LOCATION: San Francisco, CA
FULL/PART TIME: Full-time
REPORTS TO: President, Climate Imperative
POSITION SUMMARY
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will be responsible for the financial strategy and planning of the organization, ensuring financial health and sustainability. As a key member of the leadership team, the CFO will partner with the Climate Imperative Leadership Team and Board of Directors to drive organizational growth, develop long-term financial plans, manage resources efficiently, and ensure compliance with regulatory and grantor requirements. This role will report to the President and board officer. \
OUR COMMITMENT
We are committed to diversity, equity, & inclusion and to a transparent recruitment process that fosters belonging. Our goal is to hire and advance people regardless of race, gender, ability, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, military service, medical condition, and any other protected characteristic under local, state, or federal law. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.
We are committed to an accessible application process and employee experience. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please email [email protected].
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Financial Strategy & Leadership:
- Partner with the Leadership Team and Board of Directors to develop and implement financial strategies that align with the organization’s mission and long-term goals
- Serve as the organizational leader in all areas of finance and grants management, including managing and mentoring senior members of the finance and grants management teams
- Oversee the finance and grants management teams, ensuring accurate and timely accounting, budgeting, financial reporting, and grants management and compliance
- Support the team through financial modeling and reporting
- Prepare and present financial statements, including cash flow analysis, income statements, and balance sheets, to the Board of Directors, Leadership Team, and other key stakeholders
- Provide useful financial insights to help make better decisions about formulating and executing business strategy and risk mitigation
- Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and collaboration across the organization
Budgeting, Resource Allocation, and Grants Management
- Oversee long-term budgetary planning, forecasting, and cost management in alignment with the organization's strategic plan
- Develop and oversee the annual budget in coordination with program and department heads
- Monitor organizational performance against budget and recommend adjustments as necessary to stay aligned with financial goals
- Identify and implement cost-saving measures to improve financial efficiency
- Oversee the grants administration process, including reporting, compliance, and financial management
Risk Management & Compliance:
- Manage financial risks by developing and implementing internal controls, policies, and procedures that safeguard assets and ensure compliance with donor requirements, audits, and applicable laws
- In collaboration with the General Counsel, ensure compliance with federal, state, local, and organizational laws, regulations, guidelines, and best practices
- Ensure that grant activities comply with all legal, ethical and funder requirements
- Oversee annual audits and ensure timely and accurate filing of financial statements and tax returns
- Advise the Board and leadership team on risk management, financial controls, and investment strategies
- Ensure the integrity of financial operations, including compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and other regulatory requirements
- Oversee the financial reporting for all grants and contracts, ensuring compliance with funder requirements and maximizing revenue opportunities
EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or related field (Master’s degree or CPA preferred).
- Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in financial and grants management, including nonprofit experience
- Strong understanding of nonprofit financial management, including grant compliance, fund accounting, and 990 reporting
- Strong understanding of the grant lifecycle and best practices in grants management
- Experience operating in a small to mid-sized non-profit with a philanthropic (contributed revenue) business model
- Demonstrated success in leading and managing teams, with a commitment to coaching and staff development
- Strategic thinker with the ability to analyze complex financial information and make sound recommendations
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present financial information to non-financial stakeholders
- Proven experience with financial software and systems, as well as proficiency in Excel and financial modeling
- Ability to lead and work collaboratively in a team environment
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Attention to detail and commitment to accuracy
- Interest, passion, and commitment to reducing climate change
- Ability to prioritize and be flexible in a fast-paced, constantly evolving, and collaborative environment
SALARY
We provide a salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. The target national salary range is $260,000 to $280,000 with adjustments made for people in higher-expense markets, i.e. the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington D.C. Currently, all staff local to the San Francisco and DC offices go into the office one to three days a week. Equity is incredibly important to the organization, and a pay audit for equity is completed annually.
BENEFITS
Energy Innovation provides a comprehensive benefits package. The benefits include:
- Up to 100% of premium paid for medical, dental, and vision
- Short term and long term disability insurance
- Company sponsored life insurance and voluntary life
- Carrot fertility and family planning benefits
- Student loan repayment assistance
- 401k retirement plan with a company match contribution
- Annual professional development budget
- Internet, cell phone, and health & wellness reimbursement
- 14 paid holidays and four weeks of paid time off (PTO)
- Paid parental leave, jury duty, and bereavement
- Public transportation benefit options for office staff
- Regular staff lunches and team building activities
- SF and DC office stocked with healthy snacks and beverages
- An innovative, collaborative, welcoming work culture
ABOUT US
Climate change is governed by physical facts—about carbon sources, accumulation, impacts, and timing, and more importantly, about solutions that work. These facts must inform strategy: they show that avoiding dangerous climate change is only possible through strong policy to cut carbon, promptly, in the biggest countries.
To address these issues, Energy Innovation was established in 2012 as a clean energy and environmental policy firm to provide timely research and analysis on low-carbon energy policy options to policy makers, thought leaders, and members of the media. The Energy Innovation team has expertise in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable urban development, technological innovation, and energy policy design. In addition to conducting policy research, Energy Innovation also works with clients to facilitate philanthropic investments into technology and advocacy that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Innovation also staffs Climate Imperative Foundation.
Climate Imperative is focused on the most important climate policy decisions in the world and to do so equitably. Each Climate Imperative initiative targets one policy area and, by informing policy change, aims to save billions of tons of CO2e cumulatively by 2050. For each initiative, we are convening and supporting a talented, proven team of grantees, and supporting them to do whatever is needed: providing world-class technical advice, undertaking targeted communications, and/or building public support. The decisions targeted represent the largest near-term carbon abatement opportunities around the world.
Energy Innovation supports a hybrid work environment and requires all employees to come together in person two to three times per year.
What We Do
Climate Imperative Foundation's mission is to cut global greenhouse gas emissions at speed and scale — securing a better future for all. Climate Imperative is a 501(c)(3) public charity foundation that partners with experienced on-the-ground organizations to provide capital, technical support, and expertise to inform the most important climate policy decisions in major-emitting countries around the world, in this pivotal decade for the climate. We invest in science-based solutions, focusing on the policy decisions that will have the largest impacts on global greenhouse gas emissions alongside important health, environmental, and equitable economic benefits. Our grants support analysis, education, and action that is fact-based, guided by scientific analysis, and grounded in real-world conditions.
