Korn Ferry has partnered with our client on their search for the role, Chief Financial Officer.
Purpose of the Position
The Jewish Federation Los Angeles is seeking an accomplished, strategic, and highly collaborative Chief Financial Officer to join the organization at an important moment in its continued evolution. As one of the most significant Jewish communal organizations in the country, the Federation operates at the intersection of philanthropy, community impact, organizational stewardship, and long-term financial sustainability.
The next CFO will inherit a strong platform with the opportunity to further elevate how financial strategy, stewardship, insight, and decision-making advance the Federation’s mission. More than the organization’s senior financial leader, the CFO will be an enterprise partner and steward of the resources entrusted to the Federation, helping ensure they are deployed thoughtfully today while strengthening Jewish life for generations to come.
The Leadership Mandate
- Strategic business partner: Move beyond reporting what happened financially. The CFO should bring foresight, scenario planning and financial perspective into major organizational decisions.
- Steward for generations: Oversee the resources entrusted to the Federation with both today's mission and tomorrow's Jewish community in mind. The CFO will help leadership make thoughtful choices about where to invest, where to exercise discipline, and how to balance current community needs with long-term financial sustainability and the responsibility to preserve resources for generations to come.
- Trusted advisor and financial storyteller: Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, the Board, and lay leaders, translating complex financial information into clear, timely, decision-useful insights. Bring candor, accessibility, and sound judgment to conversations, enabling stakeholders with varying levels of financial expertise to make informed decisions with confidence.
- Modernize systems, processes and insights: Build on recent systems improvements to further modernize financial processes, reporting, forecasting, and technology, identifying opportunities to leverage automation and emerging tools to improve efficiency, accuracy, transparency, and the quality of financial insight available across the organization.
- Build a high-performing, mission-connected finance organization: Build upon the strengths of the existing team while developing a high-performing, collaborative finance function known for accountability, service, accessibility, and partnership. The CFO will develop talent, create greater clarity around roles and processes, and ensure the finance team understands how its work enables the Federation's broader mission and impact.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the Federation's enterprise financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and analysis, providing forward-looking insight into financial performance, liquidity, emerging risks, and opportunities to support executive and Board decision-making.
- Partner with the Deputy CEO to develop organizational strategy, ensuring financial considerations inform enterprise priorities, resource allocation, growth opportunities, and long-term sustainability; represent the organization and its mission with key internal and external stakeholders.
- Oversee operations of the accounting department, setting accounting policies and procedures to ensure recordkeeping is accurate and proper financial and internal controls are in place at all times in accordance with GAAP.
- Responsible for all contract processes, procedures and compliance.
- Assess and review accounting systems to ensure productivity and efficiency are maximized.
- Work with the Executive Management Team and department heads to drive the priorities of budget development and manage effective implementation of the annual budget & monitoring of the budget throughout the year with department heads.
- Manage the Federation's banking and financial institution relationships, including negotiation of terms and oversight of related services and agreements.
- Serve as a trusted financial advisor to the Board and lay leadership, providing clear, timely, decision-useful reporting and executive support to the Finance & Administration, Budget, Audit, Investment, Risk Management, Pension, and other financial committees and subcommittees, and partner with COO as appropriate.
- Investment, Treasury & Long-Tern Stewardship:
- Oversee the stewardship of the community’s endowment and long-term investment assets, working closely with the Investment Committee to establish and execute investment policy, asset allocation, and spending policy that balance current needs with protecting the Jewish future for generations.
- Select, manage, and evaluate outside investment advisors, consultants, and fund managers, establishing clear expectations around performance, risk, reporting, benchmarks, and fee transparency.
- Lead treasury and liquidity management, balancing cash requirements for current programs, grants, and allocations with the responsible management and growth of restricted and unrestricted reserves.
- Bring forward opportunities for mission-aligned and impact investing, helping the Board and Investment Committee thoughtfully weigh financial return, risk, liquidity, and the Federation’s shared values.
- Development & Philanthropy
- Partner with the Development team on planned and legacy gifts, including complex and non-cash assets such as real estate, closely held business interests, and securities, ensuring each gift is appropriately evaluated, accepted, valued, accounted for, and managed in partnership with legal, tax, and outside advisors as appropriate.
- Ensure donor-restricted and endowed funds are tracked, managed, and deployed in accordance with donor intent, providing clear and transparent reporting that builds confidence and trust with donors, executive leadership, and the Board.
- Oversee management of retirement plan(s).
- Manage relationships with partner organizations and former beneficiary agencies on shared programs, benefits and billings.
- Responsible for risk management processes and programs, and annual insurance renewals. Advise and coordinate with COO on liability issues pertaining to the work of the Federation.
- Develop relationships with relevant fiscal agents and bodies locally and nationally; stimulate and facilitate lay leaders' policy making & advisory participation in the affairs of Federation.
- Supervise Federation and certified audits.
- Recommend & assist in formulation of new fiscal and compliance policies & procedures & modification of existing policies & procedures.
- Provide financial information to support disposition of community owned facilities.
The Candidate
The Federation is seeking a CFO who sees finance not simply as a function to manage, but as a strategic lever for mission, impact, and long-term resilience. This leader will combine sophisticated financial expertise with the judgment, curiosity, and interpersonal effectiveness to operate as an enterprise leader, equally comfortable engaging deeply in complex financial matters and helping colleagues and lay leaders understand what the numbers mean for the organization's strategy, priorities, and future.
Candidates may come from nonprofit, philanthropy, healthcare, higher education, professional services, or other complex environments, although meaningful exposure to nonprofit finance, fund accounting, or similarly complex mission-driven financial models will be highly valued.
Experience and Qualifications
- 10+ years progressive senior financial leadership.
- Sophisticated experience within a complex, multi-stakeholder organization.
- Meaningful nonprofit/fund accounting experience or highly transferable equivalent experience.
- Significant experience with budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, cash/liquidity, audit and controls.
- Experience leading and developing finance teams.
- Experience presenting to Boards/committees.
- CPA/MBA/advanced degree preferred.
- Jewish communal experience welcomed but not required.
Knowledge, Skills, and Leadership Competencies
- Exceptional financial acumen, with demonstrated expertise in financial planning and analysis, budgeting, forecasting, accounting, financial reporting, cash management, internal controls, and organizational financial strategy.
- Strong strategic and data-informed judgment, with the ability to analyze complex financial and operational information, identify trends and risks, evaluate alternatives, and translate financial data into clear recommendations that support organizational decision-making.
- Comprehensive understanding of financial governance, audit requirements, regulatory compliance, risk management, and generally accepted accounting principles, with the ability to maintain strong systems of financial accountability and internal control.
- Demonstrated experience overseeing investment, treasury, liquidity, reserve, or endowment assets, with the ability to work effectively with investment committees, external advisors, consultants, and fund managers; experience with donor-restricted assets, planned giving, or complex non-cash gifts is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated ability to lead, develop, and hold accountable high-performing Finance teams while fostering collaboration, operational discipline, continuous improvement, and effective partnership across departments.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities, lead through periods of organizational change or financial complexity, meet critical deadlines, and maintain accuracy and sound judgment under pressure.
- Knowledge of Judaism and the Jewish community, or a demonstrated ability and commitment to develop that knowledge quickly and apply it with cultural sensitivity and an understanding of the organization’s mission and community responsibilities.
SE: 510804519
