Chief Financial Officer

Overview

The Center for Rural Affairs is seeking a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to lead the Center's financial strategy, manage fiscal health, and oversee all finance and accounting operations. This role is opening due to the retirement of the current CFO, expected May of 2026. The position will be based in Lyons, Nebraska, with office attendance at least 3 days per week.

Key responsibilities include financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, risk management, compliance, and reporting, as well as acting as a strategic advisor to the Executive Director and board on growth, investments, and long-term planning to ensure financial stability for the organization and its lending portfolio.

The Center for Rural Affairs is a community-based organization with programs in lending, community development, and policy. The organization is an intermediary lender for the Small Business Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. The CFO’s responsibilities extend to the Center for Rural Affairs Community Capital, an affiliated Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certified by the Department of Treasury, as well as to the Granary Foundation, an affiliated endowment fund.

Together, the three affiliated entities have an annual budget of $10 million and total assets of $63 million, including $25 million in loans outstanding. The organization is funded through a mix of grants, donations, and earned income.

The CFO role includes developing the strategies, tactics, and performance goals required to achieve targeted financial objectives while building relationships with key internal stakeholders, regulators, auditors, contractors, and other external partners. Additionally, the CFO will plan, develop, organize, implement, direct, forecast, and evaluate the Center’s community-based loan programs, including annual risk ratings of the health, performance, and risks within the portfolio.

Who we are

The Center for Rural Affairs is a dynamic, energetic non-profit organization working to build a better rural future for all. We’ve done this work for more than 50 years and we do it from rural places with a flexible work environment. The Center focuses on capital access, community capacity, and policy advocacy strategies with work in areas of food systems, community resources, small business support, and environment and resilience.

The Center’s work is rooted in our mission-aligned values. We believe that a diversity of people and ideas strengthens our work, our workplace, and our communities. We take equal opportunity seriously and we welcome applicants from a variety of backgrounds. Additional information can be found a.org. Check to see if our Mission and Values match yours, and read about our work and see how awesome it is to work at the Center!

The Chief Financial Officer will report to the Executive Director and will work closely with the Chief Lending Officer, General Counsel, Chief of Programs, and other members of the Center team to meet the responsibilities of the role. The CFO is responsible for the following:

• You will assist the Executive Director with developing a financial strategy and implementation that helps advance the Center’s mission.
• You will correspond with the Executive Director and Board of Directors regarding the Center budget, finances, and status of the loan portfolio, as well as provide support to senior leadership with programmatic budget oversight.
• You will direct a team of accounting, finance, and loan operations staff, including vendors and contractors assisting in similar areas, and serve as team leader by selecting, onboarding, motivating, guiding, reviewing, and developing team members.
• You will provide ongoing management of the Center’s fiscal sponsorship relationships.
• You will supervise the annual outside audit, along with any funder reviews.
• You will support the General Counsel to identify and manage business risks and insurance requirements, including staff benefit programs.
• You will be a primary member of the loan review committee, reviewing and approving new loans.
• You will be the key contact…