Director, Controller

Our partners at Seattle Foundation are seeking an experienced, strategic Director, Controller to play a key role in shaping the financial health and future of the organization!

Position Highlights

• Target Hiring Range: $180K - $195K; Full Salary Range: $145,577 - $240,203
• Type: Permanent; Full-Time, Salary/Exempt
• Location: Hybrid Work Model; Offices located downtown Seattle, WA
• Submission Requirements:
• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Excellent PTO Package: Enjoy 3 weeks of vacation, 2 weeks of sick leave, 4 wellness days, 15 holidays, and 2 weeks off (paid) during Fourth of July and Thanksgiving weeks.

About Seattle Foundation

Founded in 1946, Seattle Foundation has guided philanthropy in the Seattle region as trusted advisors to donors who care deeply about their community and partners to organizations driving work on the frontlines. The foundation believes that the people most proximate to the issues of our time have the solutions and develop targeted strategies to inspire collective action.

The inflection point Seattle Foundation finds themselves in at this moment is about how they lean more deeply into impact work that is transformational while simultaneously retooling their business model to support this shift. In 2023, the Foundation engaged in a strategic planning process to seize the moment and lean in. The three-year strategic plan (to be publicly released later this year) is the culmination of a nine-month process involving significant dialogue and iteration with core stakeholders and potential partners across the region. This process was rooted in a commitment to advance the Blueprint for Impact through near-term goals and milestones toward their vision of a joyful region of shared prosperity, belonging, and justice.

Position Overview:

Seattle Foundation is seeking an experienced, strategic Director, Controller to play a key role in shaping the financial health and future of the organization. In this pivotal position, you'll oversee accounting, tax compliance, financial systems, internal controls, and fund management, ensuring the Foundation's financial strategies are aligned with its mission. This role works closely with the CFO and provides expert guidance on financial management, all while maintaining strong relationships with internal teams, the Board, committee members, vendors, and donors.

Key Responsibilities

1. Leadership/Management              
• Lead team culture of high performance, continuous improvement, learning and excellence.
• Establish accounting vision, drive process improvements, and develop/monitor KPIs & metrics.
• Supervise and mentor Assistant Controller, and Finance Operations Manager.
• Develop staff, workplans, career ladders, and ensure appropriate cross-training and process documentation are in place to provide appropriate transaction redundancies.
• Assist CFO in supporting the Audit and Finance Committees.
2. Operations
• Oversee, plan, direct, and coordinate all accounting operation functions including financial and fund management.
• Assess current accounting operations, maintain a documented system of accounting policies and procedures, and offer recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Implement financial policies and new processes across the organization.
• Ensure availability of sufficient back-up documentation (i.e., schedules and analyses that support financial statement amounts for fixed assets, pledges, investments and trust assets, debt, trust and annuity liabilities, endowment funds, etc.).
• Advise Director of Gifts and Grants on complex gift and grant transactions.
• Responsible for cash flow management, capital call approvals, and the sale of gifts of securities.
• Manage and develop relations with all auditors, banks, other financial institutions and consultants, as well as other external stakeholders, as appropriate.
3. Compliance/Risk Management  
• Ensure SeaFdn complies with GAAP plus federal, state and local financial/tax laws and regulations.
• Responsible for oversight and compliance with SeaFdn’s internal control policies, practices, and procedures. In collaboration with staff and other departments, develop and review COSO-compliant procedures to improve SeaFdn internal controls; recommend and implement policy changes.
• Own the general ledger and ensure accuracy and quality of financial statements.
• Collaborate and support Assistant Controller during the annual financial statement audit process, including managing external audit relationships, internal coordination, and quality assurance.
• Collaborate and support Assistant Controller for review of the state and federal tax return preparation, and interface with tax authorities when necessary.
• Responsible for compliance with payroll reporting requirements and payroll processing.
• Advise management and other stakeholders on tax implications from operational activities and stay current on local, state(s), and federal regulatory and tax code revisions.
• Monitor debt levels and manage compliance with banking debt covenants on debt instruments.
4. Oversee contract and risk management
• Support CFO to develop, implement, and oversee cross foundation risk management strategies.
• Ensure that processes and systems improvements, modernization of data applications and internal controls are transparent, communicated, documented, and approved.
• Create and maintain organization wide procurement policies and procedures and provide direction and training for contract staff in the requirements of the procurement process.
• Lead the standardization of the development and maintenance of Request for Proposal (RFP) documents and work with staff to convene and train RFP review panelists.
• Manage procured vendor and consultant contract relationships where applicable.
• Advise and guide the preparation and posting of RFPs for SeaFdn.
• Work with subject matter experts to edit scopes of work, technical specifications, and other solicitation/contract documents for clarity and consistency, technical specifications, and other solicitations/contracts.

