Vice President of Finance - San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance • San Diego, CA

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About The Position

The Vice President of Finance leads all of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance's (SDZWA) controllership activities, payroll, grant administration and other key finance functions. Key responsibilities include ownership of the annual audit, income tax return (PF990), treasury functions and banking relationships, and agreed upon procedures reporting coordinated with our outside auditors amongst others. The Vice President of Finance drives projects supporting SDZWA strategic initiatives like:Leading initiatives aligned to the Finance Departments north star principles (Simplicity, Insight and Profit Enhancement) like the financial services implementation of US Bank completed in 2025.Building out the framework for our Business Development Program in 2024, which then handed over to a resource that could be fully dedicated to Business Development. The Vice President of Finance continues to support the Business Development function including building financial models and running analytics on opportunities.This position reports to the Chief Financial Officer.

Requirements

• 10+ years progressive finance experience required. Exceptional finance experience demonstrated in SDZWA deemed as equivalent to 10+ years experience outside of SDZWA.
• 10+ years supervisory experience preferred.
• Bachelor’s Degree in finance, accounting, business administration, or a related field or equivalent specialized training and/or job experience required.
• California driver license preferred
• CPA preferred
• Sophisticated financial systems
• Processes across multiple entities/divisions
• Strategic budgeting, forecasting, reporting and analytics
• GAAP for nonprofits with complicated bequests and endowments
• Complex cash flow and funding models for nonprofits
• Governmental regulations for 501(c)3 organizations
• OMB reporting and compliance requirements for federal awards
• Treasury, banking and investment practices
• Analytical and effective organizational skills
• Team building skills
• Effective leadership and diplomacy skills
• Lead a large and diverse workforce
• Lead cross-functional teams
• Manage financial resources
• Develop specialized procedures and systems
• Plan and implement major projects
• Develop and administer budgets
• Prepare and make presentations
• Use word processing, spreadsheet, and database systems
• Communicate effectively (verbal and written)
• Provide strong interpersonal skills
• Meet short and long-range goals
• Work effectively with others in a diverse environment
• Think and act strategically and proactively
• Mentor, develop staff and to create a succession plan

Responsibilities

• Leads strategic initiatives and supports business development activities including identifying, researching, building financial models, providing analytical insight and implementing amongst others.
• Establishes and maintains strong and cohesive relationships with business partners providing great customer service and addressing ad-hoc analysis/requests as appropriate.
• Establishes and supports programs, recurring meetings and developing/presenting materials to the Executive leadership team for insight, evaluation and go/no-go decisions.
• Leads the controllership, payroll, grant administration and treasury functions amongst others, including fund/grant accounting, general ledger / reporting, policy compliance, controls oversight, and process/workflow enhancement activities.
• Leads the team in supporting key external reporting deliverables like debt/bond compliance, Form 990, annual audited financial statements, federal awards compliance audit and filings, etc.
• Hires, trains, leads, develops and coaches staff; monitors and evaluates performance; and recommends and implements personnel actions.
• Leads the team in developing and implementing training programs for the benefit of the Finance team.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive