RiverFall Credit Union is seeking a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to join its executive leadership team in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Since 1953, RiverFall has proudly served the West Alabama community as a full-service, member-owned financial institution committed to providing competitive financial products, delivering personalized service, and fostering a supportive environment for its members and employees.
Reports To: President / Chief Executive Officer
Classification: Full-Time, Exempt
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Leadership Level: Executive Management
Supervises: Accounting and Information Technology Department Heads; general oversight of their departments.
Position Purpose:
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) provides strategic and operational leadership for RiverFall Credit Union's financial functions and executive oversight of the Accounting and Information Technology departments. As a member of the executive leadership team, the CFO leads financial strategy, balance-sheet and investment management, budgeting and forecasting, accounting oversight, internal controls, and regulatory financial reporting. The CFO advises the President/CEO and Board of Directors and helps position RiverFall for sustainable growth, sound risk management, and long-term financial strength.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
- Serve as a strategic advisor to the President/CEO and Board of Directors on financial performance, capital, liquidity, investments, and long-term financial planning.
- Lead annual budgeting, periodic forecasts, and multi-year financial modeling aligned with RiverFall's strategic priorities.
- Lead asset-liability management (ALM), liquidity, interest-rate risk, capital planning, contingency funding, and related balance-sheet risk activities; support or lead ALCO as assigned.
- Oversee RiverFall's investment strategy and portfolio within Board-approved policy, risk tolerances, liquidity needs, and regulatory requirements.
- Provide executive oversight of the Accounting Department, including financial reporting, reconciliations, internal controls, CECL governance, Call Report/FPR reporting, and financial recordkeeping.
- Monitor key financial performance indicators and communicate results, trends, risks, and recommendations to the President/CEO, Board, Supervisory Committee, and other governance groups as appropriate.
- Maintain strong finance/accounting policies, internal controls, and segregation of duties; serve as a primary financial liaison with examiners, auditors, investment advisors, and other financial partners.
- Evaluate the financial impact of major initiatives, technology investments, pricing decisions, contracts, staffing proposals, and capital expenditures; support major vendors and purchasing decisions as assigned.
- Directly supervise and develop the Accounting and Information Technology Department leads, partnering to set priorities while providing general executive oversight of their departments, budgets, major projects, vendors, controls, and succession planning.
- Partner across Operations, Lending/Collections, Marketing, Human Resources, and other functions to support enterprise decision-making and strategic priorities.
- Maintain current knowledge of credit union financial and regulatory trends; attend Board and leadership meetings as assigned and perform other executive-level responsibilities directed by the President/CEO.
Knowledge, Skills, & Leadership Capabilities:
- Strong command of credit union financial strategy, accounting, ALM, liquidity, capital, investments, budgeting, forecasting, and financial risk.
- Ability to translate detailed financial analysis into clear enterprise-level recommendations for financial and non-financial audiences.
- Strong supervisory, coaching, project-management, prioritization, and cross-functional leadership skills.
- Ability to work independently, exercise sound discretion, maintain confidentiality, and strengthen processes and structure where needed.
Leadership & Cultural Expectations:
- Operate as an enterprise leader focused on RiverFall's overall success, balancing financial discipline with member experience, employee experience, growth, innovation, and long-term sustainability.
- Build trust through transparency, sound judgment, follow-through, respectful challenge, and consistent accountability.
- Develop leadership depth and succession readiness within the Accounting and Information Technology departments while supporting collaboration across the organization.
- The CFO is expected to model RiverFall's Core Values: Be Kind, Remember the Why, Impact Others, Deliver Our Best, Grow Daily, and Engage Our Communities.
Compliance & Accountability:
- Comply with all applicable RiverFall policies, internal controls, confidentiality requirements, regulatory standards, and required annual BSA/AML, OFAC, information security, and other compliance training.
- Maintain appropriate separation of duties and promptly elevate material financial, control, compliance, or risk concerns to the President/CEO and appropriate governance body.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a closely related field.
- Minimum of five (5) years of progressive credit union leadership experience, including meaningful responsibility for financial reporting, budgeting/forecasting, ALM/liquidity, investments, internal controls, regulatory reporting, and financial analysis.
- Demonstrated knowledge of credit union financial management, including ALM, capital planning, liquidity, interest-rate risk, investments, GAAP, NCUA Call Report/FPR concepts, CECL, and examination/audit processes.
- Demonstrated supervisory and cross-functional leadership experience, with the ability to lead professional staff and department directors, set priorities, and drive accountability.
- Ability to analyze complex financial information and clearly communicate practical recommendations to executive leadership and a volunteer Board of Directors; strong judgment, integrity, confidentiality, and executive presence required.
- Significant current credit union finance experience is required. The successful candidate must be prepared to independently lead ALM, liquidity, investments, capital planning, budgeting/forecasting, regulatory reporting, and accounting oversight while partnering effectively with RiverFall's established leadership team.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Seven (7) or more years of progressive credit union finance experience, including senior-level responsibility for financial strategy, accounting, ALM, investments, or related functions.
- CPA, CMA, MBA, or comparable advanced financial credential/degree preferred.
- Experience with Episys/Symitar or comparable credit union core systems, ALM/investment platforms, and advanced Excel or financial modeling.
