Director of Finance

IN-PERSON: Salinas, CA, USA 93901

About Action Council

The Action Council of Monterey County (ACMC) was created in 1994 to address unmet needs of low-income residents due to welfare reform. It has since evolved into a hub for social innovation, incubation, and cross-sector collaboration. Action’s mission is to empower people to transform their communities by incubating leaders, ideas, organizations, and collaborative action. This role presupposes a strong commitment to work with funders, policy makers and the community to facilitate change on critical issues. It has incubated Building Healthy Communities (BHC), Mujeres en Acción, and other grassroots organizations.

Building Healthy Communities Monterey County (BHCMC) engages and develops community leadership to achieve equitable outcomes in health, education, and economic opportunity. Coordinated through Action Teams, BHCMC works towards policy and systems change grounded in a healing-informed racial justice framework. The values of the organization include: resident centered / Resident voice, Power-building, Equity, Compassion, Healing, Dignity, Authenticity, Love, Unity, Solidarity, Justice, Affirmation, Inclusion, and People matter and are valued.

Position Overview

The Director of Finance will serve as the senior financial leader at Action Council of Monterey County, providing strategic oversight and management of all financial activities. This role works closely with the Executive Director and Board Treasurer to ensure fiscal health, compliance, and sustainability. The Director leads the finance team, coordinates audits, manages budgets and forecasting, and supports financial planning across the organization and its fiscally sponsored groups.

Primary Job Functions

• Lead the development of annual budgets and multi-year financial planning..
• Oversee grant and contract compliance, invoicing, and financial reporting.
• Ensure accurate, timely preparation of monthly and quarterly financial statements.
• Serve as the staff lead for annual audit and liaison to the Audit Committee.
• Develop and maintain financial policies, internal controls, and compliance systems.
• Partner with program leads and Executive Director (ED) to support program budgeting and fund development.

Specific Responsibilities of the Job

• Guide financial decisions in collaboration with the ED by monitoring and enforcing financial policies
• Protect organizational assets by establishing, monitoring, and enforcing internal controls.
• Oversee accounting systems including accounts payable/receivable, general ledger, and payroll functions
• Develop and manage the annual organizational budget in collaboration with ED and senior leadership.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly financial statements and dashboards for internal and board review.
• Coordinate annual audit process and ensure implementation of recommendations.
• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and funder regulations.
• Lead grants and contract management to ensure proper allocation and reporting of restricted funds.
• Collaborate with fund development staff to produce financial documentation for funders.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive finance and accounting experience, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Experience in nonprofit financial management required, including fund accounting and compliance.
• Strong knowledge of GAAP, nonprofit audit practices, and internal control systems.
• Experience managing government and foundation grants.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate financial information to non-financial stakeholders.
• Proficiency with QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, and Google Workspace.
• Commitment to the mission and values of Action Council and BHCMC, including equity, justice, and community power.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position is responsible for daily supervision of one accounting staff member.

Work Environment and Position Type

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

This is a full-time, in-person role based in Monterey County, with typical hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Occasional evening or weekend work may be required. Our office is located in downtown Salinas.

Benefits

Benefits include Medical, Dental, Vision and 403(b). We also provide competitive vacation, and sick leave. We value the well-being and health of our employees, which is why our benefits package also includes two yearly office closures of the organization mid-year and at the end of the year that will be considered paid holiday time off . Benefits are available when an employee completes the introductory period and meets eligibility

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, talk, and hear. The role frequently involves using hands to handle or operate objects or tools. The employee may occasionally be required to stand, walk, or lift/move objects up to 25 pounds. Specifi c vision abilities required include close vision and the ability to adjust focus. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

This full job description can be found on www.actioncouncil.org/careers