Chief Financial Officer, World Central Kitchen

About World Central Kitchen
Founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a nonprofit organization that is first to the frontlines providing fresh meals in response to crises. Applying our model of quick action, leveraging local resources, and adapting in real time, WCK has served more than 300 million nourishing meals around the world. 

WCK is a rapidly growing organization that has scaled from a $4M organization in 2017 to ending the 2022 fiscal year as a $500M+ organization. The impact and financial scale of WCK can increase and decrease year over year depending on the disasters and crises we are responding to. WCK is responding to disasters and crises in greater numbers and with greater complexities, such as the war in Ukraine.

About the Chief Financial Officer Position
WCK is seeking a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to join its Executive Team.  Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the CFO is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the organization's financial health including dynamically balancing cost, risk, optimizing and scaling the finance operating model, and continuing development of talent within the department. This position is intended to be hybrid, based in Washington, DC with 1-2 days on-site per week.

The CFO will serve as a key member of the Executive Team, leading and collaborating on all aspects of the WCK budget and finance operations.  In addition, the CFO will support and serve as a key resource to the Board of Directors Finance Committee. The Chief Financial Officer will manage a team of 20, including two direct reports: a Controller and Director of Finance.

Success in this role will result in efficiency and effectiveness of well-run financial operations and functions, such as accounting, and financial planning and analysis. This individual will optimize and scale financial systems, including cash flow planning, taxes, budgeting, and general accounting. This position will have accountability for leading, coaching, and developing experienced teams on financial performance as well as modeling and reflecting the WCK culture, which is collaborative, equitable, supportive, respectful, and focused on the fierce urgency of now, showing up in areas of international crises and disasters when others can’t or don’t.  Unique to this role is the opportunity to manage a vast network of local contractors, restaurants, and volunteers around the world.

The ideal candidate brings experience overseeing a complex, strategic financial function of an international organization.  S/he/they are creative, innovative, collaborative, rooted in equity, and aligned with the WCK culture and who wants to transform millions of lives around the globe through WCK’s mission.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and Organizational Leadership

• In collaboration with the CEO and the Executive team, support the creation and implementation of the organization’s strategic objectives with a focus on financial sustainability.
• Develop and direct financial plans to deliver the strategic business plan, organizational growth, and market opportunities.
• Promote and support a culture of accountability and performance, and equally important a culture of equity, inclusion, respect and belonging.
• Engage the Audit Committee of the Board and the Board of Directors as needed to ensure sound fiscal management.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across the organization as thought partners and ensure financial needs are supported.
• Ensure trust-based, collaborative, and cooperative interactions and clear, consistent communications with partners and vendors.

Leadership of the Finance Function

• Maintain executive responsibility for financial operations and systems, processes, and practices to optimize organizational capabilities, efficiency, and financial performance.
• Establish finance as a highly valued function within the organization by building internal analytical capacity, completing critical analyses, and providing ongoing insight to drive strategic and timely decision-making.
• Oversee financial forecasting, budgets and consolidations, and planning and analysis.
• Oversee annual and long-term financial planning processes, including driving continuous improvement to resource planning and utilization.
• Drive operating review processes to ensure accurate, timely financial data on budget and forecasting and define operational metrics for financial effectiveness.
• Develop tools and systems to provide critical financial and operational information to the Executive team and make actionable recommendations on both strategy and operations.
• Establish and maintain stable cash flow management policies and procedures and ensure cash resources are available for daily operations.
• Drive continuous improvement to the organization's cost model to maximize resources available to meet its external commitments and support growing operational complexity.
• Implement strategies to mitigate foreign exchange risk while managing costs across global markets.

Team Management

• Lead and manage a team of diverse financial managers and associates that provide global financial support across the organization.
• Prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion and act on these priorities by fostering diverse, equitable and inclusive practices to create a work environment where everyone can do their best work.
• Identify and hire the talent needed to achieve goals, ensuring successful employee onboarding, communicating performance expectations, creating goal alignment, integrating project and change management, giving and seeking feedback, providing coaching, measuring progress, holding people accountable, supporting employee development, and recognizing achievement and lessons learned.

Required Skills and Experiences
The ideal candidate is an innovative, creative, thoughtful, and curious leader who has an excellent record of achievement in roles of increasing responsibility. S/he/they should be prepared to work across a diverse set of disciplines, bridging a wide range of expertise, with a demonstrated ability to work with agility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a fast-paced, international, unpredictable, dynamic environment.

WCK recognizes that candidates will likely not bring the full collection of experiences listed here and is open to candidates with a broad set of experiences and competencies.

• Financial leadership experience at an international organization.
• Strong financial and analytical background with focus on skills that facilitate decision making.
• Experience in designing efficient processes to deliver budget and key financial analyses.
• Expertise leading investment strategy.
• Strong experience overseeing financial systems and reporting.
• Ability to influence with and without authority, establishing trust and rapport, and developing consensus amongst diverse perspectives to reach creative solutions.
• The ability to communicate complex financial concepts to partners with diverse backgrounds, including leadership, operating and program staff, and vendors.
• Strong relationship management and communication skills.
• The ability to understand and assess organizational risks.
• Ability to effectively inspire and direct staff (including cross-functional teams) in the areas of professional development, recruitment, performance, and time management.
• A record of/desire to model professional courage– engaging in trust-based debate and asking hard or unpopular questions.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this role is $200-230K.

• Fully paid medical, dental, and vision plans for employees and their dependents within 30 days
• 403(b) retirement account with 50% match up to 8% of employee salary deferrals within 30 days
• 100% employer-sponsored group life and disability insurance within 30 days
• Responsible/Unlimited Paid Time Off policy

WCK is an equal opportunity employer committed to inclusion and diversity and ensuring equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other protected characteristics.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment at this time.

Required Skills and Experiences
The ideal candidate is an innovative, creative, thoughtful, and curious leader who has an excellent record of achievement in roles of increasing responsibility. S/he/they should be prepared to work across a diverse set of disciplines, bridging a wide range of expertise, with a demonstrated ability to work with agility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a fast-paced, international, unpredictable, dynamic environment.

WCK recognizes that candidates will likely not bring the full collection of experiences listed here and is open to candidates with a broad set of experiences and competencies.

• Financial leadership experience at an international organization.
• Strong financial and analytical background with focus on skills that facilitate decision making.
• Experience in designing efficient processes to deliver budget and key financial analyses.
• Expertise leading investment strategy.
• Strong experience overseeing financial systems and reporting.
• Ability to influence with and without authority, establishing trust and rapport, and developing consensus amongst diverse perspectives to reach creative solutions.
• The ability to communicate complex financial concepts to partners with diverse backgrounds, including leadership, operating and program staff, and vendors.
• Strong relationship management and communication skills.
• The ability to understand and assess organizational risks.
• Ability to effectively inspire and direct staff (including cross-functional teams) in the areas of professional development, recruitment, performance, and time management.
• A record of/desire to model professional courage– engaging in trust-based debate and asking hard or unpopular questions.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this role is $200-230K.

• Fully paid medical, dental, and vision plans for employees and their dependents within 30 days
• 403(b) retirement account with 50% match up to 8% of employee salary deferrals within 30 days
• 100% employer-sponsored group life and disability insurance within 30 days
• Responsible/Unlimited Paid Time Off policy

WCK is an equal opportunity employer committed to inclusion and diversity and ensuring equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other protected characteristics.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment at this time.

To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume here.