Vice President for Finance and Administration

Bread for the World

Vice President for Finance and Administration

Bread for the World is seeking to recruit an energetic, committed and engaging individual to serve as Vice President for Finance and Administration.

Overview

Bread for the World (Bread) is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s political leaders to end hunger in our country and around the world. Bread engages Christian churches and individuals in building the political will to end hunger by influencing Congress and the administration. Over its 43-year history, Bread has logged an impressive record of advocacy achievements, improving the lives of hundreds of millions of people.  

Bread for the World is now focused on the goal of ending hunger by 2030.  Pope Francis, the Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the U.S. government have all embraced this goal.  It is feasible, because the world as a whole is making unprecedented progress against hunger, poverty, and disease.  Although the economic crisis of 2008 was a huge setback, the United States has also reduced hunger and poverty in recent decades.  Bread for the World talks about the opportunity to virtually end hunger as an experience of our loving God in history – like the biblical exodus.

In 2016, Bread invested significant resources in election work, growing its brand awareness and deepening its partnerships with African-American and Latino networks.  The elections work included outreach to presidential and congressional candidates, evaluation of candidates’ positions, and voter education.  The effort to increase brand awareness resulted in a sharp increase in the size of Bread’s online community – from 300,000 people in 2015 to 16 million in August 2016.  Bread’s activist base jumped from 81,000 to 800,000.  Bread for the World is a 501(c)4 organization that lobbies Congress for hungry people. It does more outright lobbying on poverty issues than any other organization in the country. Its grassroots network is active in every congressional district and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of thoughtful constituent contacts with Congress each year. Bread plays a significant role in U.S. church life, often leading the engagement of diverse religious bodies on public policy issues that are important to poor people. 

Bread’s staff includes strong teams for lobbying and policy analysis, grassroots organization, communication and media, digital mobilization, church relations and the enlistment of other organizations in advocacy, finance and administration, and fundraising.  Bread for the World Institute, a 501(c)3 affiliate, does analysis on hunger and how to solve it. It educates people throughout Bread’s network and beyond on faith, policies, and advocacy methods. The Alliance to End Hunger, another 501(c)3 affiliate, reaches out beyond Bread’s church network to engage diverse institutions – Jewish and Muslim groups, charities, corporations, universities and others – in building the political will to overcome hunger and poverty. Bread for the World launched the Alliance to help build the broad movement needed to get the United States to provide the leadership needed to end hunger in our country and around the world. The Alliance now has 100 members. Bread for the World and its affiliates have been growing rapidly in size and impact, and plans are underway for continued growth and organizational innovation. For more information about Bread for the World, please visit their website at www.bread.org.

Vice President for Finance and Administration

The Vice President for Finance and Administration is a critical member of the senior management team and is responsible for oversight of the organization’s financial, administrative, and human resources operations. Reporting to the Managing Director, the Vice President for Finance and Administration ensures that the financial, administrative and personnel functions support the mission and objectives of the organization.  Moreover, the Vice President serves as the primary staff liaison with the Finance and Administration Committee of the Board of Directors and is responsible for developing organizational budgets, overseeing cash management, organizational expenditures, accounting functions, and working with board members to manage the organization’s investments.  

Reporting to the Vice President are the Director of Finance, Senior Manager of Information Systems, Senior Manager of Business Operations, Senior Manager of Administrative and Financial Services, and Senior Human Resources and Administrative Services Specialist. As a member of Bread’s executive leadership team, the Vice President will need to be available to work off-site during evenings and weekends to support time-sensitive matters.

The Vice President is based in Washington, D.C.

The broad goals and responsibilities for the Vice President for Finance and Administration are to:

Goals:

• Work closely with the other members of the executive staff to provide coordinated management of the organizations, including providing counsel and advising them in shaping organizational management strategies and plans in support of critical policy and organizational goals.
   
• Provide leadership to help strengthen the organizations’ effectiveness and capacity to work well as a team, inspiring innovation, collaboration, collegiality, planning and project management.
   
• Provide analysis of financial and administrative reports and data to enable the management team and boards to make informed decisions, including creating new reports that integrate historical financial information with projections of future financial or administrative states.
   
• Oversee and facilitate the ongoing work of finance, accounting, monitoring of budgets, cash management, payroll, endowment fund investments, forecasting and other financial analysis; Provide leadership in supporting innovation, adoption of best practices and strong customer service in these areas.
   
• Oversee and facilitate the ongoing work of human resources, information services, information technology and internal communications; Provide leadership in supporting innovation, adoption of best practices and strong customer service in these areas.
   
• Provide leadership, encouragement and support in the ongoing efforts to enhance the diversity and cultural competence of Bread’s staff. 

Responsibilities: 

• Serve as the staff liaison to Bread and the Institute’s Finance and Administration Committee (and its Investment Subcommittee) and the Audit Committee.
   
• Serve with the President as a trustee of the 401(k) plan. Review and sign on behalf of organizations a variety of financial documents (such as business contracts, summary plan descriptions, grant reports, audit engagement letters, audit reports and 990’s).
   
• Oversee and facilitate the ongoing work of facilities management and disaster preparedness for staff in all locations (including rented space in Washington, DC, California, and New York City). Provide leadership in supporting innovation, adoption of best practices and strong customer service in these areas.
   
• Provide financial and administrative support services to the Alliance to End Hunger.

Professional Qualifications and Personal Attributes

The Vice President for Finance and Administration should ideally possess the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:

Professional Qualifications: 

• A demonstrated senior-level track record of success leading financial and administrative operations, with an understanding of nonprofit accounting practices for 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 organizations; a relevant advanced degree.      
       
• Demonstrated success in managing all financial management activities of an organization including implementation of financial information and control systems, budgeting, cost allocation, etc.      
       
• Demonstrated experience in management of daily, monthly and annual financial statements, audits, contracts, grants, compliance matters, and in developing and presenting financial reports on a timely basis to all key senior leadership.      
       
• Experience with and thorough understanding of human resource programs including health and employee benefits, pension analysis, and professional development/organizational management training programs.      
       
• Experience in oversight of information services, information technology capacity, facilities management and disaster preparedness. 

Personal Attributes:

• A passionate personal and organizational commitment to the mission of the Bread for the World.
   
• Experience managing and coaching a department or team demonstrating strong, collaborative management skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment on a multitude of issues simultaneously. 
           
• Ability to inspire trust, organize people in teams, and motivate them to work well together, including those that cross racial, ethnic and cultural lines.
             
• Experience thinking strategically, creatively, and tactically. 
             
• Strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.      
       
• Highest level of personal and professional integrity and quality standards.     

Compensation

Compensation for the vice president includes a base salary plus a full package of employee and health benefits.

How to apply

Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter responding specifically to the experience and qualifications being sought to: Daniel Sherman, President, Explore Company at resumes@explorecompany.com.  Refer to Bread/VPFA in the subject line.  No phone inquiries please.

Bread for the World is committed to diversity and invites individuals who bring a diversity of culture, experience and ideas to apply.

All correspondence will remain confidential.