Chief Financial Officer

Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity is a Rochester, New York-based affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International — one of the world’s most recognized and trusted nonprofit housing organizations. We build strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership, home repair, and community development programs serving a three-county region of Monroe, Ontario, and Wayne counties. With a staff of approximately 50, we operate across multiple program lines — including new home construction, critical home repair, homebuyer education, a retail ReStore, and financial literacy programming. We are in an active period of strategic transformation: deepening our financial sustainability, diversifying revenue, and building the organizational infrastructure needed to grow our community impact over the next decade.

About the role

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a senior leadership role responsible for the full financial health of Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity — encompassing financial operations, reporting, budgeting, forecasting, facilities management, and strategic financial planning. This is a hands-on leadership position suited to a finance professional who is equally comfortable setting organizational strategy and rolling up their sleeves to work directly in the ledger when needed. The CFO serves as a trusted strategic partner to the Chief Executive Officer and a key liaison to the Board of Directors, Finance Committee, and Audit Committee. As the organization enters a pivotal chapter — reducing dependence on government funding, developing earned income streams, and building a new business model grounded in its track record of impact — the CFO will play a central role in shaping what comes next and will be a key leader in seizing opportunities to grow the organization.

Responsibilities

• Financial Leadership & Reporting
  • Oversee all financial operations of the organization, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, general ledger, and month-end close processes
  • Work with funders to effectively optimize grant contract funding and compliance
  • Produce timely, accurate, and board-ready financial statements, dashboards, and management reports on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis
  • Ensure compliance with GAAP, nonprofit accounting standards (ASC 958), grant reporting requirements, and all applicable regulatory obligations
  • Ensure compliance with all contract and government regulations and requirements
  • Lead the annual audit process; serve as primary staff liaison to external auditors and the Board Audit Committee
  • Maintain and strengthen internal controls and financial policies to safeguard organizational assets
  • Work directly in the organization’s accounting and ledger systems as needed with the ability to utilize fund accounting for grants management — this is a working CFO role, not a purely supervisory one
• Budgeting, Forecasting & Financial Modeling
  • Lead the annual organizational budget process in partnership with the CEO and program directors, including multi-year projections across all lines of business
  • Monitor financial performance against budget on a regular cycle; produce variance analyses and flag risks and opportunities to leadership and the board
  • Build and maintain financial models to evaluate new program initiatives, earned income strategies, capital investments, and business model scenarios
  • Develop and maintain cash flow forecasts and manage liquidity to ensure operational continuity
  • Provide financial analysis to support go/no-go decisions on new opportunities, including geographic expansion, technology licensing, and new program development
• Strategic Partnership & Revenue Diversification
  • Serve as a key strategic partner to the CEO — translating financial data into actionable insights, identifying risks before they become crises, and surfacing opportunities the organization is positioned to pursue
  • Play a leadership role in the organization’s business model transformation — helping design, model, and evaluate earned income strategies that reduce dependence on government and grant funding
  • Advise on financial structuring of new ventures, fee-for-service programs, technology licensing, and other unrestricted revenue opportunities
  • Partner with program directors to build financial literacy across the organization; ensure all lines of business understand their unit economics and sustainability targets
  • Assess the financial viability of capital projects, real estate development deals, manufactured housing initiatives, and other program investments
  • Serve as key partner to the management team to align the organization and ensure they have the financial information needed to achieve the goals for their areas of responsibilities
• Board Relations & Committee Liaison
  • Serve as primary staff liaison to the Board Finance Committee and Audit Committee — preparing materials, presenting financial results, and facilitating informed governance
  • Present financial reports to the full Board of Directors at quarterly meetings; translate complex financial information for non-finance board members in a manner they can understand
  • Support the board in fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities, including the review and approval of annual budgets, audit findings, and financial policies
  • Maintain a transparent, proactive relationship with board leadership; surface concerns early and provide clear recommendations
• Facilities Management
  • Provide oversight and management direction to the Facilities staff member responsible for day-to-day building operations, maintenance, and vendor relationships
  • Ensure facilities expenditures are planned, budgeted, and executed in alignment with organizational priorities
  • Evaluate lease agreements, capital improvements, and facility-related contracts; advise on lease-vs.-buy and space decisions as the organization grows
• Team Leadership & Development
  • Directly supervise and develop three finance staff — fostering a culture of accuracy, accountability, continuous learning, and mission alignment
  • Directly supervise one facilities staff – guiding the direction and return on investment for all facilities decisions
  • Build team capacity to support organizational growth without proportional headcount increases; invest in systems and process improvements that scale
  • Model Habitat for Humanity’s values in all interactions — with staff, volunteers, board members, funders, and community partners
  • Willingness to spend time at remote locations to build unity across the organization

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field
• Minimum 8 years of progressive financial leadership experience
• Hands-on proficiency with accounting software and general ledger systems
• Experience managing finance staff
• Strong financial modeling, forecasting, and scenario analysis skills
• Experience serving as a liaison to a board of directors or board committee preferred
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills — able to present financial information clearly to non-finance audiences
• Alignment with the mission, values, and community ethic of Habitat for Humanity International

Qualifications

• CPA, CMA, or equivalent professional designation
• Master’s degree in accounting, finance, business, or public administration
• Experience in affordable housing, community development, or real estate development finance
• Familiarity with LIHTC, CDFI, HOME, CDBG, or similar funding mechanisms
• Demonstrated experience in nonprofit financial management, including fund accounting and grant compliance preferred
• Experience with facilities management oversight
• Knowledge of State & Federal nonprofit funding and regulatory environment
• Track record of building or supporting earned income, fee-for-service, or business model diversification efforts preferred
• Familiarity with manufactured housing, repair programs, or multi-line nonprofit organizations
• Prior experience supporting an organizational financial restructuring, or strategic repositioning

Pay

$115k-$125k. Performance-based review cycle tied to organizational goals.