Job Description

Finance Director (part-time)

Pay Range: $110,000 to $120,000 FTE ($55,000 - $60,000 at 0.5 FTE)

Purpose:  

The Finance Director is responsible for major aspects of our financial operations. This position will manage a $7M budget, oversee accounting activities and processes, negotiate agency contracts, analyze budget to actual, produce financial reporting, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. This position reports to the Assistant Vice President of Programs and Operations and works closely with the CEO to provide financial guidance and support to help the organization achieve its mission and goals. 

The Finance Director is comfortable planning and overseeing big infrastructure projects and is passionate about getting all the details right. This person approaches their organizational responsibilities with rigor, precision, and a strong connection to our mission. This accessible, trustworthy, and transparent leader operates from an unwavering commitment to ethics on a daily basis. 

About the Organization:

Do you love libraries and want to work at one of the most well-known buildings in San José? The San José Public Library is proud to be one of the nation’s best public library systems with 25 branches across the city. Part of its success is owed to the dynamic and committed Library Foundation, which is a separate 501(c)3 established in 1987 by a group of community volunteers who understood that a great library system needed more than public funding. The San José Public Library Foundation (SJPLF) has raised more than $45 million to enhance the Library above and beyond what tax-based funding provides for buildings, programs, collections, and services. The Foundation takes its fundraising direction from the Library’s identification of persistent and emerging community needs. Our mutually respectful and collaborative work will result in more students being prepared for success from kindergarten to college and career; more adults being fully informed and able to participate in civic life; greater access to information in print and digital forms; and for everyone to find the spark that ignites their curiosity, imagination, and wonder. 

CORE DESCRIPTION: 

• Strategically manage financial resources, budgets, and expenditures to ensure that SJPLF is well-equipped to make values-driven decisions to achieve our goals.
• Independently make decisions around financial management rooted in experience and judgment with an eye for opportunity and improvement. 
• Lead the operations team in ensuring smooth and accurate financial processes and manage the monthly close process with our accounting service provider.
• Oversee annual audit preparations and serve as an internal resource, model, and steward of strong internal controls. 
• Lead organizational financial strategy, including investment strategy and management, through a collaborative process. 
• Direct the development of organizational budget and regular reporting procedures for cash flow projections and management of resources.
• Prepare financial reports and budgets for funding proposals.
• Communicate financial results to management and the Board of Directors’ finance committee. 
• Support and advise the Board of Directors’ finance and audit committees in conducting their responsibilities on behalf of the organization. 
• Develop and manage relationships with financial vendors including banking and credit card accounts, accounting firms, retirement advisors, and investment management firms. 
• Continually assess the efficacy of internal financial policies and recommend and draft updates, as needed.
• Address inquiries regarding organizational finances from external partners such as funders, inspiring confidence through representation of SJPLF values and fiscal responsibility.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

Accounting

• Manage third-party provider(s) for accounting, finance, and payroll operations, including review of monthly close processes and financial reporting
• Manage the Foundation’s annual audit and serve as the primary internal contact during the preparation, actual, and post-stages of the audit. 
• Oversee banking activities and actively manage cash flow to ensure it meets program and operational needs. 
• Supervise staff responsible for AP/AR and ensure proper training and development. 
• Oversee, review, and update internal controls. 

Finance

• Report on financial results and issues to the CEO and Board of Directors. 
• Work directly with an assigned committee of the board, develop policies, and monitor their implementation. 
• Represent finance in cross-functional, organization-wide decision-making, strategy development, and operational execution.

Budgets

• Develop and revise budgets for the Foundation as a whole, individual programs, and new/proposed/expanded services. 
• Manage and oversee the organization's budgeting process, including developing annual budgets and monitoring financial performance. 

Contracts

• Manage the negotiation, execution, and delivery of agency contracts with funding sources, vendors, and collaborative service providers. 
• Manage the agency’s insurance program, including ongoing risk analysis. 
• Review efficiency/effectiveness of partnership with PEO upon renewal. 

Compliance

• Ensure that the organization follows relevant federal, state, and local regulations and laws. 
• Monitor changes in legal, regulatory, and administrative environments and implement changes needed to maintain compliance. 
• Prepare all program financial reporting required by funding sources.
• Maintain good working relationships with auditors, bankers, attorneys, and other professional advisors. 

