Chief Financial and Operations Officer

Chief Financial and Operations Officer (CFOO)

Location: Seattle preferred, with option for remote locations in US or country offices

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Direct reports : Finance team, Operations/Administration team, IT

Budget scope: US $15M annual operating budget globally

Employment type: Full-time, exempt

Landesa is an international nonprofit dedicated to ending global poverty by securing land rights for rural communities around the globe. We are committed to a future in which all women and men who depend on land have secure, legal land rights – one of the most powerful tools for lifting oneself, one’s family, and one’s community out of poverty.

To achieve our vision, we partner with governments, civil society, and companies to develop pro-poor and gender-sensitive laws, policies and programs that have helped strengthen land rights for more than 720 million people in the last 5 years. Since our founding in 1981, we have worked in more than 65 countries throughout the world, with central office staff in the U.S. (Seattle, Washington and Washington, DC) and regional programming in China, India, Liberia, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Landesa has been consistently ranked one of the top ten international NGOs in the world and has received numerous awards for its work.

Position Summary

The Chief Financial and Operations Officer (CFOO) is a senior leadership role responsible for the financial integrity, operational effectiveness, and organizational infrastructure of Landesa. As a strategic partner to the CEO and a core member of the Senior Leadership Team, the CFOO oversees finance, multi-year financial planning, annual budgeting process, coordinates country office policies and procedures, grants and contracts compliance, information technology, risk management, and administrative and legal compliance across headquarters and country/field offices.

This role requires a leader who can operate with rigor in a complex, multi-currency, multi-jurisdictional environment while remaining attuned to the mission-driven, community-centered nature of land rights work. The CFOO ensures the organization has the financial discipline, systems, and internal controls to steward donor funds responsibly, comply with diverse regulatory environments, and support sustainable growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as chief steward of the organization's finances, overseeing budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management, and financial reporting for a ~$15M consolidated annual budget spanning HQ and field offices.
• Lead annual budget development and periodic re-forecasting in partnership with program and country teams.
• Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements and management reporting to the CEO, Board, and Finance Committee.
• Manage the annual audit process, ensuring clean audit opinions and timely resolution of any findings.
• Oversee treasury functions, banking relationships, and investment of reserves, including management of multi-currency exposure and foreign exchange risk across field offices.
• Ensure robust financial controls, policies, and segregation of duties are in place and consistently applied across all offices and country programs.

Operations & Administration

• Oversee organization-wide operations, including facilities, procurement, logistics, and administrative systems for HQ and field/country offices.
• Ensure country offices have the operational infrastructure, local registrations, and compliance mechanisms needed to operate legally and effectively in their respective jurisdictions. (Indonesia, Kenya, India, etc.)
• Lead continuous improvement of operational policies, procedures, and systems to support efficiency and scale.
• Serve as the organization's principal owner of enterprise risk management, including financial, operational, legal, security, and reputational risk.
• Oversee organizational insurance programs (D&O, property, travel, field security-related coverage).
• Manage relationships with external legal counsel on corporate, employment, contract, and international operations matters, including registration and regulatory compliance in countries of operation.
• Monitor and ensure compliance with anti-terrorism financing, anti-corruption, and safeguarding regulations relevant to international operations.
• Oversee IT infrastructure, data security, and systems supporting financial management, program monitoring, and organizational operations.
• Lead selection and implementation of financial and operational systems (e.g., accounting/ERP platforms, grants management systems) appropriate to a growing international organization.

Grants, Contracts & Donor Compliance

• Oversee financial management and compliance for a diversified funding portfolio (institutional donors, foundations, government grants, and individual giving), ensuring compliance with donor-specific financial requirements
• Partner with development/fundraising and program teams on grant budgeting, proposal development, and financial reporting to funders.
• Oversee subgrant and subrecipient management, including due diligence, monitoring, and capacity strengthening of local partner organizations.
• Provide strategic and operational oversight and direction to the Program Effectiveness team

Leadership & Governance

• Serve as a key advisor to the CEO and active member of the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to organizational strategy, growth planning, and decision-making.
• Serve as primary staff liaison to the Board Finance/Audit Committee, presenting financial reports and analysis and responding to Board inquiries.
• Build and mentor a high-performing finance and operations team, including staff based in HQ and country offices; foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous learning.
• Represent the organization's financial and operational interests in relationships with auditors, banks, insurers, regulators, and peer organizations.

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum 10–15 years of progressively senior finance and operations leadership experience, including at least 5 years in a CFO, COO, CFOO, or equivalent senior role.
• Significant experience managing finance and operations for an international non-profit or NGO with multi-country operations and a budget of comparable size or larger.
• Deep knowledge of nonprofit fund accounting, GAAP, and financial management best practices; experience with international financial reporting considerations.
• Substantial experience managing institutional donor compliance and subgrant/subrecipient management.
• Demonstrated experience managing oversight of IT, risk management, and administrative functions, in addition to finance.
• Experience managing multi-currency budgets and financial operations across diverse regulatory and tax environments.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field; CPA, CA, ACCA, MBA, or equivalent professional qualification strongly preferred.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to present complex financial information clearly to Boards, donors, and non-financial audiences.
• Demonstrated commitment to human rights, land rights, Indigenous rights, or related social justice issues.

Preferred

• Experience working with land rights, environmental justice, Indigenous rights, or natural resource governance organizations.
• Experience operating in Africa, Southeast Asia, India, China.
• Experience leading organizational growth, systems transformation, or ERP implementation.
• Familiarity with safeguarding, duty-of-care, and field security frameworks for staff operating in higher-risk environments.

Core Competencies

• Strategic financial leadership and analytical rigor
• Cross-cultural leadership and ability to work effectively across HQ and field-based teams
• Strong ethical judgment, integrity, and commitment to transparency
• Ability to balance operational discipline with mission-driven flexibility
• Collaborative, relationship-oriented leadership style
• Comfort operating amid ambiguity and resource constraints typical of the non-profit sector

Travel

This role will require periodic international travel estimated at 10-15%.

Landesa offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience, along with health benefits, retirement contributions, paid time off, professional development support. Salary range: $185,000-220,000 commensurate with experience and location. Landesa Benefits Information .

Equal employment opportunity has been, and will continue to be, a fundamental principle at Landesa. Landesa is committed to a work environment in which relationships are characterized by dignity, courtesy, and respect. We are committed to nondiscrimination in all our business operations and embrace diversity as a key strategic philosophy and strength of how we do our global work. Landesa actively seeks diverse candidates for employment.