Senior Director of Finance & Controller

About The Center: Since its founding in 1983, The LGBT Community Center (The Center) has been a place of hope and a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community in New York. The Center is today - as it was then - a place of safety, connection, activism, and joy.

The Center is a welcoming and inclusive space that offers a comprehensive array of services, both in-person and online. Each week, approximately 6,000 people come through The Center’s doors or sign online to participate in a range of programs, with 400 different support and social groups per month, as well as numerous special events. The Center also provides safe, nonjudgmental space for people to gather without programming, in the garden, the cafe, and in the Cyber Center. Among the many programs, youth can find a variety of activities in a dedicated youth-only wing, adults and youth can access career coaching and training programs to support economic advancement, and there is currently a licensed outpatient substance use clinic onsite and a licensed mental health clinic is slated to open in 2025.

For 40+ years, The Center of New York has served as an anchor institution for the LGBTQ+ community and as a leading nonprofit organization, both in New York City and nationally. The Center provides a place to connect and engage, find camaraderie and support, and celebrate the vibrancy and growth of the LGBTQ+ community.

About The Opportunity: The Senior Director of Finance & Controller role provides an opportunity for a seasoned finance professional and passionate people manager to work across our agency, ensuring the continued sustainment of our financial health and standards, while building the capacity of our team and enhancing our processes and systems.

Reporting to the COO, the Senior Director of Finance & Controller will serve as a member of our Senior Leadership Team, and will manage the Finance team. The Senior Director of Finance & Controller will lead the day-to-day accounting and financial operations, fiscal planning, and compliance, serving in the controller function. The Senior Director of Finance & Controller will need to understand the linkages between programs, operations, and the fiscal health of the organization, while developing and managing a service-oriented team. Working with the COO, the Senior Director of Finance & Controller will also develop, recommend, and implement strategies that promote the continued financial health of The Center.

Areas of Leadership:

Organizational Leadership & Strategy Connected to Mission:

• Partner with the COO and collaborate with all members of the Senior Leadership Team and Board of Directors to inform strategic, resource-savvy decision making related to the Center’s financial operations.
• Collaborate with the COO to provide strategic recommendations to the CEO and Senior Leadership Team based on financial analysis and projections, cost identification and allocation, and revenue/expense analysis. Anticipate trends and their implications on the future of the organization.
• Serve as a partner to other organizational leaders to ensure effective management of The Center’s financial resources and develop and facilitate financially related training to promote staff’s ability to aid in the effective management of its resources.
• Support the strategic planning process by providing financial insights, data analysis, benchmarks, key performance indicators, and identifying potential risks and opportunities to help The Center make informed decisions about potential new projects and resource allocation.
• Partner with the Development team to provide related financial information to prospective funders and support strategic revenue growth for The Center aligned with our mission.

Financial Management, Internal Controls & Compliance:

• Oversee and participate in all financial operations of the organization including accounts receivables/payables, invoicing, tax, accounting and month close, bank relationships, cash management, payroll, forecasting, and compliance activities. Assist in the optimization of the use of grant funds and the recouping of overhead costs.
• Generate and distribute accurate monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports for the CEO, Senior Leadership Team, staff, Board and other audiences as required.
• Provide guidance and leadership on the internal control policies, processes and systems required to manage the organization's financial and administrative operations in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
• Ensure compliance with all regulatory tax filings and audit requirements; coordinate completion of annual independent audit activities.
• Develop and refine financial systems and processes.
• Lead annual budget preparation at the organizational and grant levels, monitor budget variances and link actual results back to strategic priorities established by the Executive Team.
• Ensure proactive management of cash flow and forecasting, monitor investments within the risk tolerance directed by the Board and oversee financing strategies.

Manage the Team:

• Lead, inspire, and develop a cohesive and high functioning team of six, with diverse identities to effectively deliver outcomes while centering the Center’s mission, including four direct reports - Senior Director of Contracts & Finance Administration, Accounting Manager (Cash & Receivables), Accounting Manager (Payables), and Revenue & Billing Manager.
• Foster strong relationships, trust, and a collegial work environment between the Finance team and other teams.
• Assess and evaluate the team to sensibly structure the department for the future, maximizing individual and collective strengths, and ensuring it is deliberately integrated with other areas of the organization.

