Chief Financial Officer

The General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) seeks a visionary, creative, and forward-thinking Chief Financial Officer to help shape the next era of financial leadership for GCFA. This opportunity calls for a leader who will build new capabilities, reimagine services, modernize systems, and turn bold ideas into sustainable solutions that strengthen United Methodist ministries around the world. The successful candidate will view finance not only as a discipline of stewardship but also as a platform for innovation, growth, and ministry impact.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the General Secretary, theChief Financial Officer(CFO) will serve asGCFA’ssenior financial executive,trusted advisor, relationship builder, and financial storyteller. The CFO will lead the evolution of GCFA’s financial services and translatecomplex financial information into clear, meaningful insights thathelpclergy, bishops, agency leaders, conference treasurers, boards, committees, and other constituents make informed decisions and strengthen financial stewardship across The UMC.This leader will ensure that all financial resources entrusted to GCFA are administered faithfully and transparently in accordance with the Book of Discipline, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), applicable legal and regulatory requirements, and policies established by the General Conference and the GCFA Board.

The CFO will modernize financial systems and reporting, expand a scalable Shared Services Model, develop decision-ready dashboards and forecasting tools, and create service offerings that strengthen stewardship across The UMC. Working with constituents and internal partners, this leader will move promising ideas from discovery and design through implementation, measurement, and continuous improvement. The CFO will shape services that support ministries and affiliated organizations and help leaders make stronger decisions through better data, systems, and financial insight. This role offers a rare opportunity to combine executive financial leadership with institution building, innovation, and meaningful ministry impact.

The Leader We Are Seeking

The strongest candidates will pair executive-level financial expertise with imagination, courage, curiosity, and a genuine commitment to service. They will bring a demonstrated record of modernizing systems, improving services, building new programs, and leading meaningful operational changes. As strategic thinkers and disciplined operators, they will invite new perspectives, build trust across diverse constituencies, and move ambitious ideas from concept through sustained implementation without compromising integrity, transparency, and fiduciary responsibility. They will also lead high-quality, responsive services that support affiliated organizations, ministries, programs, and other United Methodist entities.

Essential Functions:

• Financial strategy and stewardship: Provides vision and leadership for GCFA’s financial strategy; safeguards the fiscal integrity and long-term sustainability of GCFA and the general funds of The United Methodist Church; and advances mission effectiveness, responsible stewardship, forecasting, financial modeling, and strategic resource allocation.
• Finance organization leadership: Oversees / manages accounting, treasury, payroll, budgeting, and related functions while fostering accountability, collaboration, innovation, operational excellence, customer service, continuous improvement, professional development, and succession planning.
• Treasury, investments, and entrusted assets: Directs cash management, banking relationships, liquidity planning, fund administration, investment portfolios, reserve funds, trusts, and other managed assets, ensuring prudent stewardship, appropriate safeguards and controls, effective risk management, alignment with investment policies, and fulfillment of fiduciary responsibilities.
• Accounting, reporting, and compliance: Oversees accounting operations, financial reporting, internal controls, audits, and regulatory compliance to ensure accurate, timely, and transparent financial information and adherence to GAAP, the Book of Discipline, denominational requirements, applicable laws and regulations, and organizational policies.
• Governance and executive advising: Serves as the principal financial advisor to the General Secretary, Board of Directors, executive leadership, and governance committees, providing financial analysis, policy recommendations, reporting, and strategic guidance that support sound decision-making, governance, and fiduciary oversight.
• Constituent relationships and financial communication: Builds trusted relationships with bishops, conference treasurers, agency leaders, boards, finance committees, ministry partners, and affiliated organizations. Represents GCFA in constituent, conference, agency, and board settings and translates complex financial information into clear, actionable dashboards, reports, presentations, and educational resources that strengthen transparency, collaboration, shared learning, and mission-focused service.
• Shared services: Leads the design, implementation, expansion, and continuous improvement of a scalable Shared Services Model for conferences, agencies, ministries, programs, and affiliated organizations. Establishes service standards, performance metrics, and operational practices that improve quality, accountability, responsiveness, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and value across the connection.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field required; Master of Business Administration (MBA) strongly preferred.
• CPA, CMA, or comparable advanced professional credential strongly preferred.
• Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible financial leadership experience, including demonstrated success leading complex financial operations and shared service organizations is required.
• Demonstrated knowledge of GAAP, nonprofit accounting, fund accounting, and internal controls.
• Experience overseeing complex investment portfolios and fiduciary assets.
• Experience implementing, optimizing, or using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system required. Prior experience with NetSuite is a plus.
• Experience translating complex financial information into clear insights and recommendations for boards and executive leaders.
• Strong leadership, communication, analytical judgment, and strategic planning skills.
• Experience within a nonprofit, faith-based, denominational, or connectional organization required; knowledge of The United Methodist Church, its governance structures, and financial systems preferred.