About Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank’s vision is that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles County. Since 1973, the Food Bank has distributed more than 1.5 billion pounds of food, the equivalent of more than 1.2 billion meals. The Food Bank collects food from hundreds of sources. With the help of more than 30,000 volunteers annually, an agency network of more than 700 partner agencies, and direct service programs, we serve more than 900,000 on a monthly basis. Ninety-seven percent of revenues go directly to programs.

Most of the Food Bank’s support comes from private sources although government programs are also an important source of food and funds.  Total revenue for 2019 was $131.7 million with the value of food donations comprising 79 percent of revenues.  In response to the pandemic, the Food Bank’s distribution has increased by 145 percent, and total revenues will exceed $300 million in 2020.  The Food Bank’s annual report audited financial statements and Form 990 are available at lafoodbank.org.  

The Food Bank operates three distribution centers located in South Los Angeles, Commerce and a newly acquired building in the City of Industry. The core work of the Food Bank is utilizing a fleet of trucks to pick up donated food and product, transport it to one of the Food Bank’s distribution centers, and distribute the food and grocery product to the partner agency network or directly to people through Food Bank programs.  The Food Bank also works to support legislation and policies at the federal, State and local level that reduce hunger. 

The mission of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is to mobilize resources to fight hunger in the community. To fulfill this mission, the Food Bank sources and acquires food and other products and distributes them to needy people through charitable agencies or directly through programs, energizes the community to get involved supporting hunger relief, and conducts hunger education and awareness campaigns and advocates for public policies that alleviate hunger.

For more information on the Food Bank, please visit their website.

The Opportunity

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank (“Food Bank”) is seeking an entrepreneurial and strategic Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) to provide leadership for the organization’s core financial and operational planning and in support of the strategies, goals and objectives established by the Board and President/CEO. This is an ideal opportunity for a seasoned, hand-on finance professional with solid management experience to further develop the infrastructure, and policies and procedures to sustain and contribute to the growth of a well-regarded mission-oriented non-profit organization. The CFO serves as a key member of the Senior Management Team and plays a critical role in both the day-to-day operations and long-term strategy development and implementation.

The Chief Financial Officer will lead all aspects of fiscal operations and oversee the Food Bank’s total operating budget of $35+ million. This will include oversight of the Finance & Accounting and Inventory Control teams, ensuring optimal service is provided internally and to community partners and customers. This leader will also be responsible for management evaluation, professional development, and succession planning. This position reports to the President/CEO and is part of a distributed workforce with offices in City of Industry and Los Angeles, with the original headquarters in South Los Angeles, adjacent to Vernon.

The CFO will be responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of the Controller, and Inventory Control Director.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Process Improvement 

• Participates in the formulation and execution of strategic plans, structures and processes necessary to manage the organization's current activities and projected growth.
• Works with leadership team in analysis of economic and political trends that leads to execution of improvement action plans to ensure that performance metrics are consistent.
• In coordination with management team members, recommends changes in existing policies or practices affecting the Food Bank to President/CEO including systems changes and process improvements.
• Implements policies and procedures within parameters set by President/CEO and Board of Directors.
• Provides objective strategic and financial guidance to the President/CEO on changes in policies and procedures proposed by other departments.
• Establish and communicate to employees a high level of expectation and commitment to continuous improvement and excellence within the operation.
• Coordinates plans for further development of existing and future programs to increase the output and efficiency of programmatic activities in keeping with demand for various kinds of food assistance.

Operational and Organizational Effectiveness

• Participates in the formulation and execution of strategic plans, structures and processes necessary to manage the organization's current activities and projected growth.
• Works with President/CEO to maintain a sound corporate organization and establishes policies to ensure safe and efficient operations are maintained throughout all activities.
• Works to ensure optimal service is provided internally and to community partners and customers.
• Responsibility for interviewing, hiring, and training employees and subsequently planning, assigning and directing work.
• Outcome-oriented supervision, including appraising performance, rewarding and disciplining employees, addressing complaints and resolving problems with urgency and commitment.

Reporting, Analysis, and Record Keeping

• Provides objective strategic and financial guidance on all related matters to the President/CEO and various Committees of the Boards.
• Prepares for President/CEO’s approval, Food Bank financial and key operational reports, including those required for presentation to the Board of Directors.
• Directs and reviews the preparation of financial reports for President/CEO signature and submits them to various private or government agencies as required
• Reviews banking services periodically and makes recommendation to the President/CEO on service enhancements or changes.

Budgets and Long-range Planning

• Develops operating and program budgets with various departmental heads for review and approval by President/CEO.
• Assists President/CEO in related operational and financial budgetary and forecasting analysis and subsequent presentation to the Board of Directors.
• Provides direction on the production of Budget performance reports and related analysis for monthly reporting to department heads.
• Must have proven ability to build/manage budgets that have complex contractual requirements and priorities.
• Assists various departmental heads in explaining/analyzing the expense reports.

Audits and Tax Preparation

• Responsible for assisting independent auditors in various aspects of the audit of financial statements and A-133 Single Audits of federal awards.
• Actively assists CPA firm in all matters involving preparation of annual information return.
• Acts as a liaison for the Audit Committee in audit firm RFP process.

Payroll and Benefits Management

• Serves as point person on 403(b) defined benefit plan fund comparison and as plan administrator on behalf of the Food Bank.
• Reviews 403(b) fund performance periodically with advisors and makes recommendations to the President/CEO on addition or deletion of fund options for the plan participants.
• Reviews payroll services and makes recommendations to the President/CEO on enhancements or changes in collaboration with the Human Resources Director.

Investment Management

• Reviews and recommends to President/CEO and finance committee of investment of surplus funds. Serves as point person on all aspects of executing investment decisions approved by the Board of Directors.
• Maintains records of all investments and is responsible for reporting on the investments to the Finance Committee and the Board periodically.

Insurance and Risk Management

• In partnership with appropriate senior staff, coordinates efforts to evaluate the results of each area of operations, including activities that directly affect organizational risk and liability and systematically reports these results to the President/CEO.
• Monitors issues involving financial risk to the Food Bank, and legal issues affecting the environment in which we operate
• Constructs and monitors reliable control systems including liability, property, and general lines of coverage
• Maintains appropriate insurance coverage
• Ensures that the Food Bank complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.
• Acts as Food Bank contact with respect to handling insurance and risk contracts, MOUs, LOUs and similar contractual matters, jointly sharing the function with the President/CEO and/or the Human Resources Director.
• Serves as point person for matters related to Emergency Network Los Angeles agreements, legal issues and City and County requirements as they pertain to contracts compliance, including AIB, USDA, FDA and other food safety ordinances.

Core Competencies

The Chief Financial Officer will be a detail-oriented and self-directed leader with superb interpersonal and communication skills. The CFO will have at least 8-10 years in a progressively responsible financial leadership role along with direct involvement or oversight of operations/inventory management. Candidates will be considered from all sectors and professional backgrounds, however, there is preference for candidates with 5+ years of senior financial management experience in a food manufacturing or perishables distribution environment and ten years of demonstrated high-level leadership success within a food distribution environment is preferred.  

A Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting/Finance is required; CPA and advanced degree preferred. Additionally, the most competitive candidates for the position will have the following professional competencies and personal characteristics:

Financial and Technical Expertise: The Chief Financial Officer must possess significant financial and technical expertise as a financial professional and business leader. The CFO will be knowledgeable of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and financial management, including fund accounting, cash management, cost/benefit analyses, budgeting, debt-servicing, facilities management, and capital projects. The CFO must also be technologically savvy, with strong capabilities in ERP software analytics and superb PC proficiency working in a windows environment. The CFO will bring together data/information to inform strategic decisions and harness technology to simplify workflows, avoid reduplication of efforts, and improve the overall operations of the organization.

General Management and Administrative Acumen: This leader will have the management experience to build effective connections across the organization. This person will bring clarity to the roles and organizational structure so that responsibilities, goals, and ownership of objectives and key results are clearly delineated. The CFO will also address performance deficiencies and challenges. The CFO will consequently suggest improvements and take responsibility for team performance, including celebrating successes and recognizing team members for noteworthy contributions.

Collaborative Leadership: The CFO will inspire others to work together to achieve a common purpose, and will be an effective leader on the executive team. This person will foster a culture of collaboration and mutual respect, and will encourage diversity of opinions, values, and perspectives. The CFO should have experience recruiting and retaining high performing team members as well as providing professional development opportunities to cement interpersonal and organizational growth. Additionally, the CFO will act as a role model in demonstrating client and donor care principles and embraces a client/donor-centric process in developing strategies.

Strategic Thinking and Problem Solving: The CFO will be a strategic partner to the CEO/President and Board of Directors in developing and implementing a vision. The Chief Financial Officer will regularly review organization structure, staffing levels, and processes to ensure alignment with present goals and future milestones. Communication and transparency will be critical as the CFO will solicit and aggregate feedback and subsequently generate interest and support of the strategy with all levels of the organization. The CFO must be comfortable anticipating problems and developing pro-active solutions, particularly when there may be no available precedents, guidelines, or policies. As such, the CFO must have a track record of success in devising innovative solutions creative-problem solving by drawing upon experience, research on best practices, and outreach to colleagues.

Passion for the Mission: The Chief Financial Officer must be passionate about Los Angeles Regional Food Bank’s mission to mobilize resources to fight hunger in the community. In 2018, the Food Bank commemorated their 45^th anniversary amidst celebrating their most successful year to date. This success is both born and made possible through the commitment and collaborative efforts of the of volunteers, partner agencies, donors, staff, executive leadership and board. An appreciation for this collaborative ecosystem will be integral to sustaining and enhancing the Food Bank’s impact.

Promoting and Modeling Organization Values: The CFO provides leadership in preserving and modeling the Food Bank’s seven values: respect, stewardship & accountability, collaboration, urgency, service, integrity and diversity. The CFO will foster a culture in which adherence to ethical guidelines and responsibility is valued, communicated, and continuously reinforced. Emotional intelligence will be necessary to builds a collaborative leadership framework that factors integrity into how decisions are made, how people are treated, and how things operate. The CFO must have a track record of sound judgment, uncompromising ethical standards, a high level of personal integrity, and the ability to handle confidential matters with discretion.