Director of Finance & Accounting

About the role

The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) seeks a strategic and analytically grounded financial leader to serve as Chief Financial Officer. This is a senior leadership role at a pivotal moment for one of the country's most distinctive contemporary art institutions, housed in a landmark Zaha Hadid-designed building and operating in Cincinnati’s vibrant cultural ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the CAC’s senior financial executive, providing strategic guidance to the Executive Director and senior leadership team.
• Translate complex financial data into clear, actionable insights for leadership and board decision-making, including variance analysis, trend identification, and risk assessment.
• Develop and maintain multi-year financial models and scenario plans to support long-term sustainability.
• Lead development of the annual operating budget in partnership with the Executive Director and program staff, including monitoring and reporting against budget throughout the year.
• Oversee cash flow planning and management, with particular attention to liquidity, payroll obligations, endowment draw timing, and line of credit utilization.
• Serve as the primary staff liaison to the Finance Committee, preparing agendas, financial reports, analysis, and planning in partnership with committee leadership.
• Present financial results, projections, and recommendations to the full Board at regular intervals.
• Develop and maintain financial dashboards and key performance indicators that give the Board clear visibility into organizational health.
• Manage the endowment relationship, including oversight of investment performance and ensuring compliance with spend policies and donor restrictions.
• Serve as the primary institutional liaison to YPTC and RedBrick Business Services, managing scope, performance, and accountability. Evaluate and manage the relationships with both to minimize scope creep.
• Evaluate and manage the relationships with both to minimize scope creep.
• Maintain and strengthen the CAC’s internal financial controls, including oversight of the Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual and ensuring that policies are complete, current, and followed.
• Oversee staff procurement and expense procedures, credit card systems, and related internal controls.
• Manage the external audit process and serve as the primary liaison to the CAC’s auditor.
• Oversee preparation of the IRS Form 990 and 990-T, working with the auditor and in coordination with Board approval processes.
• Ensure compliance with applicable accounting standards, grant reporting requirements, and funder-specific restrictions.
• Maintain accurate records and documentation for restricted funds, endowment assets, and donor-designated gifts.
• Partner with the development team to provide financial modeling, budgets, and compliance documentation for grant proposals and post-award reporting.
• Oversee gift accounting to ensure accurate tracking of restricted and unrestricted contributions, pledges, and planned gifts.
• Support the CAC’s capital project financing, including coordination with program officers on grant-restricted expenditures and ensuring alignment between funder requirements and project scope.
• Oversee key financial vendor relationships, including insurance programs and any technology or administrative infrastructure with financial implications.
• Manage the annual insurance renewal process in coordination with CAC’s broker, including assessment of coverage adequacy across property, liability, crime, and other lines.
• Identify and surface financial and operational risks to leadership and the Board in a timely and transparent manner.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in finance, accounting, or financial planning and analysis, with meaningful exposure to nonprofit organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to translate financial complexity into clear communication for senior leadership, board members, and non-finance staff.
• Experience with nonprofit audit processes, grant compliance, restricted fund management, and endowment oversight.
• Experience working in or alongside outsourced or shared-services finance environments; ability to manage external providers with rigor and effectiveness.
• Comfort with multi-year financial modeling, scenario planning, and board-level financial reporting.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or a related field; CPA or advanced degree preferred.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with a collaborative, solutions-oriented approach.
• Commitment to the mission of the Contemporary Arts Center and to the role of contemporary art in civic life.

Compensation & Benefits

The Director of Finance & Accounting reports to the Executive Director and serves as a senior member of the CAC’s leadership team. Salary is commensurate with experience in the range of $120,000-$135,000. The CAC offers a competitive benefits package including health, dental, vision, EAP, paid time off, and retirement contribution. CAC Museum membership, gift shop, café, and discounted parking included. This is a hybrid position. Employees work from home Monday & Tuesday and on-site Wednesday through Friday.

Application

To apply: Please send resume and cover letter by July 31st 2026. Include “Application: Director of Finance & Accounting” in the subject line. Please make sure all attached material is in PDF format. Email to Director of Administration & Operations at: shutslar@cincycac.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

Recruitment & Hiring

The CAC is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) where all applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, Veteran, or disability status.