Senior Director of Finance

Position Title: Senior Director of Finance

Reports To: VP of Finance and Operations

Community: Bay Area 

Office Location: Oakland, Milpitas, Redwood City, or Richmond (Hybrid, 50% in-person)

Compensation: $131,840, generous benefits package

Status: Full-time, exempt

About Fresh Lifelines for Youth

Fresh Lifelines for Youth is an award-winning non-profit whose mission is to partner with youth to unlock their potential, disrupt the pipeline to prison, and advance justice in California and beyond. By 2030, through partnering with young people, communities, and systems, FLY will contribute to the fight for equity and justice by taking concrete steps to dismantle California’s pipeline to prison, equip 30,000 youth to transform their lives and create meaningful opportunities for them to live healthy, free, and productive lives. For more information about Fresh Lifelines for Youth, please visit: www.flyprogram.org

Senior Director of Finance - Position Summary

The Senior Director of Finance provides strategic and operational leadership across FLY’s financial functions, ensuring strong day-to-day financial operations, regulatory compliance, and effective grants and contract management. Reporting to the VP of Finance and Operations, this role oversees accounting and contract teams, drives budgeting and financial planning processes, and ensures the integrity of financial systems and reporting. The Senior Director plays a key role in building staff capacity, aligning financial practices with organizational goals, and supporting data-driven decision-making across the agency.

Financial Strategy and Planning

• Serve as the strategic partner to the VP of Finance
• Lead parts of the annual budgeting process, ensuring alignment with programmatic and strategic objectives.
• Analyze and report financial data to the VP of Finance, providing insights to guide decision-making.

Financial Management and Operations

• Oversee core day-to-day financial operations, including timely and accurate monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting in compliance with GAAP and all regulatory requirements.
• Manage cash flow to ensure sufficient liquidity and alignment with organizational reserves and planning needs.
• Maintain strong internal controls, lead reconciliations, internal audits, and proactively identify and mitigate financial risks.
• Lead preparation and submission of all regulatory filings, including IRS Form 990 and other federal/state requirements.
• Manage the annual audit process and serve as the primary liaison with external auditors and tax advisors.
• Oversee administration of the 403(b) retirement plan and ensure compliance with plan requirements.
• Improve accounting systems, policies, and procedures to support efficient, compliant, and scalable operations.

Team Development/Leadership and Staff Capacity Building

• Lead and support the accounting and contracts team (team of four, including two direct reports), ensuring clear roles, priorities, and accountability.
• Set and monitor performance and development goals; conduct regular check-ins and annual performance reviews.
• Provide coaching, mentorship, and access to professional development resources to strengthen team capacity and growth.
• Oversee staff training on financial systems, compliance standards, and operational processes.

Grants and Contracts Management

• Provide oversight and support with grant invoicing and reporting, including budget strategy, preparation, and compliance requirements.
• Coordinate with development and program staff to prepare financial information for grant applications and funder reports.
• Implement best practices in grants management and cost allocation processes.
• Oversee grant spending to ensure compliance with grant requirements, and applicable codes of federal regulations to ensure satisfactory audits

Compensation & Benefits

Our Total Rewards Package includes the following:

• Employer-paid medical dental, vision, and chiropractic healthcare
• 403b Retirement contribution match
• 10+ PTO Days
• 12 Holiday Days
• FLY provides 3-4 additional "rejuvenation days off" twice per year in July and December 
• Annual Wellness Funds 
• Annual Professional Development Funds
• Employee Assistance Program (paid for by FLY)
• Annual Staff Retreat, Holiday Party, End of Year Celebration, Team Off Sites, and other FLY Events. 
• Customize your Work Schedule (dependent on supervisor approval based on positional and departmental needs)
• Hybrid of In-Office and Remote Work (frequency of required in-person work is dependent upon the role)
• 8 Hours of Civic Engagement
• Mileage Reimbursement. 

