Job Description

The Organization

The Norton Simon Museum is home to one of the world’s most remarkable private art collections ever assembled. Over a 30-year period, the industrialist Norton Simon (1907–1993) amassed an impressive group of European masterworks from the Renaissance to the 20th century, and a stellar collection of South and Southeast Asian art spanning 2,000 years. Modern works from Europe and the United States, acquired by the former Pasadena Art Museum, also occupy an important place in the Museum’s holdings.

Set on an 8-acre campus just steps away from Pasadena’s downtown shopping and dining district, the Museum’s building was designed by the Southern California architecture firm Ladd & Kelsey in the late 1960s and renovated in the 1990s by noteworthy architect Frank Gehry. The lush and tranquil sculpture garden, featuring a pond and plantings inspired by Monet’s garden at Giverny, was designed by Nancy Goslee Power and hosts a café, walking paths, and Museum events throughout the year. The Museum welcomes approximately 160,000 visitors annually, nearly half of whom qualify for free admission. Lectures, films, tours, performances, art classes, children’s programs, and exhibition-related celebrations are offered indoors and out year-round.

The Museum’s operations are managed by 50 full-time and 85 part-time employees who work collaboratively to display, care for, and interpret the Norton Simon art collections, and to ensure that our visitors have a memorable, informative, and inspiring experience onsite.

A public charity, the Museum is part of a unique structure of related nonprofit entities that includes the Norton Simon Art Foundation (an exempt operating foundation) and The Norton Simon Foundation (a non-operating foundation). Together, their carefully managed financial assets enable the organization to operate independently, a core principle of our founder, and finance their own operations and activities without fundraising of any kind.

The Position

The Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) will play a critical role in developing and implementing financial strategies, overseeing day-to-day financial operations, and actively participating in all major short- and long-term organizational strategy decisions for the three Norton Simon entities: the Norton Simon Museum, the Norton Simon Art Foundation, and The Norton Simon Foundation. She/He will be an active participant on the Executive Leadership Team, working closely and collaboratively with the President/CEO, Chief Curator/Vice President of Collections, Vice President of External Affairs, General Counsel, and other senior staff across the organization.

The CFO will be responsible for reporting the financial results of the organization to the Executive Leadership Team, as well as to the Boards of Trustees, and will interact extensively with Audit, Executive, Finance, and Investment committees of the Boards. She/He will be responsible for providing vision, leadership, and development opportunities to staff across the organization. The CFO will have a holistic understanding of how the Museum and foundations operate, and will partner with the Boards and senior staff in the establishment and achievement of actionable and measurable goals that shape the organization’s function and financial stability now and in the future.

Specifically, the CFO will have the following responsibilities:

• Advise the Boards of Trustees, President/CEO and Executive Leadership Team on financial matters
• Establish appropriate accounting policies and internal control procedures to safeguard assets; ensure compliance by staff
• Oversee the development and preparation of financial reports, including monthly/annual financial statements
• Oversee the development of annual capital and operating budgets; monitor actual results versus budget and investigate significant variances
• Oversee the annual audit process
• Direct tax return preparation; ensure compliance with governmental reporting requirements
• Oversee the investment program, including compliance with Investment Policy Statements
• Serve as risk manager and oversee insurance program
• Serve as main contact with external auditors, tax preparers, investment advisory firm, investment management firms, insurance brokers, and bank representatives
• Participate as a member of the Executive Leadership Team in shaping the short, mid-, and long-term strategic goals and opportunities for the organization
• Develop a technology strategy and roadmap for financial and accounting tools, solutions, and systems to effectively enable and improve the organization’s service delivery, processes, and operations; direct creation of robust implementation and training programs for new systems
• Mentor and develop a small, high-performing team, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement

The Candidate

The Chief Financial Officer will be a strategic and innovative leader who builds on the organization’s impressive legacy, advances priority objectives, and supports long-term financial stability. She/He must be a forward-thinking and pragmatic finance professional with exceptional analytical, communication, and leadership skills. Candidates from both the private and nonprofit sectors will be considered.

In addition to strong financial acumen, the ideal candidate will be energized by the organization’s purpose and operations and exhibit a passion for the arts, museums and serving the community. She/He will be a collaborative, highly organized, efficient and relationship-driven leader who fosters an open environment where personal accountability and excellence are valued.

Specifically, the successful candidate will possess the following key qualifications and experience:

• A proven financial executive with a minimum of 10 to 15 years of progressive accounting and finance experience including 5 to 10 years of experience in senior financial management. Experience or knowledge of museum operations, arts or cultural institutions, or related organizations would be highly valued
• Demonstrated success in leading critical business functions in the areas of finance, accounting, business planning, risk management, information technology, and/or data analytics
• Must possess a strong understanding of the balance sheet and financial performance to develop and maintain trust with senior management, key internal and external stakeholders, the Boards of Trustees, and across all key business areas
• Demonstrated strategic financial and analytical skills coupled with strong business acumen. Strategic thinking skills with the ability to be flexible and adaptable, revising strategies as necessary. Able to effectively partner with the President/CEO and other members of the Executive Leadership Team to drive initiatives and support achievement of the organization’s goals
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills with proven ability to present complex business topics to financial and non-financial audiences
• Strong operational, process, systems, and project management experience of successfully driving transformational initiatives focused on increased automation and functionality
• Strategic thinker with demonstrated consensus-building skills, and an ability to convey confidence within the organization and with external constituencies. Demonstrated ability to think proactively and creatively and improve performance by identifying key strategic opportunities
• Demonstrated people management and leadership skills with a track record of mentoring and advancing direct reports. Ability to provide constructive and positive feedback, while motivating and holding the team accountable for their performance
• A reputation for integrity and building confidence among key stakeholders, with previous high-level interactions with boards

EDUCATION

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field; MBA and/or CPA or other recognized financial certification highly preferred.

SE# 510734521

Job Tags

Similar Jobs