Director of Finance and Accounting

Organization: Food Forward, Inc - a 501 (c)(3) non-profit

Position: Director of Finance and Accounting

Location: North Hollywood, CA (this position is currently remote due to COVID-19)

Organizational Overview: Food Forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people in need and inspiring others to do the same. Fruits and vegetables are collected in Los Angeles and Ventura counties from backyard fruit trees, public orchards, farmers markets, and the downtown Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Terminal. This recovered produce is provided, free of charge, to low-income populations across virtually all social service sectors: homeless outreach, food banks, domestic violence shelters, transitional youth homes, veteran services, after-school programs, LGBTQ+ teen/adult/senior services, programs serving people with disabilities, college student assistance programs, and many more. Since Food Forward’s inception, thousands of dedicated volunteers in collaboration with our staff have rescued over 100 million pounds of fruits & vegetables, helping to feed over two million people across eight Southern California counties this year alone.

Position Overview: As a key member of the Management team, the Director of Finance and Accounting will report to the Sr. Director of Operations and assume a strategic role in the overall management of the organization. The Director of Finance and Accounting will have primary day-to-day responsibility for planning, implementing, managing and controlling all financial-related activities for the organization. This will include direct responsibility for (i) accounting, (ii) financial reporting, (iii) finance, (iv) forecasting and budgeting, (v) strategic planning, (vi) audit and compliance, and (vii) maintaining close relationships with financial institutions which support the organization.

This person must be highly organized, extremely proactive, and creative with the ability to think outside-of-the-box, prioritize projects, and meet deadlines. The ideal candidate must have excellent written and verbal communications skills (particularly with financial and accounting matters), extensive financial planning and strategy planning experience with a $5M+ operating budget, and experience working with and presenting to a Board of Directors. This person is an effective storyteller for Food Forward who can make the connection between the organization’s impact on food equity and its financial strategy.

Core Areas of Responsibilities:

Business Leadership: Serve as a Business Partner to the Leadership Team and assist to drive strategic planning and achievement of company objectives.

• Monitors financial performance by measuring and analyzing results, initiating corrective actions, and minimizing the impact of variances.
• Reports financial status by developing forecasts, reporting results, analyzing variances and developing improvements.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare & present exec reports to critical stakeholder groups.

Controllership: Ensure the timely and accurate reporting of Food Forward’s financial information through leadership of all controllership activities, including revenue recognition, expense management, transactional processing, account reconciliations and analysis, and regular financial reporting.

• Oversees the general accounting function, which includes cash management/reconciliation, financial reporting, cash flow analysis and balance sheet management.
• Accountable for ensuring that policies and procedures (internal controls) are in place to provide reasonable assurance that the organization’s assets are protected.
• Ensures that organization’s financial records, are maintained in compliance with company policies and US GAAP. Responsible for reviewing monthly/quarterly account reconciliations and other documents to ensure this compliance.
• Supervises the completion of Federal and State tax reporting requirements, insurance reports and other reports required by government regulation.
• Coordinates and manages work relating to both internal and external audits in the periodic review of the organization’s financial records. Is further responsible for the implementation of agreed upon recommendations, related to areas of responsibility, resulting from the audit findings.

Financial Planning & Analysis: Assisting the organization to develop, manage, and analyze short- and long-term budgets and all related and supporting financial projections. Provide monthly, quarterly, and annual budget to actual analysis to inform management decision making.

• Ability to create ad hoc analysis by leveraging data from multiple sources to inform decision making
• Knowledge of industry standard business intelligence tools preferred
• Strong Excel financial modeling skills

Cash Management and Risk Mitigation: Develop and maintain cash management and cash forecasting tools to inform business decisions and ensure appropriate liquidity. Work with the leadership team to determine and implement risk mitigation strategies as necessary (e.g., credit facilities).

• Ensures that the organization’s funds are properly invested for maximum return based upon the Board of Director’s guidance for risk.

Qualifications & Desired Skills:

• Thorough accounting and bookkeeping skills
• Financial planning and strategy
• Costs management and controls
• Strategic planning and vision
• Promotion of process improvement/Change Management
• Forecasting
• Non-profit finance experience

• Budget development
• Audit management

Minimum Requirements:

• MBA or bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, or equivalent experience
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification a plus
• Minimum 10 years’ experience in accounting and financial management practices
• Experience in a senior management position
• Proficiency with accounting software (specifically, QuickBooks) and Excel spreadsheets
• Solid GAAP and financial reporting technical skills.

Salary: $75,000 to $95,000

Benefits:

• Medical, Vision, and Life Insurance coverage
• Simple IRA, with 3% employer matching (after one full-year of employment)
• Generous Sick Days, Paid-Time-Off and Holiday allocation
• Cell phone allowance
• Telecommuting and Work flexibility

Food Forward Core Values:

• Creativity – We seek to innovate in all facets of our work.
• Joyfulness – We cultivate a meaningful, fun, positive and spirited work environment.
• Committed to Food Justice – We believe that access to wholesome food, and fresh nutritious produce, is not a privilege, but a right. We work hard to end food inequality and reduce food insecurity.
• Authenticity – We are transparent and honest in our words, deeds, and actions. We act at the highest level of integrity.
• Disciplined – We are reliable, professional, accountable, rigorous and committed to excellence in all areas of our work, both internally and externally.
• Community-minded – We aim to include and connect people in the community, and to remain open, diverse, respectful, and accessible. We take pride in offering people meaningful volunteer and work experiences.

How to Apply: Send a cover letter and resume in PDF to career@foodforward.org.  In the body of the cover letter include 1) Where did you discover this listing, and 2) If you were a variety of produce what would you be and why?

The subject line should read, Director of Finance and Accounting – (Your Name). No phone calls. Please follow these instructions to ensure that we efficiently process your application.

Food Forward is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and strongly encourages people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, disabilities and those with protected class backgrounds to apply. We value the individuals that we hire and look forward to creating a positive work environment for all identities.