Finance Director

What We Can Achieve Together:

The Finance Director (Director) serves as senior finance leader for North and South Carolina (referred to as a finance pod), while remaining directly involved and responsible for the financial management and strategic priorities of their primary business unit. They provide financial leadership and oversight across the additional states within the pod. The role supervises finance staff across the pod and partners closely with conservation, philanthropy, operations, and leadership to deliver strategic financial guidance, high-level analysis, and informed decision support.

Working in collaboration with the Southern Division Finance Director, the Director advances division-wide financial priorities by implementing consistent processes, strengthening financial management practices, and fostering collaboration and operational excellence across the pod and the Southern Division.

The Finance Director provides strategic financial leadership and serves as a trusted advisor to conservation, philanthropy, operations, and leadership within their assigned pod. Remaining directly involved and responsible for their primary business unit, they provide financial leadership across the pod, the role leads financial planning, forecasting, reporting, analysis, internal controls, and stewardship activities that support informed decision-making and long-term financial sustainability.

The Finance Director delivers high-quality financial insight and guidance, coordinates finance services across the pod while maintaining strong partnership with assigned business unit leadership and promotes consistent financial practices and operational excellence. The role ensures effective stewardship of financial resources, compliance with organizational policies and regulatory requirements, and alignment with divisional and organizational priorities.

Candidates must reside in North Carolina or South Carolina, and preferably near Raleigh-Durham, NC, or Charleston, SC.

This role may include remote and/or hybrid work arrangements depending on business needs and organizational policies. Regular travel and in-person attendance at staff meetings, leadership retreats, board meetings, and other key events are required.

• Lead financial planning activities including budgeting, forecasting, long-range financial planning, financial reporting, and fiscal year-end activities, and other strategic financial initiatives.
• Deliver high-quality financial reporting, complex analysis, campaign development and support, scenario modeling, and recommendations that enable informed decision-making and support long-term financial sustainability.
• Identify financial risks and opportunities, evaluate alternatives, and develop recommendations to strengthen financial performance, optimize resource allocation, and achieve organizational objectives.
• Coordinate the delivery of finance services across the assigned pods while maintaining strong partnership and responsiveness to the needs of the embedded business unit.
• Supervise, coach, and develop finance staff across the pod, establishing priorities, promoting collaboration, and fostering professional growth and accountability.
• Serve as an active member of the leadership team, participating in leadership team meetings, staff meetings, retreats, and other forums to provide financial insight, support decision-making, and foster collaboration across the business unit.
• Ensure effective stewardship of financial resources through strong internal controls, compliance with organizational policies, donor requirements, regulatory standards, and generally accepted accounting principles, as applicable.
• Ensure accuracy, integrity, and effective management of financial data, processes, and controls to support decision-making.
• Partner with philanthropy, conservation, operations, leadership and other functional teams to provide financial guidance for fundraising initiatives, grants, contracts, campaigns, and strategic projects.
• Support governance activities by serving as a financial resource to state leadership, Boards of Trustees, Finance…