Chief Financial Officer

Executive Search Notice:

Spirit of America has retained Stanton Chase International to conduct this executive search. All expressions of interest, applications, and nominations should be submitted directly to Richard Sarmiento, Stanton Chase International, at View email address on click.appcast.io .

Who We Are:

Spirit of America is a mission-driven organization operating at the intersection of national security, global partnerships, and real-world impact. We work alongside U.S. troops and diplomats in complex environments worldwide, delivering fast, targeted support that advances American interests and helps people secure a free and better life.


Our model is entrepreneurial, responsive, and built for action. We operate in dynamic, often austere environments where speed, accountability, and sound judgment are essential and where strong financial stewardship directly enables mission success.


Role Overview:

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Spirit of America is a senior executive leader responsible for ensuring the organization's financial strength, integrity, and operational readiness in support of its global mission. Reporting directly to the CEO and serving as a member of the Leadership Team, the CFO plays a central role in translating Spirit of America's mission and entrepreneurial vision into disciplined financial strategy and execution.


Operating at the intersection of national security, global partnerships, and real-world impact, Spirit of America works alongside U.S. troops and diplomats in complex and often austere environments. In this context, the CFO is not only a financial steward but a mission enabler, ensuring that financial systems, controls, and resources allow the organization to move quickly, responsibly, and effectively where it matters most.


The CFO leads and develops a high-performing finance team and oversees all core financial functions, including accounting, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, treasury, and compliance. A critical focus of the role is building and maintaining financial systems that support international operations-enabling real-time tracking of funding commitments, reliable execution of global payments, and uninterrupted program delivery even in high-risk or rapidly changing environments.

As a strategic thought partner to the CEO, President, and Leadership Team, the CFO plays a central role in shaping enterprise strategy-actively driving organizational decisions, defining resource trade-offs, and setting priorities that enable sustainable growth and mission impact. The CFO leads long-term financial planning and scenario analysis to inform strategic choices, align capital and resources with organizational objectives, and proactively manage risk in a dynamic operating environment. In this capacity, the CFO also serves as a trusted advisor to the Board of Directors and the Finance/Audit Committee, framing strategic options through clear, decision-useful financial insight while upholding transparency, accountability, and sound governance at the highest level.

The role requires deep expertise in international nonprofit finance, including compliance across multiple jurisdictions, sanctions and anti-diversion controls, audit leadership, and enterprise risk management. The CFO is expected to proactively solve problems-particularly related to overseas payments and regulatory complexity-so that program teams can focus fully on mission execution rather than financial administration.


Ultimately, success in this role is measured by how effectively finance enables the mission: program teams are fully supported, funding flows reliably and legally, financial reporting is timely and accurate, audits are strong, and the organization is positioned for sustainable growth and increased impact. The CFO brings clarity, discipline, and confidence to Spirit of America's operations, ensuring that financial leadership directly strengthens the organization's ability to advance freedom, stability, and partnership worldwide.


Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Finance & Organizational Planning

• Serve as a strategic partner to the CEO and Leadership Team, shaping financial strategy, enterprise risk posture, and organizational growth through active participation in key decisions.
• Lead integrated long-range financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and scenario analysis to guide strategic direction and inform leadership decision-making.
• Translate organizational strategy into scalable financial plans and operating models with clear metrics that drive execution, accountability, and impact.
• Continuously monitor financial and operational performance, delivering forward-looking, actionable insights that influence resource allocation, priorities, and management decisions.

Board Engagement & External Relations

• Lead the development of Board-level financial materials-including dashboards, forecasts, and narrative analysis-that frame strategic choices, risks, and trade-offs for effective governance and decision-making.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the Board of Directors and the Finance/Audit Committee, providing clear, forward-looking insight on financial performance, risk, and strategy to support informed oversight and long-term sustainability.
• Manage and optimize relationships with auditors, banks, and financial partners to ensure effective governance, financial flexibility, and alignment with organizational objectives.

Financial Operations, Treasury & Controls

• Oversee an integrated finance operation-including accounting, payroll, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting-ensuring the finance function enables timely decision-making and organizational scale.
• Ensure the integrity, accuracy, and transparency of financial systems and data, providing leadership with reliable information to guide strategic and operational decisions.
• Design and maintain strong internal controls that protect the organization while supporting operational agility and speed in complex environments.
• Lead treasury strategy, including liquidity management, cash positioning, and banking relationships, to ensure financial stability and flexibility.
• Proactively manage financial risk related to liquidity, currency exposure, and global operations, integrating risk considerations into strategic planning.
• Partner with the CEO and Development leadership to align financial planning with revenue strategy, delivering clear visibility into funding pipelines, restrictions, and use of funds to support sustainable growth.

Global Program Finance & Payments

• Design, build, and lead financial systems that enable global program operations to move quickly, reliably, and at scale across complex international environments.
• Establish and manage real-time visibility into program funding commitments, obligations, and expenditures, ensuring leaders and program teams can make informed, time-sensitive decisions.
• Own the end-to-end execution of global payments, architecting compliant, resilient disbursement pathways that ensure funds move efficiently and without disruption.
• Anticipate and proactively resolve funding and payment challenges, removing financial friction so programs can deliver uninterrupted impact in the field.
• Ensure financial and tax compliance across multiple jurisdictions in a manner that supports-not constrains-mission execution and operational agility.

