Chief Fiscal and Administrative Officer

About the role

The Chief Fiscal and Administrative Officer provides executive oversight and accountability for the operational infrastructure of Mental Health America (MHA) — the systems, functions, and resources that enable the organization to pursue its mission with discipline, sustainability, and effectiveness. This role is responsible for finance and budgeting, information technology, facilities management, and meetings and events, and serves as the primary liaison to the Board’s Finance and Administration Committee. As a senior member of MHA’s executive team, the Chief understands that strong operational infrastructure is a strategic enabler of mission impact, bringing operational discipline, process improvement orientation, and systems thinking to a portfolio of functions that must work together seamlessly to support organizational performance.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, this position actively contributes to the organization’s business development strategy by identifying opportunities to strengthen organizational growth, expand strategic partnerships, and increase organizational sustainability. Business development is a shared leadership responsibility, and all executives are expected to proactively identify opportunities, support cross-functional initiatives, and contribute to achieving the organization’s growth and impact goals.

The Chief leads the development and execution of MHA’s long-term fiscal strategy, ensuring financial planning, resource allocation, and funding decisions support the organization’s mission, strategic priorities, and long-term sustainability. This role provides organization-wide financial leadership by establishing sound fiscal governance, strengthening financial decision-making, evaluating funding opportunities and organizational investments, and advancing strategies that promote long-term organizational sustainability and growth. The Chief collaborates with other departments and senior-level staff across the organization to provide fiscal data and ensure that financial matters are integral to fundraising, grant and contract seeking, and other organizational development activities.

Responsibilities

1. Finance and Budget Management

• Ensure the Director of Finance (or equivalent) effectively manages financial operations — including budgeting, reporting, auditing, and compliance — and escalate material concerns to the COO and CEO
• Serve as a senior thought partner to finance leadership on budget strategy, resource allocation, and financial sustainability
• Ensure the annual budget development process is well-coordinated across all functional areas and aligned with organizational priorities, including close collaboration with the Chief of Programs and Services Officer
• Monitor financial performance at the portfolio level — revenue, expenditures, cash flow — and hold functional leaders accountable for staying within approved parameters
• Align financial systems and broader administrative infrastructure to support organization scalability
• Ensure grant financial compliance and reporting obligations are met in coordination with the programs team and finance staff
• Provide oversight and mitigation of the annual finance audit to ensure compliance and permanent resolution of any audit findings
• As the organization grows, serve as the executive sponsor for the evolution of the finance function, leading the strategic planning and implementation of a transition to an internal Chief Financial Officer, including evaluating organizational readiness, building internal financial capacity, and ensuring a seamless transition that strengthens financial stewardship, operational excellence, and long-term organizational sustainability

2. Information Technology and Systems

• Ensure IT leadership effectively manages MHA’s technology infrastructure — hardware, software, cybersecurity, and data systems — and that service levels meet organizational expectations
• Ensure technology modernization efforts are prioritized, resourced, and producing measurable improvements in organizational efficiency and staff productivity
• Hold IT leadership accountable for system reliability, security, and alignment with operational and programmatic needs
• Ensure technology investments and decisions are informed by cross-functional input and support data-driven decision-making across the organization
• Ensure AI is being examined for application to all MHA functions and activities

3. Facilities and Office Operations

• Ensure facilities leadership manages lease obligations, vendor relationships, and workplace operations effectively
• Ensure return-to-office implementation is coordinated across HR, facilities, and the COO, and that workspace planning reflects both organizational culture and practical staff needs
• Hold facilities leadership accountable for maintaining a safe, functional, and well-managed physical environment

4. Meetings, Events and Conferences

• Ensure events leadership manages all logistics, contracting, vendor relationships, and on-site operations with quality and timeliness excellence and within budget
• Ensure event planning systems and organizational standards are in place and consistently applied across all MHA national meetings and convenings
• Ensure national conferences and events are well-coordinated with programmatic, communications, and development functions
• Build or strengthen systems to assess and report on meeting participant satisfaction, costs and other important metrics

5. Cross-Functional Integration and Organizational Effectiveness

• Facilitate regular cross-functional coordination across all portfolio areas to eliminate redundancy, reduce friction, and ensure shared priorities are understood and acted upon
• Identify process improvement opportunities that span functional boundaries and lead or sponsor implementation with the relevant functional leaders
• Build and maintain operating norms, accountability structures, and performance reporting systems that provide visibility into portfolio health for the COO and CEO
• Ensure that each functional area’s work is visibly connected to MHA’s strategic goals — and that functional leaders understand and can articulate that connection, identify areas for leverage and collaboration
• Support the COO in organizational performance monitoring and in developing portfolio-level reporting for Board and leadership review

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Master’s degree in business administration, nonprofit management, finance, public administration, or a related field strongly preferred

Experience

• Minimum 10–15 years of progressively responsible operational leadership experience, with at least 5 years in a senior executive or director-level role
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple operational support functions simultaneously (e.g., finance, IT, facilities)
• Proven track record of building or improving operational infrastructure in a nonprofit, healthcare, association, or mission-driven organizational context
• Experience with nonprofit finance and grant management strongly preferred
• Experience leading organizations through periods of transformation, growth, or organizational redesign strongly preferred

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong financial management skills, including budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and auditing
• Proficiency with organizational technology systems, including finance and CRM platforms
• Strong project management and process improvement skills
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication skills
• Excellent supervisory skills of senior-level staff
• Experience with facilities management (lease negotiations, etc.)

This position is expected to maintain a significant in-person presence at MHA’s Alexandria, Virginia office, generally four days per week, with flexibility for business travel, organizational needs, and other circumstances as appropriate.