Cambridge, MA

Vice President, Finance & Operations, Center for Effective Philanthropy
The Organization About CEP

For more than a decade, CEP has led the movement to improve philanthropy through a powerful combination of dispassionate analysis and a passionate commitment to improving lives.

Today, over 300 funders have used CEP’s assessment tools to gather honest feedback from their stakeholders in an effort to learn how to be even more effective. CEOs and trustees have come to rely on our research for insights into foundation effectiveness on a wide range of topics, from assessing performance to developing strategy to managing stakeholder relationships. Our highly regarded programming—including our biennial conference—gives philanthropic leaders an exclusive and unprecedented opportunity to connect with their peers. CEP is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a second office in San Francisco, California. Strengths of CEP’s work culture are entrepreneurialism, accountability, teamwork, collegiality, diversity, and mutual respect. Position Overview Vice President, Finance & Operations The Vice President oversees all aspects of the Center for

Effective Philanthropy’s (CEP) finances and operations. Reporting to the President and serving as a key member of the senior staff, the Vice President will be responsible for advancing CEP’s approach to financial and operational management and contributing to CEP’s overall strategic direction.

In addition, this person will ensure that accurate and useful financial reporting and modelling guides CEP’s decision-making. The Vice President will be responsible for ensuring the best processes and policies are in place for both finance and operations. The Vice President will manage a team of four to five staff and oversee relationships with a number of external vendors and consultants. This is a great opportunity for a proven leader with strong analytic, finance, and operational skills to contribute to a growing organization widely considered among the most influential in philanthropy.

Key Responsibilities: 

You can expect to contribute to CEP’s success by: • Advising the President and other key leaders on financial planning, budgeting, cash flow, investment priorities, and policy matters. • Serving as the key liaison to the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors and representing and presenting on key matters to both the Committee and the full Board. • Contributing to key strategic decisions, including how and whether to pursue opportunities to extend CEP’s work, helping to chart and model out potential economic models for different options. • Overseeing all financial, project-based, and departmental accounting, including cash flow and forecasting. • Capably representing CEP externally in banking and lease negotiations and in relationships with key vendors. • Managing relationships with CEP’s legal counsel and ensuring compliance with both relevant laws and best practices. • Taking on cross-cutting, important projects as needed and at the direction of the President. Examples include: ensuring ongoing compliance with EU General Data Protection Regulations; analyzing opportunities in new markets for CEP’s products and services; analyzing partnership possibilities; and exploring potential new office locations. • Directing information technology for the organization, overseeing relationship with CEP’s IT vendor. • Working with team to continually assess and upgrade CEP’s approach to internal controls, compliance with accounting standards, and other relevant finance policies and practices. • Overseeing the annual budgeting process that builds on CEP’s strong history of excellent financial management and its record of more than a decade and a half of consecutive surpluses and clean audits. • Bringing the highest level of integrity and a predisposition to be open and transparent with both colleagues and those outside the organization. •Setting the highest standards of internal service in ensuring CEP’s operations in both its San Francisco and Cambridge offices are smooth and conducive to staff doing their best work. • Managing the team in a way that both sets a high bar for performance and provides staff with stellar operational and administrative support. • Demonstrating a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in interactions internally and in approaches to processes such as vendor selection.

Qualifications/ Requirements:

• Business or Accounting degree mandatory, an MBA and/or CPA strongly preferred • Minimum 10 years’ experience including financial planning, modeling and analysis, along with responsibility for shepherding an organization or division through an audit process

• Familiarity with nonprofit finance and accounting environment and relevant regulations

• Proficient in QuickBooks, Salesforce, and Excel • Excellent judgment and creative problem-solving skills • Comfort with disagreement and ability to resolve conflict • Strong mentoring and coaching experience in a diverse work environment • Self-reliant but also open and collaborative • Flexible, energetic, with a high sense of individual responsibility and an ability to anticipate needs and plan accordingly

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills • Ability to toggle between the details and the big picture and to recognize the importance of each Benefits Our nonprofit model is central to our identity: our bottom line is impact, not profit.

Yet even as a nonprofit, we successfully compete for top talent across both the public and private sectors and offer competitive compensation and benefits, including: •

The annual salary range for this role is $170,000 to $185,000

Performance based incentive compensation plan • Comprehensive health and dental insurance plans • Generous paid time off plan, including up to 15 holidays, two weeks of accrued vacation, and two personal days per year • 401(k) plan with a 1:1 Employer Match up to 5% of total compensation • Generous annual personal professional development allowance • Flexible spending and dependent care tax free savings plans • Life insurance covered 100% by the organization

How To Apply :

Please fill out our application for employment and attach a resume and a thoughtful cover letter outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position.

If you have any questions, please contact Leaha Wynn, Associate Manager, Human Capital and D&I Strategist or Alyse d’Amico, Director of Human Capital at alysed@cep.org

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. CEP is an equal opportunity employer.

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