Chief Financial Officer

Would you like to help conserve and restore redwood forests, wildlife habitat, and watersheds in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Are you an experienced CFO interested in an important leadership role in a small but impactful organization? If so, consider joining Sempervirens Fund’s dynamic, collegial, fun team.

About the Position
Our current CFO is retiring. As the next CFO, you will be pivotal to the success of Sempervirens Fund’s redwood conservation efforts by providing financial management and strategy as a member of the senior management team. The organization has been steadily expanding our conservation goals, as well as the budget and staff needed to achieve them. This presents an exciting opportunity for a new CFO to support the organization’s growing ambitions. The current CFO handles traditional CFO duties and basic accounting functions. The new CFO will determine whether it is worthwhile to continue performing those functions themselves, outsource the accounting functions, or hire a part-time staff member to perform those duties. You will thrive in this role if you can speak accounting, deliver clear messaging to non-accountants, and enjoy working directly with staff. We need someone who can translate our budget numbers into a story and who can help us think through the
financial implications of our long-term strategies. The CFO reports to the Deputy Director and works very closely with the Executive Director, creating a financial management triad. The successful candidate also works in close partnership with other senior staff and the Board of Directors, particularly the Audit Committee.

Based in Mountain View, California, Sempervirens Fund protects ecosystems throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, which span Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties. This full-time, exempt position includes a Regus office membership, allowing the CFO to work from myriad Regus locations or remotely from home (which much be in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area).

Sempervirens Fund and Our Commitment to People and Equity
Sempervirens Fund is California’s first land trust – a private non-profit organization that acquires natural lands, or purchases conservation easements, to preserve redwood forests permanently. We believe the Santa Cruz Mountain’s habitats, waterways, and resiliency are at risk without healthy, connected coast redwood forests.

We also believe that all people should be able to access and enjoy these redwood forests. We are committed to an organizational culture that is welcoming, inclusive in its decision-making, and reflective of the diverse communities with which we work. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply and strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ community members, and people with disabilities to apply for this and other open positions.

With a strong committment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, we view all our work through those lenses – including our hiring process and Sempervirens Fund is an equal-opportunity employer.

This might be the right job for you if you would enjoy:

Financial Strategy, Planning, Managing, and Reporting

• Developing and executing the organization’s financial strategy aligned with the overall organizational goals and objectives.
• Analyzing, modeling and forecasting to support strategic decision-making and long-term financial planning.
• Leading the budgeting process: working closely with the development team and program managers, and senior leadership.
• Monitoring financial performance, analyzing variances, and providing timely and accurate financial reports to the senior leadership, Board, and Board Committees.
• Preparing all required financial reports for the funders, senior leadership, Board, and Board Committees on a timely basis and ensuring accurate use of restricted and unrestricted funds.
• Assessing and managing financial risks, developing and implementing appropriate risk management strategies and controls, including insurance policies.
• Leading the annual audit and preparing the fiscal year-end financial statements and  required audit schedules.
• Managing the preparation of the Annual 5500 Return and any required state or county tax filings.
• Managing annual insurance policies.
• Ensuring compliance with the Land Trust Alliance accreditation requirements related to Finance.
• Managing all outsourced financial services, including, but not limited to, accounting, payroll, 403B retirement, and corporate credit cards, should the CFO choose to outsource those duties.

Team Leadership

• Participating in key policy development as a senior leadership team member.
• Maintaining and implementing policies and procedures to efficiently use staff time and meet the organization’s internal financial control needs.
• Training and supporting manager in budget creation and monitoring.
• Developing and administering risk-management and loss-prevention programs
• Modeling healthy management practices and reinforcing a culture of collaboration, transparency, and mutual respect.
• Effectively communicating complex financial information clearly and concisely, including presenting financial reports and analysis to senior leadership, Board, Board Committees, and other stakeholders.
• Staffing the Audit Committee, working with the Committee Chair and Deputy Director to develop quarterly meeting agendas and associated meeting materials.
• Building and maintaining relationships with internal staff and external financial partners, including banks, auditors, and our insurance broker.

Accounting Operations (may elect to outsource)

• Daily responsibilities for accounts payable processing and semi-monthly payroll.
• Recording summary revenues to the general ledger from the Raiser’s Edge Database and other deposits/transfers.
• Posting necessary journal entries and maintaining general ledger reconciliations.
• Working closely with the Development staff to reconcile fundraising and financial accounting records and reports.
• Preparing quarterly and annual lobbying reports.
• Maintaining the 403B retirement plan and corporate credit card accounts.

Knowledge and Skills Needed

• Experience with GAAP and best practices for land trust and nonprofit accounting.
• Ability to communicate financial information to stakeholders who do not have an accounting background.
• Ability to successfully manage meetings with staff and members of the Board of Directors, including the Chair of the Audit Committee.
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects and tasks.
• Ability to work as a part of complex projects with a moderate level of supervision.
• Computer proficiency, including experience with QuickBooks and Microsoft 365.

Competencies

• Accurate listening
• Analysis of data
• Attention to detail
• Positive, open, and objective attitude
• Flexibility
• Long-range planning
• Proactive thinking
• Time Management
• Strong communication skills (interpersonal, verbal, and written).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting (or a related field) and at least ten years of direct financial accounting experience (with five at the management level)
• CPA preferred.
• Excellent leadership, interpersonal, teambuilding and problem-solving skills
• Experience with fund accounting principles.
• Experience managing large, multi-year public and private grants.
• Non-profit experience is preferred

Working Conditions

• Prolonged periods of standing, bending, sitting, kneeling
• Able to lift 20 pounds
• Available to work occasional nights and weekends
• Travel within the Bay Area for in-person meetings

We Offer

• A collaborative, supportive, and inclusive team environment
• A culture that values work-life balance
• Family-friendly policies
• Employer-paid medical, dental, vision, and life insurance for the employee
• 13 paid holidays per year
• Two weeks of vacation in your first year plus five floating holidays per year
• Twelve days of paid sick leave a year
• Employer retirement plan match of 6% ofe annual salary for the first five years and then 8% after that
• A remote-from-home work environment (must reside in Greater San Francisco Bay Area)
• Access to Regus co-working spaces
• Cell phone and home internet stipend
• Opportunities for professional development

In Summary
Position Title: Chief Financial Officer

Reports to: Deputy Director with a close working relationship with the Executiver Director
Location: Remote within the San Francisco Bay Area (relocation expenses will not be covered by Sempervirens Fund). Local travel is required for in-person meetings.
Salary Range: $160,000 – $200,000
Position Classification: Exempt