At FLY, we have adopted a no-negotiation policy. This policy reflects our commitment to equity and ensuring that the offers we make to our candidates reflect competitive and appropriate compensation given the market and the role.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion

At FLY, we embrace a diversity of identities, beliefs, thoughts, and experiences. We commit to creating an organizational culture of equity and inclusion to better serve our youth and communities. FLY is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strive for an inclusive culture and a staff team that reflects diversity. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex/gender, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. We strongly encourage women; people of color, people who identify as part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities; people with experience in the juvenile justice or criminal justice systems; and people with disabilities to apply.  Fresh Lifelines for Youth is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at (408) 263-2630 or compliance@flyprogram.org

What to expect

• Application with 8-10 questions and an applicant screening question. 
  • No Cover Letter Required
• 2-3 Interviews (for many roles, at least 1 would be in person)
• Meet w/FLY youth

Position Requirements

The ideal candidate will have a deep commitment to equity, social, racial, and economic justice. They will have extensive knowledge of Finance, Accounting, and Government Grants. The candidate will believe in FLY’s vision and mission and will resonate with FLY’s values: accountable, dedicated, respectful, equitable and just, loving, innovative, hopeful, and youth-centered.

Core Competencies: Skills and behaviors that FLY expects and develops all staff to exhibit across all positions at various levels of proficiency (early stage, intermediate  and advanced) 

• Cultural Responsivity: Demonstrates an openness and commitment to equity, justice, and belonging. This includes being aware of one’s own bias and privilege, building an understanding of systems of oppression, and valuing diverse perspectives; you take actions to learn and contribute to an environment that creates power-sharing, access, and opportunity within our community.
• High Quality: The ability to own your work, be accountable, and take initiative to produce high-quality results. This includes setting and achieving standards that demonstrate a high level of care and commitment to our mission, our population, our colleagues and our partners.
• Collaboration: The ability to work effectively within a team and intentionally across teams to contribute to FLY’s mission and agency goals. When working with others, you exercise your strengths and build on the strengths of others.
• Communication: The ability to convey information effectively with consideration of the situation and audience. This includes communicating clearly with people of different backgrounds and cultures in which you demonstrate self-awareness, empathy, and active listening. 
• Problem Solving: Applies critical thinking to problem solving that considers multiple perspectives and actively identifies creative solutions to address individual and systemic challenges. 
• Adaptability: The ability to adapt and respond to change effectively. This includes engaging in continuous learning, maintaining a solutions orientation, and proactively seeking opportunities to be supportive of change that  best serves our mission.

FLY’s Leadership Competencies: Skills and behaviors that FLY expects and develops all staff in Leadership positions to exhibit across various levels of proficiency (early stage, intermediate  and advanced) 

• Emotional Intelligence: Demonstrates self-awareness and the ability to process one’s own emotions and the impact and influence on others. This includes maintaining a compassionate and authentic perspective of issues and information that allows you to effectively work through challenges with teams and to respond with empathy.
• Change Management: The ability to recognize a need and assess the readiness for change. This includes effectively promoting and building commitment toward change and successfully guiding your team through the implementation process. 
• Strategic Decision-making: Effectively structures and facilitates inclusive decision-making processes. This includes responsibly making informed decisions to improve organizational health and impact through the use of key information to problem solve and to identify equitable solutions.
• Develops & Motivates Others: Motivates, inspires and supports teams and individuals through strong coaching, mentorship, and targeted development activities. Builds healthy and effective teams through regular feedback, collaboration, role clarity and conflict resolution.  
• External Relationship Builder: Invests in and builds strong, trusted and ongoing relationships with external partners and cultivates new relationships. This includes the ability to analyze and understand relationships as a strategy for achieving the mission, which often means navigating complex relationships while anchoring to FLY’s values.
• Project Management: The ability to create project plans, implement plans with effective delegation to team members, and manage those plans to intended impact, while adjusting the course when needed. This includes managing at various levels of complexity and scale, as well as anticipating potential barriers and evolving plans to achieve the desired impact.

Note on Qualifications: In FLY’s quest for an equitable hiring process, candidates are encouraged to apply even if they feel they only meet 75% of the position requirements.