BIRCH FAMILY SERVICES
Chief Financial Officer
Job Description
Background:
Founded in 1975, Birch Family Services has grown from one small school into a large network of programs serving a wide range of New Yorkers who face significant challenges. Through a wide range of educational services, residential and family support programs, Birch enables these adults and children to achieve their full potential — while also transforming their lives.
Birch operates with a budget of $43 million supporting its programs in over 20 locations. Its work supports thousands of children with special needs throughout New York City. As a leader in the education of autistic children, Birch’s Training Institute works with hundreds of professionals each year from many agencies in effective methods for educating children with autism spectrum disorders. (The Training Institute offers professional development in other areas as well, including early childhood and residential services.) Birch also runs a number of residences and day habilitation programs in New York City for adults and adolescents with developmental disabilities.
Birch is seeking to hire a CFO to join the senior management team. Because of the nature of its work and responsibility to its clientele, Birch must be absolutely certain that its accounting practices and financial management procedures are state of the art. Towards that end, Birch places the highest regard on having the best and brightest financial management executives on staff to oversee the accounts with precision and integrity.
The Position:
Birch Family Services is seeking a very intelligent, highly skilled, energetic and experienced financial executive with a proven record of leadership to become its new Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”). The CFO will be responsible for all financial management activities and will provide counsel and advice to the senior executive staff and the Board on all financial matters. The CFO will oversee and implement financial policies and plans for Birch and will provide overall management and direction for the accounting, budgeting, treasury, banking, grant review and tax reporting functions. It is important that the CFO understand complex rate-setting structures and be able to direct the agency’s systems and analysis to maximize reimbursement.
The successful candidate must be capable of integrating smoothly into the senior management at Birch and fit into the organization’s culture. As a member of the senior management team, the CFO will play an integral role in setting all aspects of Birch policy and practice. The CFO will necessarily work with staff in other offices at Birch as well as funding agencies and financial institutions and outside auditors.
The CFO 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 firm grasp of accounting systems and supporting technology, 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:
o Oversees all finance and accounting functions, in the central Administrative Office and at all Birch sites.
o Represents Birch to outside lending institutions, regulatory and funding agencies and other social service and/or educational agencies.
o Serves as a member of the senior management team along with the CEO, the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President and participates as appropriate in developing the agency’s strategic plan, in setting policy and monitoring performance.
o 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:
o Coordinates, prepares and oversees all fiscal audits; insures that Birch is in full compliance with all municipal, state and federal legal and regulatory financial requirements.
o Works collaboratively with the Compliance Officer on risk assessment and protection, as well as communicating risk information with the CEO and senior management team.
· Budgeting, Cost Reporting and Financial Analysis:
o Develops strategies for, communicates about, and oversees development of all initial and ongoing operating budgets to maximize agency reimbursement consistent with regulatory and contractual requirements and guidelines. Prepares and files all required periodic cost reports.
o Works with members of senior management 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.
o Creates financial models and forecasts; provides clear and complete communications to support or explain financial data.
o 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:
o Serves as principal staff liaison to the Finance Committee of the Board, assisting in defining the agenda and providing appropriate reports and analyses.
o 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.
· Other:
o Manages and monitors agency’s cash flow and working capital to assure funds are deployed optimally; manages investment of available funds to ensure maximum returns within established guidelines.
o Assures that all short- and long-term debt documents (e.g., mortgages, bonds, loans, and lines of credit) are in proper order, and that the agency is in compliance with all terms and covenants thereof (in consultation with the Executive Vice President.
o Oversees agency purchasing function and insures optimum vendor pricing and performance in compliance with agency and regulatory bid requirements.
Qualifications:
· Bachelor of Arts 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 the nonprofit field.
· 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, including but not limited to funding from the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, State Education Department or the Department of Health, or comparable programs in other jurisdictions.
· 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.
Salary will be commensurate with experience. For more information on the Birch Family Services, please visit their website at www.birchfamilyservices.org.
To Apply:
Birch Family 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 Associate
Harris Rand Lusk
261 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
amccarthy@harrisrand.com
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