REQUIRED EDUCATION, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or equivalent; CPA or CFA certification preferred. 
• Ten or more years of experience in accounting and financial management; nonprofit experience greatly preferred. 
• Knowledge and understanding of general business matters, including budget development, financial reporting, GAAP for not-for-profit entities, cash management, financial nonprofit laws and regulations, and banking. 
• Knowledge of computer systems, including experience with system selection, new system implementation, and project management. Strong technology and computer skills are required. 
• Experience in effectively managing and developing a strong staff team. 
• Passion, enthusiasm, focus, and creativity around SJPLF’s vision and mission. 
• Cultural competence and literacy surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
• Aptitude for building relationships based on trust, strong communications, transparency, and respect. 
• Excellent emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills; comfortable with ambiguity, with the ability to thrive in a dynamic, hard-working environment. 
• Adept with Windows operating systems, donor databases, and MS Office Suite (especially Excel, Powerpoint, and Word). 
• Experience in government contracts is preferred. 

Who We’re Looking For

• 10+ years of experience in finance and accounting operations with a preferred minimum of 3-4 years serving in management role(s) within the nonprofit sector. 
• Seasoned finance leader with a deep understanding of financial operations and strategy, its relationship to the work, and the infrastructure of nonprofit organizations. 
• Proven experience designing and managing financial processes that are deeply aligned with organizational values and support the achievement of organizational goals and mission. 
• Impeccable attention to detail and solid ability to connect the details to the big picture for others.
• Effective writing, editing, and verbal communication skills. 
• Demonstrated ability to consistently make accurate and clear financial assessments about a constantly changing organizational landscape and with foresight, make determinations, produce insightful ideas, and set forth impactful next steps. 
• Significant experience supervising people in a way that acknowledges differentials in privilege and power, recognizes their gifts, encourages their confidence, supports their growth, and holds them accountable to standards. 
• Track record as a collaborative leader who excels in managing multiple projects and is comfortable working in a fast-paced work environment.

Qualities 

• Sees infrastructure as their contribution to people power. You care deeply about the impact of systems and processes on people. You believe that by demystifying inaccessible systems, you can help organizations and teams be more financially effective, and individual team members be more confident in the process. Moving with a keen awareness of the organizational power inherent in your role, you can self-regulate in order to mitigate the harms of hierarchy. 
• Lends gravitas to the day-to-day of “back-office”. You understand exactly why and how seemingly small items – like accurate codes in a chart of accounts or a clearly drafted vendor agreement – can impact the successful pursuit of an organization’s mission and goals, and you are able to clearly explain that connection to others. You are accomplished in your field and consistently make strategic decisions that inspire respect and confidence from others. You bring clarity and calm to your collaborative practice. 
• Discernment and honesty we can trust. You are a thoughtful team member who acts in alignment with your integrity and are unfailingly trustworthy.
• Uplifting and additive. You see mistakes as opportunities for growth; problems as catalysts for solutions; and inspire others along the journey. You carry a positive approach, can-do attitude, and authentic kindness wherever you go. 

Compensation:

This is a part-time, exempt, position with a high degree of autonomy. The 50% proportionate salary range is $55,000 - $60,000 dependent upon experience. SJPLF provides 401k with matching contribution, 17 paid holidays, and generous paid time off that increases with longevity, among other benefits. Professional growth opportunities available. 

Working Conditions:

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. The position requires the ability to sit for sustained periods of time and sometimes travel throughout the city of San José. The vision requirement includes close vision. The employee is occasionally required to lift 20 pounds.

SJPLF currently operates in a hybrid working situation with in-office attendance required at least 60%.

How to Apply: 

Please address a personal, specific, and thoughtful cover letter to the “SJPLF Hiring Committee”. Your resume tells us what you can do; your cover letter should tell us who you are and why you want to work with SJPLF. If you have questions or need special accommodation to apply, contact 408-808-2174 or email [email protected]. Early submissions encouraged; candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Position will remain open until filled and removed from SJPLF’s website.

We thrive as an organization when unique identities, experiences, and perspectives are represented. The San José Public Library Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a workplace without discrimination and harassment of any kind. All qualified candidates will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, or protected veteran or disabled status. For more information about SJPLF, visit

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