Risk Management, Compliance & Audit

• Design and lead an enterprise risk management (ERM) framework that anticipates financial, operational, and regulatory risks while informing strategic decision-making across the organization.
• Ensure compliance with nonprofit accounting standards and regulatory requirements in a manner that supports organizational agility and long-term sustainability.
• Oversee sanctions, AML, OFAC, and anti-diversion controls as part of a broader risk strategy that enables responsible operations in complex global environments.
• Lead audit processes, Form 990 preparation, and all required filings, ensuring strong governance, credibility with stakeholders, and confidence to scale responsibly

Systems, Data & Operational Excellence

• Implement and continuously optimize financial systems that deliver real-time visibility, analytics, and insight to support leadership decision-making and organizational scale.
• Lead process improvement initiatives that increase efficiency, clarity, and responsiveness across finance and cross-functional workflows, enabling faster and better-informed action.
• Ensure seamless integration across finance, CRM, and operational systems so data flows accurately and consistently, supporting enterprise-wide planning, execution, and accountability.

Leadership & Organizational Integration

• Build, lead, and evolve a high-performing finance organization (4-5 direct reports) that delivers strategic insight, operational excellence, and reliable execution at scale.
• Foster a culture of accountability, responsiveness, and mission alignment, ensuring the finance team operates as a proactive partner to the organization rather than a reactive support function.
• Partner across the organization to embed finance into core operational and strategic workflows, enabling informed decisions and effective execution.
• Contribute to organizational design, scalability, and long-term institutional strength by developing finance capabilities, talent, and structures that support growth and resilience.

Crisis & Contingency Leadership

• Lead the organization's financial response during crises, disruptions, or geopolitical shifts, providing decisive leadership and financial clarity in high-stakes environments.
• Ensure continuity of funding flows and financial operations across high-risk and rapidly changing contexts, enabling uninterrupted mission execution.
• Develop and maintain robust contingency and resilience plans that strengthen financial preparedness, protect organizational stability, and support rapid adaptation.

What Mission-Aligned Success Looks Like

• Finance functions as a true strategic partner to the organization, fully supporting program teams and freeing them from day-to-day budget management so they can focus on mission execution.
• A robust, reliable financial infrastructure provides real-time visibility into funding commitments, obligations, and resource deployment across programs and geographies.
• Global and overseas payments are executed efficiently, compliantly, and without delay-even in complex or high-risk environments-ensuring uninterrupted delivery of mission-critical work.
• Financial and payment challenges are anticipated and resolved with ownership and urgency, demonstrating a bias toward action and problem-solving rather than escalation.
• Financial reporting is accurate, timely, and decision-useful, enabling leadership and the Board to make informed strategic and resource-allocation decisions.
• Audits and compliance outcomes are consistently strong, reinforcing organizational credibility, governance, and readiness to scale.
• Financial strategy directly supports organizational growth, long-term sustainability, and increasing mission impact.

Qualifications and Experience

• 10+ years of senior financial leadership experience at the CFO or equivalent level, ideally within international nonprofit or mission-driven organizations; for-profit experience is a strong plus.
• MBA and/or CPA strongly preferred, reflecting both strategic financial leadership and technical depth.
• Extensive experience supporting overseas or international operations, with a track record of enabling programs through disciplined budgeting, financial oversight, and real-time tracking.
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement financial systems that provide clear visibility into program funding commitments, obligations, and expenditures at scale.
• Proven experience managing complex financial operations across multiple entities, jurisdictions, currencies, and asset types.
• Established expertise in executing international payments and disbursements through multiple compliant pathways, ensuring reliability in complex regulatory environments.
• Strong understanding of global regulatory frameworks, sanctions compliance, and financial risk management in high-risk or highly regulated contexts.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial issues into clear, actionable insight for senior leadership and the Board.

Professional Attributes

• Demonstrates sound judgment and discretion in managing sensitive financial, organizational, and mission-critical matters.
• Brings strong executive presence and credibility, effectively engaging the CEO, Board, and external stakeholders as a trusted financial leader.
• Balances pace and discipline, exercising thoughtful control while enabling speed and decisiveness in high-stakes, complex environments.
• Communicates with clarity and authority, translating complex financial concepts into clear, actionable insight for diverse audiences.
• Remains calm and decisive under pressure, navigating ambiguity and rapid change with confidence and focus.
• Acts as a hands-on operator and problem-solver, taking ownership of challenges and leading from the front.
• Builds trust and strong working relationships across program, development, and operations teams, fostering collaboration and shared accountability.

Location

The role is office-based at headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, with travel as needed to support programs, leadership engagement, and mission delivery.

Compensation

An attractive compensation package will be offered, including a competitive base salary and comprehensive benefits such as medical, dental, vision coverage, and a 403(b) plan with employer matching.

Spirit of America has engaged Stanton Chase International to conduct this search. All expressions of interest, applications, and nominations should be submitted directly to Stanton Chase International for Richard Sarmiento at email:View email address on click.appcast.io

Equal Employment Opportunity

Spirit of America is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on merit and business needs without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, disability, or other protected characteristics in accordance with applicable laws.