Chief Financial and Operating Officer

Common Future works to close the racial wealth gap. Our current economic system does not work for everyone. Generations of Black and Indigenous communities and other communities of color have been and are currently intentionally locked out of wealth and power, holding us all back. Founded in 2001, Common Future is building a future where all people-no matter their race and class-have power, choice, and ownership over the economy.

As a women-led, multiracial organization, our diverse team of strategists, community organizers, financial activists, and policy enthusiasts provides capital, operational support, and strategic partnership to budding solutions addressing racial and economic injustice. To advance racial and economic equity, Common Future incubates, co-creates, and funds field-defining initiatives and influences key sectors. We collaborate with leaders who have the imagination and courage to rethink our economy. We bring initiatives that model how to build wealth and power in excluded communities to life.

Our culture values include centering equity, being the communities we serve, embracing experimentation, reimagining what’s broken, collectively solving problems, and modeling a new way of working. We strive to be an innovator that prioritizes the well-being of our employees. Read more about us at commonfuture.co.

Purpose

The CFOO is Common Future’s internal leader, working directly with the Office of the Co-CEOs to advance our strategic and operational priorities. The role leads finance, people operations, and IT/systems, with day-to-day decision-making across each, including vendor and banking relationships, audit engagement, HR policy administration, and team management. The CFOO steps into an Operations team that has already built the systems and cycles that support our work. Their charge is to maintain and refine those systems, empower the staff who lead our operational work, and help steward the organization through its next phase of evolution.

As part of a newly configured Executive Leadership Team, the CFOO will be a visible day-to-day leader and a steward of Common Future’s values, supporting both high performance and staff morale. The ideal candidate is thoughtful, adaptable, and strategic, with a roll-up-your-sleeves approach and the willingness to make difficult decisions when needed. They bring experience leading teams through change, a deep understanding of how to motivate and support staff, and the analytical skill to evaluate systems, policies and processes to implement improvements that last.

Position Responsibilities

• Internal Management, Executive Leadership, & Strategy (40%)

• Serve as the organization's internal leader, ensuring effective communication, information cascading, and connectivity across departments and subteams.

• Support coordination of the Executive Team’s priorities and topics, working closely with the Deputy Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant.

• Evaluate and ensure executive and operational alignment with organizational mission, values, strategic objectives, and key results.

• Act as a thought partner to Office of Co-CEOs and the Board of Directors, including on topics related to the financial and operational sustainability of the organization and internal culture; prepare memos, presentations, and other items to support the work.

• Support the ongoing evolution of Common Future's culture, keeping an inclusive and equitable workplace a top priority. Through action and behavior, model best practices and habits for staff.

• Lead and implement change initiatives related to organizational processes, systems, and infrastructure.

• Serve as a strategic financial advisor and partner to the Co-CEOs on annual budgeting decisions, major contracts and expenditures, and organizational culture, structure, and strategic plan.

• Support a culture that attracts and retains top talent for all positions at Common Future.

• Consistently communicate with the Co-CEOs on the organization’s overall performance, key decisions, and emerging operational and programmatic opportunities and challenges, and implement and track progress against our strategic plan.

• Finance (30%)

• Own the development and oversight of financial strategy and core finance functions (accounting, financial reporting and analysis, audit and tax reporting, budgeting, compliance, controls, and risk management) for two entities, Common Future and subsidiary Community Credit Lab, ensuring that resources are aligned with organizational mission and goals, providing reports and memos for Executive Leadership, Co-CEOs, and the Board of Directors.

• Lead treasury management for both entities.

• Oversee CF’s audit strategy, ensuring coordination between key stakeholders, e.g. Co-CEOs, Board, and Finance Team.

• Guide the high-level budgeting process to align with leadership priorities and organizational goals, while supporting the Director of Finance in leading the process.

• Provide oversight on all accounts, ledgers, and reporting systems, ensuring compliance with appropriate GAAP and nonprofit accounting standards and IRS regulatory requirements.

• Work with the Finance Team to maintain the financial management system while ensuring appropriate internal controls, financial policies and procedures, and an auditable fiscal structure.

• Oversee Common Future’s Fiscal Policies & Procedures, including Internal Treasury Management Policy, and provide strategic direction for banking relationships

• Serve as a key point of contact for the Board on financial matters, including reporting and long-term financial planning.

• Operations (20%)

• Set high-level vision and strategy for Operations and Finance, aligning team and organizational goals, while ensuring accountability.

• Lead the day-to-day internal operations of Common Future and work to solve issues quickly and effectively with an eye towards the best interests of the organization.

• Strengthen and streamline organization-wide operations through adaptation, shared learning, and continuous improvement.

• Directly supervise and support the Operations Team, currently the Director of Finance, Controller, Director of HR, Director of Systems and Information, holding teams accountable, delegating effectively, and supporting their development and growth.

• Broadly oversee and support the Human Resources function, including employee experience, culture, talent management, development, benefits, compensation, and compliance.

• Broadly oversee and support the Systems, Data, and IT function, ensuring an effective technology strategy and that existing tools, controls, and cadences continue to meet the organization's needs.

• Triage across the Operations subteams to ensure the people, financial, and systems resources needed to achieve our strategic priorities set by Co-CEOs.

• Compliance & Enterprise Risk Management (10%)

• Oversee CF’s safety and security framework, including cybersecurity protocols in collaboration with CF’s outsourced managed service provider.

• Coordinate with General Counsel and Finance team to ensure compliance with applicable Federal and State regulations.

• Ensure robust systems that strengthen the organization's infrastructure, including legal and risk management.

Desired Qualifications

• Executive leadership experience at the C-suite or senior management level, including budget oversight, capacity building, and creating streamlined, agile processes

• Commitment to dismantling unjust systems, with experience addressing bias and dominant culture in the workplace

• Advanced proficiency in nonprofit financial systems (e.g., QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct) and Excel, including multi-year modeling and scenario planning

• Experience with reserves and liquidity strategy, restricted and unrestricted revenue, and multi-entity financial oversight

• Experience partnering with a nonprofit Board of Directors, managing banking and treasury relationships, and coordinating audits

• Experience guiding a nonprofit from growth to maturity, including leading change management

• Comfortable operating in ambiguity, with a desire to seek clarity - comfortable asking hard questions to ensure alignment and comprehension

• Strategic communication skills to ensure organization-wide coordination and operational prioritization are effective and aligned with organizational goals

• MBA, Master’s in Nonprofit Management, JD, CPA, or equivalent experience (preferred, not required)

Competencies for All Common Future Team Members

• Understands the Work and Organization
• Project Management/Planning
• Relationship Building
• Strong Communication
• Strategic Thinking
• Practices Emotional Intelligence