, legally- protected genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.