Finance Director

The National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) represents, mobilizes, and engages young farmers to ensure their success. Since our founding in 2010, we have grown our grassroots network to over 200,000 individuals and partner organizations. We give young farmers tools to become leaders in their communities, building an effective political voice at the local, state, and national level. Together, we tackle the most critical structural and economic barriers that prevent motivated young people from starting and growing successful farm businesses—including access to affordable farmland, student debt, climate change, healthcare, racial inequities, and more. We have won historic investments in beginning farmer training, outreach to farmers of color, and farmland conservation. Our advocacy for a USDA Farm Service Agency microloan resulted in a loan program in every county that has served more than 30,000 farmers.

Young Farmers is hiring for a Finance Director with broad finance experience including accounting, gathering and evaluating financial information, and making recommendations to the Senior Leadership. The ideal candidate will have experience managing the finance function of a nonprofit organization (accounting, budgeting, controls, and reporting) and know how to manage the evolution of these functions within a growing organization. They can think strategically about the business model of a nonprofit organization and demonstrate creativity to refine the everyday processes that make an organization work. They prioritize clarity and accuracy in all their communications, can translate financial reports into understandable narratives for a variety of stakeholders, and understand how to support organizational leadership by orienting financial reports around key insights and actionable decisions.  They can anticipate questions and are prepared with compelling arguments backed with detailed financial analysis.

Young Farmers seeks to build a culture of financial transparency and shared budget ownership. The Finance Director will play a key role in developing processes, trainings, and tools that foster this culture and allow staff to effectively contribute to the collaborative budgeting and budget management process.

Title: Finance Director

Reports to: Deputy Director

Status: Full Time; Exempt

Location: Remote, U.S. Based Home Office – Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.

Start date: September  2024

Responsibilities

Financial Management (45%)

– Direct the preparation of internal monthly financial statements and reports and provide supporting interpretation and analysis.
– Supervise all accounting functions including accounts payable and receivable, payroll, month and year-end close functions, banking, and fiscal sponsorship.
Plan, coordinate, and manage the annual financial and single audit process, including preparation and review of analyses, process narratives, and other ad hoc requests.

– Serve as primary liaison with our independent auditors.
Direct the preparation of the annual budget and quarterly forecasts in collaboration with staff. Establish guidelines and resources for staff around budget and forecast development.
– Serve as staff liaison to the Board Audit Committee and facilitate quarterly committee meetings. Support Co-Executive Director and Treasurer engagement with the Board by conducting financial onboardings for new Board members and sharing financial updates at Board meetings as needed.
– Design accounting systems to achieve required results and assurance of financial controls; procure and manage necessary finance systems that meet the needs of the organization.
– Supervise the documentation of all accounting systems and procedures for optimal performance, controls, and efficiency.
– Supervise all accounts, ledgers, and reporting systems, ensuring compliance with appropriate Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, regulatory requirements, and audit requirements.
– Conduct financial analysis to support the union bargaining process.
– Provide analysis to leadership and program directors to support financial and business decisions.
– Optimize the handling of banking relationships and initiate appropriate strategies to enhance cash positions.
– Approve invoices, monthly staff expense reports, and bi-weekly payroll; ensure timely filing and payment of payroll taxes in partnership with payroll provider.

Project & Program Strategy (10%)

– Supervise long-term budgetary and business planning and cost management in alignment with the strategic plan in collaboration with the Co-Executive Directors.
– Work with the Leadership Team to integrate fundraising and financial considerations in their programming strategy. Develop budgeting tools and resources for staff to guide programmatic decision-making and understanding of program budgets.
– Work with Operations Team to develop organizational financial practices that serve to increase staff understanding of organizational financing and staff capacity for incorporating financial analysis in their programmatic decision-making.
– Support the Operations Team with revising the organization’s salary guidelines annually.

Development (10%)

– Supervise processes to facilitate the creation of budgets for grant proposals and manage overall financial operations to ensure accuracy in financial reporting and compliance with funder requirements.
– Support on fundraising strategy where applicable.

