Chief Financial Officer

About Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County

Founded in 1965 as part of the nation’s War on Poverty, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA) is one of the largest and most prominent public interest law firms in California. NLSLA provides free assistance to more than 160,000 individuals and families a year through innovative projects that expand access to justice and address the most critical needs of people living in poverty throughout Los Angeles.

NLSLA attorneys specialize in areas of the law that disproportionately impact low-income people, including affordable housing and eviction defense, access to public benefits, support for domestic violence survivors, access to healthcare, worker and consumer rights, services for justice-involved adults and youth, education rights, and employment and training. A few of NLSLA’s current initiatives are the Health Consumer Center and Medical Legal Community Partnership projects; Self-Help Legal Access Centers; Lawyers Preventing and Ending Homelessness Project; Stay Housed LA; and Shriver-LA.

With a budget of $35 million and a staff of over 200, NLSLA is a community of people who see the law as a powerful tool to fight for individual rights and social change. Their work aims to unravel entrenched disparities that have resulted from long standing injustice, systemic racism, and institutionalized inequality. NLSLA staff members are housed in four regional offices across LA County located in Pacoima, El Monte, Boyle Heights, and Glendale.

To learn more about NLSLA visit https://nlsla.org/.

The Opportunity

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will bring leadership to a large public interest law firm working every day to expand access justice to low-income LA County residents regardless of socioeconomic status. The CFO will be responsible for ensuring effective finance and reporting structures, along with management and oversight of the Finance department to help NLSLA achieve its mission.

Reporting to the President & CEO, the CFO will manage a team of seven highly skilled finance and accounting professionals, and collaborate with the Director of Grants Management & Compliance, along with other members of the leadership team. In addition to motivating, developing, and retaining a strong team, the CFO will also lead an effort to streamline NLSLA’s financial systems and processes to be at the forefront of financial management and technology. Additionally, this leader will help support other departments to obtain necessary financial data to inform decision-making and strategy.

The CFO’s specific areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to:

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Input & Organizational Leadership

• Contribute to the creation, refining, and execution of NLSLA’s organizational strategy
• Execute NLSLA’s multi-year, detailed financial model, and department-specific annual staffing plans
• Serve as a thought partner and organization-wide culture leader, including representing NLSLA’s commitments to unraveling entrenched disparities and longstanding injustice to achieve its mission

Financial Planning and Management

• Partner with Director of Grants Management & Compliance to track and manage a diverse portfolio of grants
• Define the organization’s financial strategy; communicate financial requirements and implications of business decisions to leadership and the Board of Directors
• Build and lead the annual budgeting process, month-end close process, and ongoing forecasting
• Manage the organization’s cash flow; support business planning with sophisticated financial models and accurate revenue forecasts
• Oversee the approval and processing of revenue, expenses, the general ledger, account maintenance, data entry, and financial record-keeping

Systems Automation

• Lead the Finance function with a vision for creating state-of-the-art infrastructure to get the most from an already highly skilled team of finance and accounting professionals
• Review, manage, and implement the automation of financial and accounting processes and systems in partnership with an automation consultant
• Refine and implement tools and processes for financial reporting, cost accounting, and other departmental work management reports and accounts

People and Culture Management

• Sustain a work culture that supports a safe, healthy, fun, motivated, inclusive, and equitable work environment for all staff
• Ensure appropriate, effective, and clear channels of communication and a shared understanding of responsibilities across the finance team
• Leverage the collective talent of the finance staff with a consistent emphasis on professional development and growth opportunities
• Work closely with the Executive team on union relations and collective bargaining agreement

Ideal Candidate

NLSLA seeks a service-oriented leader with a demonstrated commitment to social justice, who values collaboration, and inclusion while holding themselves and others to the highest degree of excellence and integrity. In their work to combat the immediate and long-lasting effects of poverty and expanding access to health, opportunity, and justice in Los Angeles’ diverse neighborhoods, NLSLA needs a CFO with experience working closely with lawyers and unions. The CFO must be a leader who brings experience or familiarity in navigating the uniqueness that comes with financial management and grantmaking in legal aid. A people-first leader who motivates and inspires, and gets the best out of their teams, in alignment with NLSLA’s mission.

The ideal candidate will thoughtfully balance adherence to the highest levels of compliance with laws and regulations, while also operating with a solutions-oriented mindset. Working proactively with and across teams, the CFO will partner with leaders to identify pathways that meet financial obligations and prioritize the organization’s programmatic and strategic objectives. Essential in this work is a combination of financial acumen and emotional intelligence.

This position may be right for you if:

• You thrive in a fast-paced environment and excel at moving through tasks and problem solving independently
• You maintain a positive attitude and goal-oriented focus in a work environment that call for the need to balance diverse tasks.
• You know that integrity matters and exhibit a strong adherence to ethical standards including, but not limited to, the ability to maintain confidentiality and fiduciary responsibility
• You have strong instincts and can seamlessly self-direct your workload with minimal supervision
• You are a gifted collaborator and enjoy working in a high-volume team environment
• You are a good communicator who knows when to ask for help, how to contribute to the team, and how to receive feedback and apply it to your work performance

Qualifications

With the understanding that no one person will offer every desired skill and characteristic outlined below, compelling candidates will offer most of the following:

• At least 5 years of VP-level leadership and management experience
• Experience working in a nonprofit, preferably a legal aid organization
• Nonprofit accounting
• CPA or audit background
• Experience with a union and collective bargaining agreements is a plus
• Prior experience working closely with lawyers is preferred

Compensation, Benefits

The annual base salary for this role will be competitive and commensurate with successful candidate skills and experiences. The projected salary for this role is $170,000-$200,000 with generous benefits, including:

• 15 paid holidays per year
• 2 to 5 weeks of vacation per year depending on seniority
• 12 days of sick leave per year
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance; life and AD&D insurance; FSA; and EAP
• A 403(b)-retirement plan with employer contributions
• Monthly bilingual supplement
• NLSLA currently follows a hybrid work schedule

This position is based at the NLSLA office in Glendale, California with at least three days in-office each week. Also, this role requires occasional travel to the other NLSLA offices across LA County.

NLSLA EEO Statement

NLSLA is committed to provide a work environment that respects the dignity and worth of each individual and is free from all forms of employment discrimination based on each and every characteristic protected under the law and beyond. 

Decisions related to hiring, compensating, training, evaluating performance, promoting, or terminating are made fairly, and are based on job-related qualities and abilities. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and employees. We examine our unconscious biases and take responsibility for always striving to create an inclusive environment that makes every employee and candidate feel welcome.

We further expect every member of the NLSLA community to do their part to cultivate and maintain an environment where everyone has the opportunity to feel included, and is afforded the respect and dignity they deserve.

To Be Considered

Please submit your resume and cover letter expressing your interest in the position and fit for the role via the “Become a Candidate” button. Letters may be addressed to Kevin Bryant.

Applicants applying by March 8^th will be given priority consideration, with the position open until filled.