Equity & Inclusion:

• Provide leadership, vision, and coordination to champion equity within the Finance team’s day-to-day management, and to drive and center equitable decision-making relating to operations and community experience.
• Incorporate the perspectives of historically oppressed communities, including BIPOC, TGNC & gender expansive individuals, in the consideration of impacts and outcomes of decision-making processes.

Collaboration & Relationship Building:

• Partner with leaders of all teams and other members of staff, to elicit feedback and build buy-in for decisions related to the financial operations of The Center.
• Build trusting relationships at all levels of the organization, and with external constituents and vendors.
• Collaborate across functional areas to ensure systems, processes, and procedures are informed by the diverse needs of The Center’s internal and external constituencies.
• Support the Finance and Audit committees of the Board to build relationships, develop policies, and monitor their implementation.

Key Qualifications:

• Leadership & Strategy: Demonstrated experience as an organizational and/or functional leader in a mission-driven organization, including experience envisioning, developing, and leading financial strategy. High sense of responsibility and commitment to the mission of The Center. Skilled and authentic relationship builder who meets requests with thoughtful questions and a solutions mindset. Practiced in equity- and inclusivity-centered leadership that recognizes and balances diverse needs, experiences, and identities.
• Financial Management: 7-10 years in progressively expansive financial leadership roles, with demonstrated experience in non-profit accounting (past experience as a Controller strongly preferred), including the management of non-profit audits, internal controls, budget planning, financial reporting, and government contracts. A bachelor’s degree in accounting or related field is required. Master’s degree in business, economics, finance, or related field or CPA is preferred. Knowledge and accurate application of all aspects of GAAP and experience examining, developing, reengineering and recommending financial and technical policies and procedures. Proven track record of improving financial processes, bringing greater efficiency & effectiveness, and leveraging technology as appropriate. In-depth experience with nonprofit/fund-accounting software required, experience with Sage Intacct strongly preferred. Strong problem-solving and analytical skills with the ability to exercise sound judgment and make data-driven decisions based on accurate and timely analyses.
• Team Management: Experience on a senior leadership team, leading a multi-tiered function. Outstanding leader of people and teams with experience building departmental capacity through coaching, mentoring, and intentional development. Experience leading through change, including implementing new systems and engaging constituents to ensure buy-in.
• Equity & Inclusion: Track record of envisioning, leading, and implementing practices that demonstrably advance equity and inclusion within an organization. Leadership practice that actively centers equity and inclusivity in management and decision-making. Understanding of, and commitment to, undoing structural and institutional racism and bias and the spectrum of gender identity and bias. Consideration of the impacts and outcomes in decision-making processes and on underserved and historically oppressed communities.
• Collaboration & Relationship Building: Demonstrated ability to cultivate, grow, and manage positive, authentic, mutually beneficial relationships at all levels of an organization, across lines of difference. Outstanding interpersonal and relationship management skills, including the ability to identify and work through challenges, underscored by strong judgment and emotional intelligence. Proven collaborator, able to work with Boards and senior leadership teams, as well as across functions. History of giving and receiving feedback, both constructive and positive. Demonstrated self-awareness, humility, and openness to feedback.

Compensation and Benefits: The salary range for this role is $170,000 to $190,000. The Center offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, 401K with an employer contribution, voluntary life and LTD, employer paid STD insurance, paid parental, family care and gender-affirming healthcare leave. The Center also offers a generous paid time off policy.

Schedule: Generally Monday through Friday. Typical schedule will be 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with occasional evenings and weekends. Work days and hours may shift depending on scheduling needs; flexibility required. This position is classified as a hybrid role with a minimum of 3 days onsite per week, with Thursdays as a staff-wide in-office day.

The Center’s Commitment to Equity & Inclusivity:

The Center was born of community activism in response to the AIDS epidemic, ensuring a place for LGBTQ people to access information, care, and support that they were not receiving elsewhere. We opened in 1983 to help people who had doors constantly closed in their faces, ostracized by family, friends, and shunned by the general society. Since that time, we have continually provided a wide array of services and programs to serve our community, with an intentional focus on providing support to those who are most vulnerable. We have always taken great care to be a space that responds to community need; engaging in diversity, equity and inclusion work is another outgrowth of those ongoing efforts. We recognize that in order to help LGBTQ+ individuals and our diverse community achieve parity in health, justice, opportunity and success outcomes, our organization must hold a strong foundation and competency in, as well as invest organizational focus on, equity and inclusion frameworks, practices and policies. This is also true in our hiring and retention of staff.

The Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer.