Chief Financial Officer

Job description

Who We Are International Justice Mission (IJM) is the global leader in protecting vulnerable people from violence around the world. Our team of over 1,200 professionals are at work worldwide in over 30 offices. Together we are on a mission to rescue millions, protect half a billion, and make justice unstoppable. We are a global community that cares for one another. We believe that the way we work is as important as the results we achieve. We provide professional excellence with joy and celebration to all those we serve. The Need For over 25 years, IJM has pioneered the work to protect vulnerable people from violence. 9 out of 9 times in the last decade, IJM’s Justice System Strengthening Projects have reduced slavery and violence between 50 and 85% for very large populations of people in poverty. As we grow to expand our impact to protect 500 million people from violence, we are seeking a Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and serves as a key strategist and trusted advisor on IJM’s Global Leadership Team. The CFO is responsible for the health, integrity, and dynamic management of IJM’s global financial resources, ensuring that every dollar is stewarded to maximize protection for people living in poverty and facing violence. This leader will bring deep financial and operational expertise together with a passion for IJM’s mission, partnering closely with the Global Leadership Team and leaders across regions and functions to align financial strategy with program impact, growth, and long-term sustainability. The CFO will build and develop a high-performing, spiritually grounded global finance team; strengthen systems, processes, and controls; and provide clear, data-informed insight that shapes decisions at the highest levels of the organization. The CFO also partners closely with IJM’s global operations leaders to ensure that financial strategy and business operations together enable sustainable, scaled protection across all regions and casework models. The success of this role is measured by the following Key Result Areas: Design and execute financial strategies that advance IJM’s mission and enable sustainable, scaled protection. Build and lead a healthy, engaged, and high-performing global finance team. Establish and maintain clear, consistent global financial standards, policies, processes, and systems. Safeguard IJM’s financial health through strong liquidity management, prudent investment stewardship, and disciplined risk management. Provide accurate, timely, and insight-rich financial reporting to the Global Leadership Team and Board, including clear communication of risks and opportunities. This position is based in the Washington, DC area and is available to be hybrid (onsite Tuesdays & Thursdays). It reports to Chief Operating Officer and requires current authorization to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position, now or in the future. Responsibilities: Leadership and Management Advise the Chief Operating Officer on key financial matters of the organization, including fiscal health, strategic financial structure, financial performance against budget, cash flow, investments, and controls; Build and lead a culture of world-class professional excellence where members find themselves, year by year, becoming more like Christ as they pursue together the intention to obey Christ in everything through a course of common spiritual disciplines in a community of prayerful love; Recruit, manage, develop, and inspire a high-quality team to deliver a superior level of proactive performance and productivity within a climate of rapid change; Create a service-oriented culture within the team and ensure that all team professionals are working in support of the organization’s broader mission and implementation of the strategic plan by being responsive to the financial needs of all divisions; Build relationships across divisions and collaborate effectively, while providing objective financial perspective in the design and execution of multi-divisional projects; Establish credibility throughout the organization and with the Board as an effective developer of solutions to business challenges; Lead the preparation for the Finance, Administration and Audit Committee meetings and provide regular communication and updates for the committee, as appropriate; Serve on the Global Leadership Team and the Global Operations Council, providing financial and operational insight to strengthen IJM’s global business operations ecosystem required to scale protection; Strategic Financial Planning & Analysis Establish guidelines, policies, and operational touchpoints to ensure that all departments are not just operating within budgetary guidelines, but are achieving agreed upon strategic milestones and outputs; Work with the leadership team on Strategic Plan reviews, updates and renewals, ensuring that measurable financial and operational metrics are applied to strategic imperatives and goals and enacting any course corrections needed; Identify and partner with the organization in implementing actions to realize efficiencies as the organization strives to drive the most resources possible to the mission; Seek long-term optimization of program to support ratios; Ensure optimal recovery of indirect costs on grants; Develop forecasts and analysis to identify risks and opportunities and collaborate proactively with global leadership to develop measures to mitigate risk and leverage opportunities; Hold departments and divisions accountable to budgets; Accounting and Controls Provide timely and accurate consolidated financial reporting for the organization at the global, regional, and local levels; Provide world class financial services to ensure timely and accurate payroll and expense reimbursement for all employees in addition to payment of partners and suppliers; Lead efforts to strengthen financial systems including enhancements to IJM’s ERP system; Ensure financial systems are configured to provide proper internal controls and reflect the current organization structure while maintaining simplicity for users; Ensure internal control safeguards and keep abreast of current non-profit accounting pronouncements, issues, regulations, and policies; Manage all aspects of engagement with external auditors for the annual audit, US federal government NICRA audits and required statutory and tax filings in the US; Provide oversight and ensure ongoing compliance for required statutory filings in countries where IJM operates or has affiliated offices; Provide accurate revenue reporting and recognition and ensure proper accounting and revenue recognition for grants and strong controls to comply with donor restrictions; Maintain strong controls over all assets of the organization; Ensure strong record retention to facilitate ongoing statutory and audit compliance; Ensure all not publicly available financial information and commentary that regional teams release to outside parties follows IJM’s accuracy and compliance standards; Global Treasury Develop IJM Treasury strategies to ensure short- and long-term vitality of IJM; Successfully provide the organization with cash through fluctuations in cash flow; Maintain responsibility for cash flow and cash forecasting and ensure sufficient operating cash reserves are maintained at all times; Take proactive measures to avoid the risk of cash shortfalls; Successfully manage IJM’s investment portfolios to achieve maximum return and minimum loss to principal value; Monitor external investment advisors to protect and ensure optimal performance of financial resources consistent with IJM investment policy and risk tolerance; Manage debt, revolving credit, letters of credit, and any other credit facilities, including related compliance and obligations; Skillfully direct global funds flows to maximize value delivered; Work with IJM advancement teams to identify new opportunities for fundraising consistent with IJM values and growth strategies; Financial Policies and Process Create and maintain all global financial policies; Ensure compliance with all financial policies; Proactively communicate revisions to financial policies; Provide ongoing training to the organization on financial policies including measures to verify that policies are clearly understood; Develop consistent financial processes across IJM; Work diligently to standardize processes and document exceptions that may be required for local statutory purposes; Ensure Finance staff are trained and cross-trained in the financial process in order to maintain quality and consistency; and Participation in IJM’s community of spiritual formation. Qualifications: Education & Experience Graduate degree in business management, or equivalent combination of bachelor's degree and relevant work experience; Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in strategic financial leadership, including leadership and management of a business unit of $50 million or more in annual revenue; Demonstrated success in building successful internal partnerships with key executives that solve problems, advance strategic objectives and scale impact; Demonstrated success achieving aggressive and sustained enterprise growth, taking operations to scale, and creating a thriving business environment of exceptional innovation that consistently achieves mission-critical goals; Demonstrated success in leading the development of global processes and the design and implementation of global systems; Demonstrated success in building and leading diverse teams of exceptional strength, effectiveness, and health; Experience managing institutional grant reporting preferred; Demonstrated expertise in enterprise-wide financial strategy, including multi-year planning, capital allocation, and scenario modeling in a complex, multi-entity organization; Deep knowledge of nonprofit accounting standards, fund accounting, restricted and unrestricted revenue management, and compliance with donor restrictions preferred; Proven experience managing federal and institutional grant portfolios, including NICRA negotiations, indirect cost recovery optimization, grant revenue recognition, and compliance with US government and multilateral donor requirements; Expertise in global funds flow management, foreign currency risk, cash forecasting, investment portfolio oversight, and management of credit facilities across multiple operating jurisdictions; Strong command of internal control frameworks, risk-based audit programs, and financial governance in a distributed, multi-country operating environment; Experience leading the implementation, enhancement, or optimization of enterprise financial systems (ERP); Familiarity with multi-jurisdictional statutory filing requirements, tax compliance, and audit management across both US and international operating entities; Ability to translate complex financial data into clear, decision-ready insights for non-financial audiences, including board-level reporting, executive dashboards, and program-impact-linked financial narratives; and Proven strategic thinker with experience in development of organizational strategy. Critical Qualities: Eager commitment to IJM's Core Values: Christian, Professional and Bridge-Building; Mature Christian faith with proven ability to lead others in Christian spiritual formation; Collaborative, Mission-First, Servant Leader with Global Perspective; Confident and capable public speaker; Superb written and verbal communication skills; Self-starter with strong initiative; Disciplined with priorities; Strong interpersonal skills and self-awareness; Flexible, collaborative and eager to support others; Effective team player who fosters collaborative environment; and Adept at creative problem solving. Application Process: Upload Resume, Cover Letter & Statement of Faith* in one PDF document. *What is a statement of faith? A statement of faith should describe your Christian faith and how you see it as relevant to your involvement with IJM. The statement can either be incorporated into the cover letter or submitted as a separate document and should include, at a minimum, a description of your spiritual disciplines (prayer, study, etc.) and your current fellowship or place of worship. What does IJM have to offer? Comprehensive Medical/Dental/Vision benefits Monthly commuter and parking benefits in the DC metro area Retirement benefit options Paid leave starting at 23 days 12 holidays (plus early release the day prior) Daily, quarterly, and annual community spiritual formation Robust staff care resources IJM holds strict safeguarding principles and a zero tolerance to violations of the Safeguarding Policy, Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Policy, and Code of Ethics. Candidate selection is based on technical competence, recruitment, selection and hiring criteria subject to assessing the candidate’s value congruence and thorough background, police clearance, and reference check processes. At IJM, we’re committed to building a diverse workforce through fair and equitable employment practices. IJM encourages people of any race, color, age, sex, marital status or political ideology to apply for employment. While we welcome everyone into this work, we truly believe that the work we are doing is God’s work, not our own, and practice spiritual disciplines together daily. That’s why we legally require under SEC. 2000e-1 [Section702] of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that all employees practice a mature orthodox Christian faith, as defined by the Apostles’ Creed. IJM requires a background check, police clearance and thorough review of references with an employment offer and/or employment contract.