Chief Financial Officer- Houston-Galveston Area Council

Job Description

Job Description:\n\nChief Financial OfficerHouston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC)Houston, TexasMackenzie Eason & Associates has been retained by the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) to recruit its next Chief Financial Officer.H-GAC is a mature, multi-program regional enterprise operating at the intersection of regional governance, public service delivery, complex grant administration, financial stewardship, and intergovernmental coordination across one of the country’s fastest-growing and most operationally demanding regions. Over the last five years, H-GAC has grown considerably, doubling in both employees and budget and emerging as one of the largest Councils of Governments in the United States.The next Chief Financial Officer will join the organization at a significant point in its evolution. H-GAC has expanded in size, scope, funding complexity, staffing, and regional impact. The organization’s financial and administrative systems must now continue maturing to support a larger enterprise, a more complex operating environment, and the long-range needs of an agency that continues to grow and change.Recent financial and administrative improvements have included the implementation of MIP financial software, new budgeting software through Questica, and the establishment of a formal reserve policy for H-GAC’s general fund. The next CFO will build on this foundation while helping H-GAC think more broadly about the next generation of enterprise systems. The organization will need a more comprehensive ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) environment that supports not only finance, but the broader administrative and operational needs of the agency and its various business units.CANDIDATE VISION STATEMENTThe ideal candidate will bring the technical depth, executive judgment, communication ability, and strategic mindset required to serve as H-GAC’s senior financial executive. This individual will be a trusted advisor to the Executive Director, leadership team, board members, and external partners, helping translate complex financial, budgetary, grant, compliance, audit, and risk issues into clear recommendations that support sound decision-making.This role requires a leader who understands that financial stewardship in a large regional agency is not simply about maintaining accurate books, producing an annual budget, and having a clean audit. H-GAC’s next CFO must help the organization understand where it is financially, where it is headed, and what decisions are required to remain strong over the next three to five years. The right candidate will be able to see the organization as an enterprise, connecting financial strategy to staffing, systems, grants, compliance, procurement, program delivery, facilities, technology, and regional service obligations.The Chief Financial Officer will be expected to protect H-GAC’s financial integrity while also helping the organization move with greater clarity, confidence, and coordination. The role requires someone who can preserve compliance and public trust without creating unnecessary barriers to efficient program delivery. H-GAC needs a CFO who understands when to hold the line and how to explain risk, how to help departments identify a compliant path forward, how to modernize a process that no longer fits the scale of the organization.The next CFO will also need to be a builder. H-GAC’s continued growth requires stronger systems, clearer workflows, deeper staff capacity, and more integrated administrative infrastructure. This leader must be able to develop a high-performing team, strengthen internal expertise, and create a finance and administration function that is viewed across the organization as credible, responsive, transparent, and mission-supporting.ABOUT H-GACThe Houston-Galveston Area Council is one of the largest Councils of Governments in the United States, serving a 13-county region of more than 7 million residents. Established in 1966, H-GAC operates as a voluntary association of local governments and a regional service platform that supports intergovernmental coordination, regional planning, and program execution across issues that affect the region’s economy, infrastructure, workforce, environment, mobility, resilience, and quality of life.H-GAC is distinguished by a unique mix of tools that enable impact across the full region. The organization serves small towns, rapidly growing suburban communities, rural jurisdictions, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. Its work combines governance support, technical planning, program administration, funding stewardship, and shared services that help local governments and regional partners address issues that are too complex or too large for any one jurisdiction to solve alone.H-GAC’s reach is reinforced through major regional bodies and affiliate entities, including the Gulf Coast Workforce Board and the Transportation Policy Council, which serves as the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. The organization also supports entities such as the Local Development Corporation, the Gulf Coast Economic Development District, and the Corporation for Regional Excellence.H-GAC’s work requires a strong administrative and financial backbone. The organization convenes and supports decision-making bodies, manages major grant-funded and contract-driven programs, provides shared services, and maintains the compliance infrastructure necessary to move significant public resources into projects, programs, and services throughout the region.H-GAC’s Core ValuesService: H-GAC is committed to providing excellent service to clients, meeting their needs, and exceeding expectations.Collaborative: H-GAC values teamwork and believes collaboration leads to better outcomes. The organization encourages collaboration among staff and with clients.Accountable: H-GAC takes responsibility for its actions and is accountable for meeting commitments to clients, colleagues, and the community.Leadership: H-GAC strives to be a leader in public service, setting standards for excellence and inspiring others to follow its example.Innovative: H-GAC embraces innovation and continuously seeks new and creative ways to improve services and processes.Integrity: H-GAC acts with honesty, transparency, and ethical behavior in interactions with clients, colleagues, and the community.Community: H-GAC recognizes its responsibility to the community and is committed to making a positive impact through its work.Culture and leadership environmentH-GAC has an established culture where employees have a voice and access to leadership. The agency’s core values were developed through an organization-wide process that engaged the full team, and the organization has historically valued internal connection, accessibility, and cross-departmental collaboration.The next Chief Financial Officer will need to lead within that culture while helping the organization mature for its next stage of growth. Employees and departments need strong financial leadership, but they also need clarity, transparency, responsiveness, and a practical understanding of how financial policies and processes affect their work. The CFO must be able to communicate with credibility and humility, especially when the answer is difficult or when compliance requirements limit available options.H-GAC’s continued growth will require ongoing changes in systems, processes, controls, reporting, approval