Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Department: Corporate/Administrative

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Oakland, CA

Compensation: $230,000 - $250,000 / year

Description

Alta Planning + Design is a sustainable transportation company dedicated to creating active, healthy communities through planning, landscape architecture, engineering, and education/encouragement programs. Alta was founded in 1996 when communities were calling for safer streets for people walking and bicycling as the non-motorized transportation movement developed into a profession in the United States. We pioneered the field of active transportation, evolving our planning and design work into a visionary global practice that empowers people to live active, healthy lives and gets them to where they need to go.

Our core values and work bring about positive change by creating places that are geared toward moving people rather than cars, connecting community members to daily needs and human experience, and empowering every person to live an active healthy life. As a global leader in mobility innovation for over 26 years with 180 staff and 22 offices, we are dedicated to connecting people to places by working across disciplines and scale to address social justice, safety, and environmental resilience.

Key Responsibilities:

The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for the overall financial leadership of Alta Planning and Design serves as a key strategic partner to the President and leadership team.

This role is accountable for the integrity of financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management, financial controls, and team leadership. Beyond traditional financial stewardship, the CFO will play a critical role in driving business performance, improving operational and project-level profitability, supporting strategic growth initiatives, and helping leaders make informed business decisions. The ideal candidate combines strong financial acumen with a commercial mindset and has the ability to influence, challenge, and support operational leaders in a collaborative manner. This individual will be comfortable operating at both a strategic and tactical level and will help position the organization for continued growth and success.

Strategic Business Partnership

• Serve as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to the President and leadership team.
• Drive financial and operational decision-making that supports revenue growth, profitability improvement, and long-term value creation.
• Provide meaningful financial insights and recommendations to support strategic planning and business initiatives.
• Translate complex financial information into actionable insights for operational and technical leaders.
• Support annual planning, forecasting, and long-range business planning processes.
• Develop and monitor key financial and operational performance indicators that drive accountability and business performance.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, resource utilization, project performance, and overall profitability.

Operational Finance & Performance Management

• Drive visibility into project profitability, utilization, backlog, staffing levels, labor efficiency, and resource allocation.
• Support pricing strategies, investment decisions, and resource planning through financial analysis and business insight.
• Challenge assumptions, identify risks, and recommend actions that improve financial and operational outcomes.
• Establish a finance function that serves as a proactive business partner to the organization.

Growth & Acquisition Integration

• Partner with Trilon finance and M&A leadership to support acquisition integration activities.
• Lead the financial onboarding and integration of acquired businesses, including reporting alignment, process standardization, KPI implementation, and performance monitoring.
• Identify operational risks, integration challenges, and opportunities for improvement throughout the integration process.
• Support the successful adoption of company financial processes, controls, systems, and reporting standards across acquired organizations.
• Work collaboratively with Trilon leadership to leverage systems, resources, and best practices while preserving business continuity and performance.

Financial Leadership & Stewardship

• Maintain executive responsibility for the financial operations and performance of the business, including budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management, working capital, capital expenditures, financial reporting, and oversight of the accounting function.
• Ensure the accuracy, integrity, and timeliness of financial reporting and analysis.
• Establish and maintain effective financial controls, policies, procedures, and governance practices.
• Monitor and manage cash flow, liquidity, and working capital to support business objectives.
• Analyze current and future business operations and strategic plans to ensure financial effectiveness and sustainability.
• Ensure compliance with applicable accounting standards, tax requirements, company policies, and regulatory obligations.
• Partner with the accounting team to maintain a strong balance sheet and high-quality financial reporting.
• Work closely with Trilon finance leadership to align reporting requirements, financial processes, and best practices.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop the finance team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Build organizational capabilities that support growth, scalability, and operational excellence.
• Develop succession plans and create professional development opportunities for team members.
• Promote strong cross-functional relationships throughout the organization.

Collaboration Within Trilon Family

• Partner closely with Trilon finance leadership and the financial leaders of other partner firms to support enterprise-wide objectives.
• Contribute to a collaborative and holistic approach to financial reporting, audit support, compliance activities, and best-practice sharing across the Trilon platform.
• Leverage corporate resources and subject matter expertise when appropriate while maintaining ownership and accountability for the financial leadership of Alta Planning and Design.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive finance leadership experience.
• Experience within engineering, consulting, professional services, construction services, or other project-based businesses.
• Demonstrated success partnering with operational leaders to improve business performance and profitability.
• Strong financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, and business analysis capabilities.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, financial reporting, and financial controls.
• Excellent communication, leadership, influencing, and relationship-building skills.

Preferred

• Experience within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry.
• Experience integrating acquired businesses and supporting organizational growth initiatives.
• CPA, CMA, MBA, or other relevant professional designation preferred but not required.
• Experience working within a multi-entity, private equity-backed, or platform-based organization.
• Experience with Deltek, ADP, PowerBI

Leadership Profile

The ideal candidate will be:

• Commercially minded and business focused.
• A strategic thinker with strong operational instincts.
• Comfortable influencing highly technical and operationally focused leaders.
• Hands-on when necessary while maintaining a leadership perspective.
• Independent, accountable, and confident in decision-making.
• Collaborative and skilled at leveraging resources across a broader organization.
• Focused on continuous improvement, growth, and long-term value creation.

What We Offer

Flexible Schedule

Alta offers a flexible, hybrid work schedule where most employees work from home two to three days per week. In-office days support our collaborative culture, one of our core values.

Compensation

The base salary range for this role is indicated in the posting. This range reflects the company’s good faith estimate of the compensation for this position at the time of posting. Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as experience, skills, qualifications, internal equity, and geographic location.

Benefits

Alta offers comprehensive benefits to all full-time employees:

• Medical : PPO or HSA medical plans, Alta pays 75% of the cost
• Dental/Vision : PPO, Alta pays 90% of the cost
• Life Insurance : Alta pays 100% of the premium for life and AD&D, equal to your base compensation
• 401(k) : Alta provides a safe harbor match up to 4%
• PTO : 21 days accrued annually to start
• Holidays : 11 total company paid holidays
• Paid Parental Leave/Short-Term Disability
• Additional Benefits : Wellness reimbursement up to $800 annually, Alta Gets Around benefit of up to $900 annually, 5-year travel award, and professional development opportunities.

*The following statements pertain to US Candidates Only*

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