About UCAN
Vision: UCAN leads with transformational interventions so that families and communities can be safe and prosper.
Mission: UCAN strengthens communities by supporting youth and families, offering a continuum of services for over 150 years.
UCAN’s expertise spans youth in care, youth development, mental health, therapeutic schools, workforce development, and violence prevention and intervention.
UCAN’s promise is to advocate for and provide opportunities that change lives through impactful programs, consistent presence and unrivaled diversity and inclusion. Founded as a Civil War orphanage, UCAN has a long history of creating safe and caring spaces for youth, adults and families to grow.
UCAN’s programs are guided by a Clinical Philosophy and united under a cohesive approach for treating their clients who are challenged by their histories of trauma. Their objective is to provide a consistent approach for serving youth and families. UCAN empowers youth and families by building upon their strengths, encouraging their sense of independence, and instilling hope for their futures.
UCAN serves and positively influences over 9,100 underrepresented children, youth, and families across Illinois. UCAN provides a continuum of care that meets clients where they are within the following areas of service:
- Prevention & Empowerment: UCAN works with historically underserved and under-resourced youth to prevent violence and empower youth as leaders in their communities.
- Foster Care & Transitional Services: UCAN provides support services for the entire family, with a focus on youth in foster care, teen parents, and low-income families.
- Therapeutic and Clinical Services: UCAN offers Therapeutic Day School and provides a Therapeutic Youth Home along with a core of counseling services for families suffering separation, violence and abuse.
- Advocacy: UCAN’s government affairs strategies shape and inform public policy and legislation at various levels of government. Given that 90% of UCAN’s funding comes from government grants and contracts, building robust relationships with elected officials and other decision-makers is critical to business.
UCAN’s recent history can be characterized by significant growth and resilience. The UCAN team has expanded to nearly 600 dedicated staff members and the budget has reached nearly $60 million.
Looking forward, UCAN is poised to enter a phase where their focus will be on scaling the impact of their high-quality programs to reach more people in more places. In this next chapter UCAN will expand its footprint and influence and deliver measurable improvements in the lives of those they serve.
For more information on UCAN, please visit their website.
The Opportunity
Reporting to and partnering with UCAN’s CEO, Christa Hamilton, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will be the organization’s top finance executive with frequent and regular Board exposure.
The CFO will be an effective leader with ample experience in financial planning and forecasting, data analysis, and stakeholder communication. A leader who can easily analyze, synthesize and distill complex financial information, the CFO will guide goal setting, planning, and, where necessary, apply course correction for the financial wellbeing of UCAN.
The CFO will manage UCANs relationship with Quattro Financial Advisors, which manages UCANs finance function and consists of a 15-person team.
The CFO will also work with Board members to support UCANs financial and organizational health and planning. The CFO will work closely with the audit/finance committee of the Board of Directors and will be responsible for preparing, interpreting and effectively communicating financial information and analysis to senior leadership and the Board of Directors in order to facilitate sound financial decisions and investments.
Critical to the success of the CFO are the following responsibilities:
- Responsible for all financial matters of UCAN, including day-to-day administration of the budget.
- Refine/develop and utilize forward-looking, predictive models and activity based financial analyses to provide insight into the organization’s operations and business plans.
- Lead the financial planning and analysis (FP&A) function to drive strategic decision-making, supporting operational leaders with insights on financial performance, risks, and opportunities.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives within the finance function to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen the organization’s financial controls and risk management framework.
- Ensure translation of organization’s business plan, vision, strategy and performance targets into functional plans in collaboration with other executives.
- Engage the finance committee of the board of directors to develop short-, medium- and long-term financial plans and projections.
- Develop and oversee financial reporting systems to ensure accurate and timely financial information for executive leadership and board members, enhancing transparency and accountability.
- Implement and oversee a comprehensive risk management framework, identifying and mitigating financial, operational, and compliance risks to protect the organization’s assets and ensure sustainable growth.
- Manage financial compliance and reporting for government contracts and grants, ensuring adherence to regulations, accurate invoicing, and timely reporting to optimize funding and maintain eligibility.
The ideal candidate will be an energetic and detailed-oriented leader who is able to effectively manage and empower people to achieve results. The CFO must be a continuous learner who has a demonstrated commitment and investment in teaching others.
Candidate Profile
Financial Expertise & Operations Acumen
This leader will:
- Be process driven and results-oriented, able to translate UCAN’s overarching vision and strategy into a clear financial plan with measurable goals.
- Bring a strong business acumen, with a sophisticated understanding of and ability to analyze and manage a complex and evolving fiscal organizational framework.
- Bring a consistent focus on improving financial tools and systems, with the ability to evaluate various scenarios and present information in a compelling manner, in order to enable the organization’s growth.
- Have an understanding of how to leverage accounting, budgeting, and forecasting functions in order to maximize organizational effectiveness.
- Take a data-driven approach to decision making, while demonstrating a willingness to take calculated risks.
- Draw upon a strong analytical skillet to provide thoughtful insight on projects and offer solutions.
- Possess the ability to “deep dive” into the details while staying focused on the holistic financial health and sustainability of the organization.
Strategic Insight & Agile Thought Leadership
This leader will:
- Be an entrepreneurial, visionary, and bold thinker, able to implement financial processes and communicate information in a clear and actionable way that drives business transformation and organizational performance.
- Naturally foster trust and collaboration among team members and possesses the ability to manage through change with flexibility and poise.
- Be a strategic thinker with a process mindset; has demonstrated experience implementing best-in-class financial practices in a rapidly changing or growing environment.
- Have the ability to address problems with creative, sophisticated and sustainable solutions and implement new strategies to ‘get things done.’
- Have a track record of motivating and inspiring others to take action.
Collaborative Relationship Builder & Effective Communicator
This leader will:
- Have strong communications skills with a keen ability to convey, both verbally and in writing, complex financial opportunities and risks, particularly in the midst of organizational growth.
- Have a collaborative, open, and inquisitive style that encourages innovation and thoughtful experimentation.
- Be an influential leader with ability to elevate the performance of the team – individually and collectively.
- Demonstrate a high level of emotional intelligence with the ability to build trust and credibility with others.
Passion for the Mission
This leader will:
- Bring a passion for serving UCAN’s families and communities and a commitment to maximizing the organization’s impact.
- Be able to develop a powerful sense of shared purpose in others and motivate them to engage the opportunities and challenges ahead to support the organization’s development.
- Be an individual of unquestioned integrity, ethics, and values — someone who can be trusted without reservation.
Compensation
Salary range: $200,000-$225,000 based on experience. UCAN provides competitive benefits including health, a retirement savings plan, generous time off and professional development.
Contact
Koya Partners, the executive search firm that specializes in mission-driven search, has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Marissa Delgado and George Theotokatos of Koya Partners have been exclusively retained for this search. To express interest in this role please submit your materials here. Should you need to connect with our team you can email us directly at [email protected].
All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.
Koya Partners is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
UCAN is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.