Staff Management (15%)

– Manage 3 direct reports on the finance team,  including attend & lead weekly check ins, monitor team workflows, prioritize and delegate tasks, recognize and address performance gaps and achievements, provide consistent and timely feedback, and support professional development. Make yourself available to meet with your team and your reports as requested.
– Attend the monthly Management Team call, helping to shape staff experiences at Young Farmers and stay up to date on organization-wide processes. Hold reports accountable to their completion of organization-wide and role-specific processes
Inform team of any organizational decisions/processes, make space for feedback, escalate feedback, and to ensure alignment with confirmed decisions.
– Perform managers’ administrative duties, such as approving time cards, time off requests, and expense reports, on time.
– Abide by and uphold Young Farmers Management philosophy and duties identified in the Management Manual.

Leadership Team (5%)

– Attend and participate in bi-weekly Leadership Team meetings. Complete all pre-work in order to provide thought partnership in org-wide discussions, decision-making, and updates.
– Uplift feedback and emergent issues to be discussed during upcoming Leadership Team meetings.
– Direct team-level responsibilities to ensure team meets its annual goals by facilitating weekly team meetings and quarterly stepbacks, supporting team members through regular check-ins, and facilitating opportunities for professional development.
– Lead goal setting, tracking, and accountability for the team. Make high level strategic decisions regarding the direction of the team’s work in alignment with strategic plan goals.
– Advise Executive Team on major organizational decisions, and serves as a problem-solving partner to other managers on staff

Other (5%)

– Work with fiscally sponsored chapters and projects to ensure compliance and efficiency of financial processes, and collaborate for their success and financial well-being.
– Provide ad-hoc financial support and consulting for organizational partners.

General Staff Responsibilities (10%)

– Serve as a contributing team member who willingly supports organizational efforts in alignment with the strategic plan and models the organizational values.
– All staff admin: individually complete time cards and expense reports on time, attend weekly staff calls, supervisory meetings, team meetings, staff retreats, and other staff social spaces, and participate in providing feedback and implementation of annual processes.
Qualifications

This could be the right position for you, if you have:

– 5+ years of progressively responsible financial leadership roles, including management experience in complex nonprofit organization with proven experience in managing an annual budget of $5-10 Million;
– 2+ years in supervising other accounting staff;
– Demonstrated accounting skills;
– Strong knowledge of US GAAP, plus two to four years of relevant industry experience in nonprofits;
– Experience helping a growing organization build finance systems, expertise, and controls over time;
– An ability to translate financial reports into understandable narratives for a variety of stakeholders;
– Deep experience with developing and managing grant budgets, government contracts, and other restricted revenues; strong understanding of nonprofit revenue classification
– Expertise in cash flow oversight (strategic planning, analysis, forecasting);
– Experience partnering with staff, leadership, and an active board;
– Expertise in Excel, QuickBooks and institutional financial management platforms
– A passion and commitment to Young Farmers mission and vision, and enthusiasm for implementing organization’s racial equity practices.
Experience supporting internal auditing and organizational reporting efforts.
– Detail oriented
– Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects
– Self-starter that checks in and collaborates

The ideal candidate may also have:

CPA certification preferred
Experience working in a fully remote environment.
Experience working on a farm or ranch and/or rooted in the agricultural community.
Excellent analytical and problem solving skills

Schedule and Compensation

-Regular full-time exempt employees work 40 hours per week including a one (1) hour paid lunch break each day.

-The current salary range for this role is $103,824, in accordance with our 2024 Salary Guidelines. 

-Young Farmers offers a competitive benefits package, health, vision and dental insurance, generous paid time off, paid sick days, personal days, paid family leave, and retirement matching.

A Note to Potential Candidates: Studies have shown that women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and we are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job. That candidate may be one who comes from a background less traditional to our field of work, and that’s okay. We would strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of the qualifications described.

How to Apply
Apply by July 26th using the form at www.youngfarmers.org/about/jobs/ to be considered for an interview. Applications without both a cover letter and resume will be considered incomplete.

*The job post is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing every activity, duty or responsibility that is required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change slightly or be added depending on the needs of the organization.

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Disclaimer: Part time and full time positions require legal authorization to work in the United States.

You will receive an email confirmation when your application has been submitted and no further action is needed. The team will reach out to you directly if your application is selected to move forward in the process. Email [email protected] with any questions.

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