pathways, and administrative workflows. The next CFO must be able to lead that change with judgment and cultural awareness. This means learning before changing, engaging people before implementing solutions, and helping staff understand not only what is changing, but why it matters.Scale, funding model, and how resources moveH-GAC operates at significant financial and operational scale. Its funding model is primarily restricted, program-driven, and connected to federal, state, and local priorities. A substantial portion of the organization’s budget moves through H-GAC to local governments, service providers, contractors, partner agencies, and regional initiatives.This financial environment is more complex than a traditional municipal or nonprofit finance operation. H-GAC’s CFO must understand the relationship between grants, contracts, intergovernmental agreements, pass-through funds, indirect costs, restricted and unrestricted revenues, cash flow, audit requirements, allowable costs, monitoring, reporting, and board-level accountability.The organization’s financial work is inseparable from its public mission. H-GAC must be able to move resources efficiently while maintaining the confidence of funders, boards, member governments, auditors, staff, and the public. The next CFO will be central to that balance.The FY2026 unified budget totals approximately $559.6.6 million. The funding model is primarily restricted and program-driven:Restricted revenue: approximately $578.7 millionUnrestricted revenue: approximately $16.0 millionThe expenditure profile reflects substantial pass-through activity tied to program delivery and partner/provider systems:Pass-through funds: approximately $479.5 millionNon-pass-through operating costs: approximately $71.3 millionWorkforce represents the largest share of the FY2026 program expense profile at 86.85 percent, underscoring the scale and performance importance of the workforce platform within the overall enterprise.H-GAC also helps prioritize and allocate major funding streams outside the unified budget, ranging from hundreds of millions in transportation investments to disaster recovery resources in the billions. Because these dollars carry the greatest scale and public visibility, they are often the most scrutinized and most actively debated allocations the organization supports.Staffing footprint and internal structureH-GAC’s staffing reflects the breadth of its programs and administrative responsibilities. The FY2026 plan reflects 502 total positions (including full, vacant, and proposed) and 4447 total FTEs based on time allocation.The organization is structured to support multiple program disciplines through dedicated departments and divisions, enabled by shared services such as finance, procurement/contracts, human resources, communications, and technology. Execution quality depends on how effectively the organization operates across governance-to-staff handoffs, program-to-shared-services workflows, and cross-department coordination required to deliver projects and programs efficiently while maintaining compliance.Core program platforms and operationsH-GAC is organized across multiple program and service areas that function as distinct operating platforms, each with its own stakeholders, compliance requirements, funding structure, and performance expectations. Major platforms include transportation and regional planning, workforce system stewardship, aging services, community and environmental planning, disaster recovery and emergency preparedness, data services, and shared enterprise support.Transportation and regional planningH-GAC serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the eight-county Houston-Galveston metropolitan area and supports the Transportation Policy Council in developing and programming the Regional Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program.Workforce system stewardshipH-GAC supports the Gulf Coast Workforce Board ecosystem and associated program and service networks that connect employers to talent and individuals to employment, training, and work supports.Aging servicesH-GAC carries Area Agency on Aging responsibilities delivered through community-based networks supporting the safety, well-being, and independence of older adults, including navigation and referral functions and related program oversight.Community and environmental planningH-GAC supports regional initiatives that commonly involve intergovernmental coordination, technical services, and grant-funded implementation, with emphasis on environmental quality, water resources, and regional livability.Disaster recovery and emergency preparednessH-GAC supports regional resilience through planning, coordination, and implementation activities that help member governments prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. HGAC also houses the Gulf Coast Regional 9-1-1 Emergency Communications District. Enterprise, data, and shared servicesH-GAC provides services that reduce operational friction for member governments, including data services and other shared/enterprise functions that strengthen regional capacity and support program delivery.The Chief Financial Officer must understand how these platforms operate and how financial and administrative decisions affect their ability to deliver. The CFO will need to work across departments, not simply oversee financial reporting from a distance. The role requires a leader who can see the operational realities behind the numbers and help translate financial stewardship into better organizational performance.Technology, systems, and enterprise modernizationH-GAC has already taken steps to modernize its finance function, including the use of MIP financial software. That work provides a foundation, but the organization’s growth has created a broader need for integrated enterprise systems that support the full complexity of the agency.THE ROLE: CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERThe Chief Financial Officer reports to the Executive Director and serves as H-GAC’s senior executive for financial and administrative leadership. The role is responsible for highly advanced policy administration and managerial work across a designated division that may include multiple departments. The CFO works closely with the Executive Director on day-to-day agency operations, long-range budgeting, fiscal policy, division operations, and organization-wide administrative matters.This is an executive leadership role with substantial latitude for initiative and independent judgment. The CFO acts as a consultant and advisor to departments and office directors, supports the coordination of division and department operations, develops long-range budgets and fiscal policies, establishes and implements policies and procedures, and provides counsel to the Executive Director on issues affecting multiple departments.In practical terms, the Chief Financial Officer must lead at four levels simultaneously:Financial stewardship and public trustThe CFO must ensure that H-GAC maintains strong financial controls, transparent reporting, audit readiness, and compliance with applicable federal, state, grant, and accounting requirements. This leader will be responsible for helping the organization understand financial risk, protect restricted funds, preserve public confidence, and maintain the discipline required of an agency responsible for significant public resources.Strategic financial leadershipThe CFO must help H-GAC move beyond a one-year budget mindset. The organization ne