• 10+ years of direct accounting and financial management experience, with a proven track record of increasing responsibility.
• 5+ years of experience in people management, building and leading high-performing teams.
• CPA certification or equivalent experience required.
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, business administration, finance, or a similar field, or equivalent experience.
• Deep commitment to the Seattle community, with a focus on racial equity and economic opportunity.
• Experience in Fund or Non-Profit accounting and grantmaking is a plus.
• Excellent communication skills, including public speaking and writing; comfortable presenting to all levels of the organization, including the Board of Trustees.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central/Customer Engagement is preferred.

• 100% Paid by employer: medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, LTD. 403(b)

• Retirement matched at 5%; increasing to 10% over time, 100% immediate vesting.
• PTO: 3 weeks’ vacation, 2 weeks sick, 4 wellness days, 15 holidays,
• $1,200 annual remote work benefit, $750 annual wellness benefit, $1,200 annual transit benefit; Professional development stipend, optional Flex plan and dependent coverage.
• The hiring range reflects SeaFdn’s objective to hire at approximately the mid-range within the associated grade. Per Washington State law, SeaFdn discloses the full range of the associated grade for this position; this range is 100% of range and has not been adjusted. 

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

The work is performed remotely, in an office setting, or a hybrid combination. All positions require the capability of working at a PC for extended periods. Team efforts with event support may require periods of physical activity involving standing, walking, and moderate lifting. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary functions of the role.

Safety and Health Requirements:

Seattle Foundation places the health and safety of its employees and the communities we serve as our highest priority. To support this priority, we require that all employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Waivers are available for accepted medical and religious exemptions.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

Seattle Foundation envisions a thriving region of shared prosperity, belonging, and justice, where all individuals and communities have equitable access and outcomes, regardless of race, place, or identity. We are committed to advancing racial equity using an intersectional lens, and integrate our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts into all that we do. We hold ourselves accountable to uphold our organizational values and strive to do better every day.

About Seattle Foundation Continued...

Seattle Foundation has gone through significant growth and change over the past several years. The Foundation carried out a strategic refocus in 2020, shaping the Blueprint for Impact framework that explicitly centers racial equity and inclusion as critical to everything they do. Alesha Washington, President & CEO, joined the Foundation in May 2022 and is guiding the Foundation towards honing its strategic focus and community impact. In March 2024, Seattle Foundation’s Board approved a three-year strategic plan focused on near-term opportunities to deepen impact and a roadmap to financial sustainability to evolve their business model.

Building on our core strategic grantmaking approach and guided by our recently adopted strategic plan, Seattle Foundation will work to use our voice and grantmaking activities to advance community priorities around the following three areas:  1) affordable housing financing, 2) transit-oriented development, and 3) equitable childcare access. These are cross-cutting issue areas, meaning that their work does not live in siloes and the work their grantees do in these areas is multi-dimensional. These are high-impact opportunities with near term milestones that both allow the organization to advance toward their vision and inspire stakeholders to join them.

By focusing on these high-priority issues, the Foundation can employ the unique skills and relationships that they hold in service of communities most impacted by racism and other inequities. As the Greater Seattle region changes and new policies are passed to maximize public resources, the specific near-term opportunities will evolve. The Foundation’s priorities will always be guided by their community grant partners proximate to the needs of community.