Controller – Own the financial infrastructure behind $300M+ in annual global charitable giving

The hiring organization is a donor-advised fund sponsor that enables U.S. donors to support charitable causes internationally. They hold approximately $210 million in assets, process roughly $290 - $310 million in gifts and grants annually across seven donor-advised fund sponsor platforms, and channel support to several hundred charities overseas each year, moving between $7 and $10 million out the door in a typical week. Behind that volume sits real transaction complexity: multiple currencies, ~1,500 individual gifts and ~150 grant disbursements in each typical week, with volume increasing during peak giving seasons, and a fund structure spanning restricted, temporarily restricted, unrestricted, and designated funds.

The organization is bringing its core accounting and finance function in-house and building it around a single senior owner. This is a rare opportunity to design and run the finance infrastructure of a mission-driven organization with real scale and complexity; not to inherit a finished system, but to build one. The Controller will own the general ledger, fund accounting, treasury and cash management, investment operations support, compliance and tax, and the policy foundation that the organization's finance function has not yet had the dedicated capacity to build. As the finance function matures, this role is expected to grow in scope.

This role reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer, supervises the Gifts Coordinator, and will work closely with the Board, the Treasurer, the Audit and Investment Committees, and the organization's external auditors. It combines the technical depth of a hands-on fund accountant with the judgment and communication skills of a genuine strategic partner to leadership.

Required
• Deep fund accounting experience. Restricted and designated funds, fund-level reporting, spending policy mechanics, and earnings allocation experience. This is not a general corporate accounting role
• Track record owning a monthly close and an annual audit end-to-end, as the responsible party rather than a contributor
• Real treasury and investment operations exposure such as custodian statements, manager fees, and liquidity management
• Comfort working close to high-volume transaction processing without getting buried in the details or staying too removed from it
• Demonstrated ability to write clear financial policies and procedures
• Direct, responsive communication style and comfort making judgment calls and standing behind them
• Comfort learning, customizing, and improving the software that runs fund accounting, rather than working around limitations. This includes evaluating new tools and features as the finance function matures

Preferred
• Familiarity with international nonprofit organizations or faith/community-based charitable work, given the organization's grantee base
• Experience operating in a high-scrutiny environment requiring discretion with sensitive donor and financial information
• CPA strongly preferred

For full job description and additional information, please reach out to Eric @ eric@foundation-performance.com