Director of Finance & Administration

GARY COMER YOUTH CENTER•Chicago, IL

11h•$120,000 - $120,000•Onsite

About The Position

Founded in 2006, the Gary Comer Youth Center (GCYC) exists to prepare young people for college, careers, and futures as well‑rounded global citizens. Located in Greater Grand Crossing on Chicago’s South Side, our campus features an 80,000‑square‑foot, state‑of‑the‑art facility; a turf mini‑pitch soccer field; a 1.75‑acre urban farm; an 8,000‑square‑foot rooftop garden; and the Best Buy Teen Tech Center. Each year, we serve more than 2,000 young people from over 100 Chicago‑area schools. Our youth development approach is intentionally comprehensive—integrating academic support, enrichment programming, career exploration, and wraparound services such as counseling referrals, onsite healthcare, restorative justice services, and food systems support. Core program areas include Academic Success, Arts & Technology, Culinary Arts & Nutrition, Sports & Leadership, Urban Agriculture, and Violence Interruption. In addition to philanthropic and grant funding, GCYC generates earned revenue through our catering program, urban farm program, and facility space reservations, all of which reinforce our mission while contributing to long‑term sustainability. We believe every young person deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential—regardless of where they live, how they identify, or the circumstances they were born into. Advancing health, education, and economic equity has always been central to our mission. We are committed to continual learning, responding to evolving needs, and accelerating our efforts to build a more equitable future for all youth. These mission and vision principles guide GCYC’s organizational, operational, and financial strategies and anchor our role as a model for place‑based youth advancement. Learn more at garycomeryouthcenter.org Position Summary The Director of Accounting & Administration leads GCYC’s finance function and serves on the senior leadership team, stewarding our resources so young people can thrive. In close partnership with the Executive Director and department leaders, this role translates GCYC’s strategic vision into clear budgets, transparent reporting, and strong administrative systems. The Director is a visible partner to the Board and key liaison for the Finance/Audit Committee. and communicates clearly and compassionately—both in writing and in person—to build trust with colleagues, trustees, funders, and community partners. GCYC has a fully automated Financial Edge accounting system including Accounts Payable processing. The Director manages a team of two consisting of a Grants Accountant and Accounting Clerk and creates a supportive, learning oriented environment that emphasizes accuracy, timeliness, and continual improvement. Day-to-day, the Director oversees all financial activities including the general ledger, monthly financial statements, tracking and monitoring budget to actual performance as well as data collection and processing on cost reimbursement grants. In addition, the Director is directly responsible for cash management; analyses of financial statements, projections, and decision support analyses; and leads yearend audit activities (including Single Audit when applicable), Form 990 preparation, and related state filings. The Director designs and maintains practical accounting policies, processes, and internal controls that sustain reliability and resilience. GCYC’s revenue is a mix of government funding, corporate grants, individual contributions and earned revenue. Thus, in close cooperation with Program and Development teams, the Director ensures grant and restricted fund accounting is compliant and mission aligned informing grant proposals, overseeing cost allocations, ensuring timely and compliant reporting, and management of cost reimbursement and related cash collection—so that every dollar entrusted to GCYC advances youth power, wellbeing, and community. Essential Functions and Responsibilities: Note: GCYC is a youth serving organization in which all staff are seen as mentors, leaders and examples of success. As such, GCYC requires its staff to be in person at our campus.

Requirements

BA/BS in in Business with an emphasis in accounting.
Knowledge of nonprofit GAAP and fund accounting, including management of restricted funds.
Experience with accounting and processing of multiple revenue streams including government grants
A track record of producing timely financial reports with strong exposure to all aspects of financial operations
High degree of comfort and ability to execute responsibilities with a lean staff and competing priorities.
Ability to work cohesively with non-financial coworkers.
A minimum of 5 years prior accounting experience with at least 2 years supervisory experience.
Strong operational experience in and an affinity for the detail-oriented tasks of creating systems, processes, agendas, and managing and analyzing data.
Experience with grant management, compliance, and reporting.
Able to communicate effectively with youth, co-workers, stakeholders and families in a respectful and culturally competent manner via written and verbal communication.
Must be able to take initiative and problem solve.
Must be a creative thinker.
Demonstrates attention to detail in all areas of work and possesses adaptive vitality.
Must have basic computer literacy skills – including Microsoft Office, independent use of the internet and ability to learn and properly utilize software systems.
Abides by the employee handbook and established GCYC policies and procedures.
Demonstrates understanding of the positive youth development philosophy.
Must demonstrate cultural competency, dedication to working with youth, families and community members in our care.

Nice To Haves

CPA preferred.
Experience with Finance Edge strongly preferred, up-to-date skills in Microsoft Excel required
Demonstrated success leading multiple projects in a nonprofit environment strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Maintain a thorough understanding of the general ledger and reporting structure; ensure accurate, on‑time monthly, quarterly, and year‑end close.
Manage cash flow and banking activities to ensure timely bill payment, revenue collection and financial liquidity.
Supervise GL, A/P, and A/R to meet all financial activity and reporting deadlines with high accuracy.
Lead organization‑wide budgeting and forecasting for both organizational and grant needs; prepare financial statements and projections to inform decision‑making.
Partner with department leads to align budgets with goals; monitor and analyze work outputs to improve procedures and resource use while maintaining accuracy.
Train and develop staff on the use of accounting systems and technology to effectively and efficiently complete work and maintain a highly functioning and cohesive finance team.
Be a thought leader for handling all nonroutine transactions and complex reporting items.
Lead the annual financial audit and Single Audit (as applicable), including SEFA preparation and corrective action plans (if any).
Assist with preparation of IRS Form 990 and related state filings, coordinate board review prior to submission.
Partner with Executive Director to oversee HR administration with GCYC’s third party HR/Payroll vendor, including benefits and payroll compliance, employee handbook stewardship, and compensation benchmarking.
Design, document, and monitor internal controls, including segregation of duties and lead periodic control assessments and remediation.
Establish and maintain grant accounting practices (allowability, time & effort, indirect rate/cost allocation, restricted fund releases) and deliver compliant funder reporting.
Review grant agreements, required reports, and vouchers; ensure terms are implemented in financial systems and calendars.
Serve as primary liaison for all financial matters to the Board and the Finance/Audit Committee; produce dashboards, packets, calendars, and minutes.
Own finance‑related governance policies (conflict of interest, whistleblower, document retention) and coordinate annual attestations and policy reviews.
Own enterprise risk management; lead insurance renewals (GL, D&O, cyber, workers’ comp).
Lead strategic development and implementation of new processes and procedures to enhance workflow and performance across the department.
Complete special projects, process improvements, and other duties as assigned.
Maintains organizational processes and documentation to ensure compliance, sustainability, and resiliency
Demonstrates a commitment to transparency across organizational practices and relevant information
Contribute to strategic planning as a senior leader to ensure sustainability and stability in our operations
Embrace/demonstrate the values of GCYC: Youth Power Innovation Wellbeing Community Commitment Equity and Inclusion Joy
Leads major organizational initiatives and ensures all initiatives align with GCYC’s mission and workplace culture.
Develop and implement strategies to create and maintain a productive and engaging work environment where employees feel safe, comfortable, engaged, and capable to be successful.
Believes in continual improvement and has high expectations of themselves and their colleagues
Develop and implement ways to support employee collaboration, celebration, and team building.
Responsible for the supervision and leadership of department staff (includes trainings, achievement of goals, adherence to policies and procedures, creating work schedules and time clock approvals, and performance evaluations.
Review and evaluate staff performance.
Develop strategies to motivate staff and achieve goals, foster staff engagement and development.