Director of Finance

Description

Position Summary:

The Director of Finance serves as a key financial leader at Roots Community Health, overseeing all fiscal operations, grant/contract accounting, payroll processing, reporting compliance, and financial systems. Sitting at the intersection of strategic management and tactical execution, the Director of Finance ensures the organization's overall financial health, enforces operational discipline, and directs the daily operations of the finance and accounting team. This role balances collaborative interfacing across program and service teams, Administration, and Human Resources with rigorous oversight to ensure foundational finance functions — including payroll, timely invoicing, billing, collections, and financial reporting — are executed without delay. The Director of Finance converts complex financial data across clinical revenue, public grants, Medi-Cal billing, and philanthropic support into actionable insights for executive leadership while mentoring and developing finance department staff.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Financial Operations, Timeliness & Core Execution

Oversee daily accounting and financial operations, ensuring strict adherence to schedules and deadlines across all core functions — including payroll processing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger reconciliation.

Direct and oversee the payroll function to ensure accurate, compliant, and timely payroll execution, payroll tax filings, and retirement/benefit contributions across all staff. Drive prompt invoice generation, submission, and tracking for all public grants, contracts, and vendor accounts to maintain optimal cash flow and avoid operational backlogs.

Partner with Program Directors and managers to ensure grant/contract deliverables, expenditure reports, and financial documentation are submitted accurately and on time. Establish and enforce clear internal controls, standardized workflows, and accounting procedures that protect organizational assets and eliminate delays in routine financial processing.

Cross-Functional & HR Collaboration

Partner closely with the Human Resources Director on joint finance/HR workflows — including payroll administration, salary/wage adjustments, benefits billing, onboarding/offboarding financial processing, and employee status changes.

Collaborate regularly with Program Directors to review grant spending rates, budget updates, and operational financial needs, serving as an approachable and proactive financial resource.

Strategic Oversight & Financial Reporting

Support the CFO in managing overall financial health, fiscal strategy, and reporting compliance across the organization.

Prepare, analyze, and present timely, accurate internal and external financial statements, forecasts, cash-flow projections, and business reports. Provide leadership with financial insights, trend analysis, and variance monitoring to guide strategic decisions and resource allocation. Monitor spending against budgets, investigate variances, and proactively implement solutions to improve fiscal efficiency and workflow timeliness.

Departmental Management & Team Leadership

Direct, manage, and mentor the finance and accounting team.

Screen, hire, train, evaluate, and retain high-performing finance personnel, fostering a departmental culture rooted in accuracy, accountability, and prompt execution. Leverage modern accounting tools — specifically Sage Intacct and advanced Excel — to streamline reporting, automated workflows, and data integration across systems.

Grant, Contract & Compliance Accounting

Ensure strict compliance and accurate, timely accounting and reporting for federal, state, county, and philanthropic grants and contracts. Lead and coordinate external audit preparation, tax filings, and regulatory compliance reviews on schedule.

Monitor contract spending rates in real time, alerting leadership to under/over-utilization early to prevent fiscal risk.

Core Competencies:

Operational Rigor & Timeliness: Prioritizes operational discipline and execution. Ensures foundational accounting tasks — especially payroll, billing, invoicing, and reporting — are completed promptly and accurately without falling behind.

Proactive Interfacing & Partnership: Interfaces seamlessly across departments. Serves as a supportive financial partner to both the HR Director and Program Directors, helping non-financial leaders understand fiscal requirements and maintain project schedules.

Supportive & Mentoring Leadership Style: Leads people with patience, clarity, and accountability. Focuses on fostering growth within the team, building psychological safety, and empowering staff through active feedback and clear expectations.

Strategic & Solutions-Oriented Approach: Demonstrates high-level analytical thinking and sound, data-driven judgment. Approaches financial challenges with curiosity and critical reasoning, anticipating risk and bottleneck issues before they impact operations.

Adaptability & Resilience: Comfortable navigating ambiguity, rapid growth, and shifting external priorities in a dynamic community health environment. Displays poise under pressure and handles sensitive or high-stakes fiscal matters with discretion and confidentiality. 

Mission Alignment & Cultural Humility: Deeply aligned with Roots' mission, values, and commitment to health equity for urban underserved communities. Approaches community-centered work with humility, empathy, and respect.

Minimum Qualifications:

Required: 

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a closely related field.

Experience: Minimum of 5 to 7 years of progressive financial management experience, including at least 3 years in non-profit fund accounting and 2 to 3 years in a direct supervisory or finance leadership role.

Technical Skills: Advanced proficiency with Sage Intacct or a comparable non-profit fund accounting system and advanced Excel (e.g., complex financial modeling, pivot tables, data lookup functions).

Payroll & Compliance: Hands-on experience overseeing payroll processing, payroll tax compliance, external audits, and grant/contract reporting on strict deadlines.

Preferred:

Healthcare Sector Experience: Experience with community health center, clinic, or healthcare billing and reimbursement models (e.g., Medi-Cal, county behavioral health or public health contracts).

Advanced Degree/Certification: CPA, MBA, or Master’s in Finance or Healthcare Administration.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement:

Roots Community Health is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and values diversity of culture, thought, and lived experiences. We seek talented, qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, conviction history, uniform service membership/veteran status, physical or mental disability, protected medical conditions, genetic characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression regardless of physical gender, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. Roots uses E-Verify to validate the eligibility of our new employees to work legally in the United States.