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20 Jul 2022

Full-Time Finance & Operations Managing Business Partner

Sierra Club – Posted by CarlyNRG Anywhere

Sierra Club logo

Job Description

Job Title: Finance & Operations Managing Business Partner
Department: Finance & Operations (“FinOps”)
Location: Washington, DC; Oakland, CA preferred. Remote considered. This position requires an ability to travel approximately two weeks per year.
Reports To: Deputy Chief Operating Officer
Openings: 2
Supervises

  • first position: Business Partner, Grassroots Power Building; Business Partner, Policy, Advocacy, Legal; Business Partner, Programmatic Campaigns (future position); Operations Coordinator
  • second position: Senior Business Partner, Digital Strategies; Senior Business Partner, Communications; Business Partner, SIERRA Magazine and General Programs; Business Partner, Administration (future position)

Context: At the Sierra Club, we believe in the power of togetherness. Together, we remain committed to the fight for a healthy climate built on a foundation of environmental, racial, economic, and gender justice – a future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. As the climate crisis and deeply entrenched systemic racism all fuel inequity, we will continue to fight for a bold, transformational agenda that recognizes the interconnectedness between our planet, our humanity, and our democracy. By recognizing that our destinies are tied, we continue to name that all things are fundamentally connected, and the overlap between ecology, race, gender, and representative government will move to either advance our collective humanity or to oppress it.

Sierra Club is comprised of staff across the country and a network of local chapters that support our grassroots engagement. We are also proud to be a unionized employer, with two labor unions representing more than half of our employees.

Scope: The Finance & Operations Managing Business Partner serves in a critical role directing a team of staff that oversee all business operations aspects of their assigned portfolio of campaigns, departments and teams. The Managing Business Partner will ensure that their team serves as a trusted strategic partner to leaders–both within the FinOps department and in their assigned campaign and/or team portfolio. The Managing Business Partner will develop and implement resources to facilitate Sierra Club’s ability to make strategic financial and operating decisions at the programmatic delivery level. The Managing Business Partner will be responsible for creating, guiding, tracking, completing and reporting out on various finance and operations tasks, including but not limited to the full lifecycle of financial transactions, contracts, vendor relations, compliance regulatory requirements, adherence to organization-wide policies and procedures, and management of annual operating budgets & regular forecasting. The Managing Business Partner will ensure their team is successfully working closely with senior leaders and alongside all staff in their assigned portfolio to provide guidance on, and help staff navigate, the financial and administrative functions of the organization, by serving as a strategic thought partner, coach, and problem solver, while consolidating data across multiple work units.

Job activities include but are not limited to:

  1. Alongside leadership, manages the full lifecycle of assigned portfolio budget(s). Manages, oversees the assists with the coordination of preparing and managing annual operating budgets, consolidating annual budgets and quarterly reports across the portfolio of the business partners team. Regularly presents key findings and metrics to cross-functional leadership. Partners with executive stakeholders to think through issues, and communicate effectively across the organization to drive significant change initiatives.
  2. Researches, analyzes and prepares various budget and financial reports. Coordinates information gathering & sharing across multiple systems and departments, both within FinOps and across the organization. Ensures accuracy and maintenance of data related to assigned portfolio within budget management software systems. Prepares ad hoc and formal project and departmental financial variance & forecast reports using grants management and financial software systems as well as Microsoft and Google Suite applications.
  3. Plans, organizes and manages day-to-day operating activities. Owns and manages the operating cadences for the business partnerships team (including setting objectives, key results, communication, meetings, etc.), Organizes a multi-million dollar portfolio, making it universally accessible, reliable, and useful to our stakeholders. Leads cross-functional projects that impact the overall organization’s goals and objectives.
  4. Oversees, reviews and manages the execution of contracts, MOUs and hiring approvals. Manages preparation of contracts and MOUs in consultation with assigned leadership and general counsel, including agreements for independent contractors and major purchases including capital expenditures. Reviews and approves hiring requests, in alignment with Sierra Club salary scales and labor models. Ensures compliance with all organizational policies and procedures, including Human Resources, FinOps, fiscal compliance and Information Technology policies and procedures.
  5. Leads the Business Partners Team. Serves as a strategic thought partner and coach to their direct reports to ensure consistency and standardization of Finance & Operations services across the portfolio. Oversees team’s delivery of strategic operating guidance to the portfolio’s leadership within the parameters of existing and new operating policies and procedures, taking into account logistic and budgetary implications of all plans and decisions. Advises on strategic staffing levels, operating expenses and discretionary programmatic expenditures in alignment with available funding streams, including multiple grant-funded restricted sources. Ensures that business partnership’s team executes financial and operational initiatives consistently within Club-Wide policies as well as external regulatory compliance requirements. Develops and maintains systems to transparently coordinate and share budget & expense information within assigned portfolio across leadership, managers & staff.
  6. Support the success of the Finance & Operations Department. Participates in confidential meetings and prepares and maintains confidential reports and analyses. As a member of the FinOps management team, supports the annual goals and objectives of the FinOps department. Builds and nurtures relationships within the FinOps department and across the organization to earn and build trust. Commits to, embodies and advances the equity, justice and inclusion goals of the FinOps department and the organization as a whole.
  7. Attends committee meetings and manages multiple staff and special projects as directed. Makes hiring, salary, promotion and termination decisions, in consultation with Deputy COO and Department Directors. Oversees professional development and training opportunities of staff. Prepares and conducts performance evaluations.

