The Role
Lead financial strategy and operations for the Observatory, including budgeting, forecasting, treasury, audit and compliance, sponsored award oversight, finance systems, Board liaison, mentoring finance staff, and fiduciary responsibility for retirement plans.
Summary Generated by Built In
Help Shape the Future of Discovery
At W. M. Keck Observatory, our mission is to expand humanity’s understanding of the universe—while honoring our responsibility to the land, community, and future generations.
As we look ahead to our Keck 2035 vision, we’re seeking a Chief Financial Officer to help guide the Observatory through its next chapter—ensuring we remain strong, sustainable, and ready to support world-class science.
This is more than a finance position—it’s a leadership opportunity to help shape the future of an institution at the forefront of discovery.
As CFO, you’ll be a key partner to the Director and executive team, helping align financial strategy with mission priorities. You’ll oversee the full spectrum of financial operations while also thinking ahead—bringing insight, foresight, and stewardship to every decision.
Our Mission & Values
At Keck Observatory, our work is driven by a shared commitment to advancing scientific discovery while honoring our responsibility to people, place, and community.
We are guided by core values rooted in:
- Stewardship – We care for our people, facilities, environment, and community with integrity and long-term responsibility.
- Service – We prioritize collective impact, supporting one another, the global astronomy community, and our local Hawaiʻi community to achieve shared goals.
- Collaboration & Inclusion – We work across disciplines and perspectives to solve complex challenges and advance discovery together.
- Excellence & Safety – We deliver high-quality work while maintaining a strong commitment to operational excellence and safety in everything we do.
- Competitive starting annual compensation ranging from $183,141 to $229,714.
- Generous benefits package, including 4 weeks of annual paid vacation.
- Robust 403(b) retirement plan featuring an 8% employer contribution with a 4% mandatory employee contribution.
- Tuition assistance for dependent children grades K-12 attending private school on Hawai’i Island.
- Comprehensive employer-provided health insurance, with a variety of coverage options available to employees.
- Opportunity to be part of a dedicated team advancing the frontiers of astronomy
Key Responsibilities
Financial Leadership and Strategy
- Lead the Finance Department and establish priorities, performance expectations, and accountability for finance leadership roles.
- Partner with the Director and senior leadership to align financial strategy with organizational objectives and long-term plans.
- Identify, assess, and manage financial risks to protect organizational assets and sustainability.
Financial Planning, Budgeting, and Analysis
- Lead and ensure the development of annual budgets, multi-year financial plans, forecasts, and scenario analyses.
- Review and approve planning assumptions, resource allocations, and financial strategies prior to presentation to the Board of Directors.
- Ensure clear, accurate, and timely financial reporting to leadership and the Board.
- Partners with the Chief Human Resources Officer to ensure compensation programs are financially sustainable and aligned with organizational and Board expectations.
Financial Reporting, Controls, and Compliance
- Maintain accountability for the accuracy and integrity of financial statements and financial reporting.
- Ensure a strong system of internal controls and compliance with GAAP, Uniform Guidance, applicable federal regulations, and organizational policies.
- Oversee audit readiness and support successful completion of external financial and compliance audits.
Treasury and Financial Risk Management
- Direct treasury strategy, cash management, liquidity planning, and financial risk management activities.
- Monitor financial position and ensure prudent stewardship of organizational resources.
Sponsored Awards and Restricted Funds Oversight
- Ensure appropriate financial oversight of sponsored awards, grants, and restricted funds, including compliance with financial reporting and audit requirements.
- Maintain responsibility for indirect cost rate development, documentation, and approvals.
Finance Systems and Data Enablement
- Provide leadership over finance systems strategy to ensure systems support reliable financial operations, reporting, data integrity, and audit requirements.
- Ensure financial dashboards, analytics, and reporting tools effectively support decision-making.
Board and Committee Support
- Serve as the primary financial staff liaison to the Board of Directors and its Finance and Audit & Compliance Committees.
- Support the Board in evaluating significant financial strategies and long-term commitments, including potential capital investments, partnerships, or operating arrangements.
Continuity, Mentorship, and Capacity Building
- Ensure continuity of critical finance functions during periods of recruitment, onboarding, or staff development.
- Provide mentoring, guidance, and support to finance leadership and staff to build capability and confidence over time.
- When necessary, assume or support execution of key financial tasks to mitigate risk, meet deadlines, and maintain compliance, with the intent of transitioning responsibilities as organizational capacity matures.
Fiduciary Responsibilities
- Serve as a fiduciary for the organization’s retirement plan, ensuring compliance, due diligence, and prudent financial oversight.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Education
- Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field.
Experience
- Minimum of ten (10) years of progressive senior financial leadership experience, preferably in a nonprofit, research, or federally funded environment.
- Minimum of five (5) years of supervisory experience.
About
At the W. M. Keck Observatory, we approach our work with wonder about the mysteries of the universe and with deep respect and care for Maunakea – a mountain revered in Hawaiʻi and unlike any other in the world. For more than three decades, astronomers using Keck Observatory’s twin 10-meter telescopes have vastly expanded our understanding of the cosmos through astonishing findings about our solar system, exoplanets, supermassive black holes, the evolution of the universe, and more. We are dedicated to the values of service and stewardship, while advancing the frontiers of astronomy, sharing our discoveries, and inspiring the imagination of all.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or related field
- Minimum of ten (10) years of progressive senior financial leadership experience
- Experience in nonprofit, research, or federally funded environments
- Minimum of five (5) years of supervisory experience
- Knowledge of GAAP, Uniform Guidance, and applicable federal regulations
- Experience with financial reporting, internal controls, audit readiness, and supporting external audits
- Experience overseeing sponsored awards, grants, restricted funds, and indirect cost rate development
- Experience directing treasury strategy, cash management, liquidity planning, and financial risk management
- Experience leading finance systems strategy, financial dashboards, analytics, and data integrity efforts
- Experience serving as a fiduciary for retirement plans and ensuring compliance and due diligence
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The Company
What We Do
The W. M. Keck Observatory telescopes are among the most scientifically productive on Earth. The two 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes atop Maunakea on the Island of Hawaiʻi feature a suite of advanced instruments including imagers, multi-object spectrographs, high-resolution spectrographs, integral-field spectrometers, and world-leading laser guide star adaptive optics systems. Keck Observatory is a private 501(c) 3 non-profit organization operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. We wish to recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Maunakea has always had within the Native Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain
