EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Weingart Foundation (Foundation) is innovating philanthropy by building the capacity of communities to advance racial, social, and economic justice. Since its founding, the Foundation has provided over $1 billion in grants and loans and built a strong network of partners across the five Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura.
As the field of philanthropy continues to evolve, the Weingart Foundation has been building incredible momentum and delivering critical successes in advancing bold strategies to align 100% of their assets to mission. As a result, the Foundation has advanced, evolved, and innovated their business model and tools available for impact. To support their continued work in strengthening communities and transforming systems, the Foundation is seeking nominations and applications for Chief Financial and Investment Officer (CFIO). This seasoned CFIO will have functional oversight in the areas of finance, investments, and grants management. They will also serve as a strategic thought partner to the President & CEO, the Executive Leadership Team, the Investment Committee of the Board of Directors, and lead the continued evolution of the financial and investment priorities, structures, and tools of the organization. They will provide critical financial perspective and strategy to strengthen the Foundation’s financial position, steward the advancement of the organization’s commitment to bold and creative deployment of philanthropic resources, and support the organization’s development of their financial literacy to align strategy with mission.
The CFIO will report to the President & CEO, and they will supervise a team including the Controller and Director of Program Investments. The Weingart Foundation seeks mission and values-aligned candidates who are seasoned nonprofit finance professionals with experience guiding mission and program related investments. They must have demonstrated abilities to navigate ambiguity, lead collaboratively, and creatively solve complex financial challenges with a small but mighty team. The ideal candidate will bring insight, wisdom, and experiences – both lived and professional – to their work shaping and innovating the financial and investment strategies of a mission-driven organization redefining the role of philanthropy in advancing justice.
ABOUT THE WEINGART FOUNDATION
The Weingart Foundation was established in 1951 by Ben and Stella Weingart, and since its founding, has provided over $1 billion in grants and loans to thousands of organizations across Southern California. The primary work of the Foundation seeks to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of nonprofit organizations, collaboratives, and coalitions working to meet essential needs and eliminate structural barriers to equity by building the community power required to achieve long-term prosperity for all. The Foundation made a full commitment to racial and socioeconomic equity and justice in 2016, and through this commitment, has invested in the communities that have been excluded and under-resourced to support those communities in having a voice in the systems and structures that shape their lives. The work of the Foundation strives to understand and account for historical and modern systems of oppression and recognizes that unjust systems will always produce unjust outcomes. This work also includes the interrogation and examination of power and privilege, including the power dynamics of nonprofits and foundations and a commitment to align the organization internally with the Foundation’s stated goals of advancing racial justice, equity, and inclusion.
GRANTS & IMPACT INVESTING
The Weingart Foundation holds assets of approximately $890M, with an annual budget of about $53.5M. The Foundation has a long history of providing flexible financial support for community-based nonprofit organizations and deploys multi-vehicle funding strategies including Unrestricted Operating Support, the Strategic Opportunity Fund, and Program Related Investments to multiply impact. In alignment with the Foundation’s full commitment to racial and socioeconomic equity and a commitment to base all policy and program decisions on mission, the Foundation also radically reimagined their strategy to engage their full endowment assets in the mid-2000s. Building upon an understanding of how the field of sustainable and socially responsible investing had been evolving, the Foundation implemented Mission Related Investments holistically across their investment portfolio. Following the principles of the Foundation’s mission related and program related investment program, they have continued to evolve and innovate their investment priorities and frameworks for evaluating investment opportunities.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
The CFIO will be a mission-aligned, forward-thinking, and collaborative financial and investment leader with the ability to protect the organization’s financial solvency and advance the organization’s commitment to Mission Related Investments. The CFIO will also serve as a critical member of the Executive Leadership Team, strategic partner to the President & CEO, and steward of organizational culture.
The CFIO will be responsible for driving success in the following key areas:
Organizational & Strategic Leadership
- Work in partnership with the President & CEO, the Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Directors to develop a clear, long-term vision and strategic direction for the Foundation’s finance and investments strategies and priorities that align with Weingart mission and impact goals.
- Provide field leadership and collaboration in support of innovation and the advancement of learning and best practices in mission and program related investing.
- Serve as an executive leader, providing the organizational leadership required to establish processes for team input to financial and investment strategy and a learning culture that brings strategic alignment across the organization.
- Ensure strong cross-organizational collaboration and communication, transparency, and information sharing are nurtured and deepened.
- Partner with the President & CEO on the strategic direction and agendas for Board meetings, including the creation of memos, reports, and presentations.
Financial Leadership
- Provide accurate, insightful and timely financial data to identify strategic opportunities, proactively address issues, and make sound recommendations supported by rigorous financial analysis and review, scenario modeling, and assessment of returns, risk, and due diligence.
- Drive financial modeling and forecasting to ensure financial sustainability and effective decision making by the CEO and Board of Directors.
- Oversee day-to-day financial operations and the continuous improvement of the budgeting, finance, accounting, and related financial functions, including ensuring effective internal controls and mechanisms to detect and mitigate risk and protect the organization’s financial solvency.
- Build and strengthen the capacity of internal teams to meet growing demands for innovative financial strategies for the organization.
- Ensure that the Foundation is in regulatory compliance, manage financial risks, and provide effective and responsive oversight of finances and audits.
Investments Leadership
- Serve as the primary advisor and thought partner to the President & CEO and Board of Directors in the guidance, development, and implementation of impact investment strategies, including supporting the Investments Committee.
- Identify opportunities to operationalize mission-aligned practices and approaches to the foundation’s investment work.
- Work in close partnership with external Foundation investment advisors to monitor market trends, identify opportunities for growth and innovation, and measure impact.
- Create continued learning opportunities, systems, and practices that will support the development of organizational financial literacy and invite opportunities to deploy resources in creative, sustainable, profitable, and mission-aligned ways.
- Build out and update policies and operational structures needed to support impact investing strategies.
- Forecast, adapt, and strengthen internal capacity to operationalize impact investing strategies.
Management and Team Leadership
- Support, coach, supervise, and develop team members, and maintain a trusting, inclusive, equitable, high-performing team culture.
- Provide mentorship and constructive and timely feedback to foster a collaborative environment that develops strengths, improves weaknesses, and encourages continuous learning.
- Manage 2 direct reports and oversee a department of 6 plus relevant consulting resources, with the potential for additional team growth.
- Recruit, interview, hire, train, and maintain a high-performing team.
Values and Mission Alignment
- Champion the Foundation’s mission of racial and socio-economic justice and empowerment of Southern California communities most disproportionately impacted by systemic injustices.
- Develop relationships with and support colleagues across all teams, recognizing that each individual brings a unique background and perspective to the work.
- Model and nurture a growth mindset and continuous learning posture when facing new situations by collaborating to find fresh solutions, taking on the challenge of unfamiliar tasks, and externalizing lessons learned from failures and mistakes with trust and respect.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
The CFIO will first and foremost be committed to racial and socioeconomic equity and justice. They will also be invested in ideating and deploying innovative ways to make capitalistic financial systems work for communities in mission-aligned ways. While no one candidate will embody the qualifications listed below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:
- Seasoned leader with 10+ years of executive financial management experience in a mission-driven nonprofit or foundation required.
- Strong mission-alignment and commitment to stewarding resources toward impact.
- Demonstrated expertise in financial strategy, forecasting, budgeting, and financial modeling.
- Experience in portfolio management, impact investing, program related investing, and fund management practices and strategies, including oversight of investment managers and consultants.
- Demonstrated expertise in 501(c)(3) financial regulations.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex auditing and reporting.
- Demonstrated experience managing multi-disciplinary teams, including supporting, supervising, and developing team members to maintain a trusting, inclusive, equitable, high-performing team culture.
- Expertise in building and managing adaptive systems to respond to changing financial and operational landscapes.
- Skilled in analyzing problems, projecting consequences, identifying solutions, and implementing recommendations with accurate information in a quickly evolving, dynamic environment.
- Entrepreneurial and growth mindset with a collaborative approach to partnership and leadership.
- Demonstrated equity fluency; lived experience with organization’s program areas preferred.
- Bachelor’s degree in finance or related quantitative field required; advanced degree, MBA, and/or CFA preferred.
WORK LOCATION, COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
Work Location: The Foundation’s office is located in Los Angeles, CA and staff are required to be in the office twice a week, and 4 times a week during the first 6 months of onboarding. There will also be travel to team retreats, conferences, or other events where the CFIO will be representing the Weingart Foundation. The Weingart Foundation actively maintains an inclusive work environment and will provide accommodations and accessibility both in the workplace and in the search process to ensure that all candidates are able to fully participate.
Salary and Benefits: The compensation range for this full-time, exempt position starts at $332,000. A generous benefits package is also provided and includes:
- Excellent health benefits with 100% employer-paid coverage and an employee-paid 10% copay for medical coverage.
- Respect for work-life balance, including a hybrid work policy.
- 10 days of vacation for the first 5 years of service, 12 sick days, and 22 paid holidays.
- Parental leave options.
- 403(b) plan that is 100% employer-funded.
TO APPLY
More information about the Weingart Foundation may be found at: www.weingartfnd.org.
This search is being led by Katherine Jacobs and Sharon Gerstman of NPAG. Due to the pace of this search, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Candidates may submit their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications, along with their resume via NPAG’s website.
The Weingart Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and proudly values diversity. Candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.