The successful candidate must have the following skills and experience:

  1. Non-Profit Finance & business acumen. Financial literacy and the ability to understand processes related to reporting, budgeting, forecasting and other financial & business operating skills. Practical experience managing and tracking multiple c(3) and/or c(4) funding and expense streams. Ability to understand and manage, with cross-functional stakeholders, the financial indicators related to various resources, goals and strategic plans. This can be achieved through a mix of higher education and/or work experience.
  2. A Team Player with Supervisorial Experience. You are willing to support your team and lend a hand, or two! You are able to earn influence without authority and naturally seek to support both small projects or large strategic goals. You are a strong manager, committed to coaching and strategizing toward solutions and proactively sleuthing out an answer when necessary–and encouraging your staff to do the same.
  3. Proven project manager. Strong organizational skills and ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment. Has comfort with some ambiguity. Is a consensus builder when possible and always strives for transparent, equitable, timebound processes that arrive at timely decisions. Able to work under their own initiative, handle multiple assignments simultaneously, and manage projects, across team members, to completion.
  4. Excellent written and oral communication skills. You nurture relationships through your communications. You can adapt your communication style to meet the needs of your audience.
  5. Ability to hold highly sensitive and confidential information. Excellent judgment and a high level of discretion, especially when handling sensitive and/or confidential information. Working knowledge of the legal and social implications of maintaining confidentiality. Operates in accordance with reporting and disclosure practices.
  6. Operationalizing Equity. You model effective equity analysis and practice and demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of how group dynamics impact supervisory relationships, organizational culture, partnerships, campaigns and coalition work. Your decision-making is consistent, intentional, and committed to creating equitable outcomes at all levels. You have led high-performing and leaderful teams across group identities. You intervene when challenging group dynamics play out, in ways that build understanding, trust, and deeper self-awareness of team members.

The strongest candidates will also demonstrate the following experience, skills and competencies:

  1. Systems Experience. Proficiency with financial applications (Concur, Workday-Adaptive Planning, Netsuite, a plus!), MS Word and Excel, Google Suite.
  2. An Effective Collaborator. You’ve successfully worked across cultural lines on a dispersed team. You have brought together stakeholders from various roles, departments, and levels of seniority to achieve a common goal. You have a proven ability to oversee complex projects across a matrix-managed organization.
  3. Equity Leader. You model effective equity analysis and practice and have a track record of operationalizing equity, and have embedded justice and equity throughout team/department policies, processes, and systems.
  4. Departmental Transformation. You have experience creating and maintaining departmental efficiency, succession planning and growth strategies.

Compensation and Benefits

The starting salary for this position is $120,000-$125,000, based on a Region 1 work location of Oakland, CA or Washington, DC. A lower starting salary may apply for remote based hires.

The Sierra Club offers a competitive salary package commensurate with skills and experience plus excellent benefits that include medical, dental, and vision coverage, and a retirement savings 401(k) plan.

This is a category 3 exempt, non-represented, supervisory/managerial position.

Sierra Club values the expertise and talents of foreign nationals. Sierra Club sponsors both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas when certain criteria are met, based on immigration laws and organizational needs. Such sponsorship is at the discretion of the Department Head and Sierra Club Human Resources in consultation with the employee’s manager. The Sierra Club cannot guarantee the approval of a visa petition. The Sierra Club is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity.

How to Apply

  • Click here to apply online.
  • This position does not have an undergraduate education requirement. If you choose to include your education history, please remove your schools from your resume. You may leave your degree (e.g., "B.A. Philosophy"), but please remove any undergraduate and graduate school names.
  • This anonymous process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants on performance assessments and mitigating bias in the decision making process.
  • Lastly, we are intentionally not asking for a cover letter, so please do not send one in with your application.
  • We are accepting applications until the position is filled.
  • Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.

Job Categories: Finance / Investing. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 100,000 and above.

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