• Are you a seasoned nonprofit CFO or finance leader?

• Would you be excited to use your skills to help lead and shape a rapidly-growing, well-funded nonprofit?

• Could you be passionate about supporting people who have committed violent crimes to heal from trauma and become fully accountable for the harms they've caused?

PNP Staffing Group is excited to have been retained by The GRIP Training Institute to lead their search for a Chief Financial Officer.

Position: Chief Financial Officer

Salary: $140,000 - $160,000

Location: Hybrid in Berkeley, CA, or fully remote

About the GRIP Training Institute

The mission of GRIP is to create the personal and systemic change to turn violence and suffering into opportunities for learning and healing. The focus of our work is the prison system.

The Guiding Rage Into Power (GRIP) program is an evidence-based methodology developed over 24 years of work with thousands of incarcerated people and many victims/survivors. The program is a trauma-informed model that integrates neuroscientific research with therapeutic methodologies, and is rooted in principles of Restorative Justice.

Between 2012 and 2022, 1,283 people graduated from the GRIP program. Of these, 674 have been released from prison, with a recidivism rate of 0.92%. GRIP functions as a peer education model where selected and trained graduates co-facilitate the classes while mentoring new students. Since 2012, over 75 GRIP graduates have served as inside facilitators.

Position Overview: 

As the GRIP Training Institute sets out to scale its program and impact, the CFO/Controller will lead the design and implementation of organization-wide systems capable of supporting GRIP’s scaling efforts. The organization is at a key inflection point, having grown from 3 full time staff in 2019 to 14 FT and 15 PT, currently. We anticipate continued growth as we refine and implement a 10-year scaling strategy.  

The ideal candidate will bring strong leadership expertise in non-profit finance and operational systems for successful growth, and will also “be the glue” connecting these support functions to the broader organizational mission and program strategy. They will identify and address pain points, find or create tools to solve problems, and create efficiencies across the organization. The ideal person is a gifted manager who enjoys developing others and sees their own success through the accomplishments of their team.  

Primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT

• Oversee all aspects of financial management in the organization, ensuring effective procedures, accounting, reporting, budgeting, and audits.
• Manage the organization’s strategic finance processes in support of programs and operations, including organizational-wide budgeting, project budgeting for specific grants, and financial modeling to ensure sustainable growth. 
• Establish and manage inclusive, effective systems for budgeting and tracking financial objectives and key results; regularly evaluating and tracking progress to goal.
• Prepare, analyze and present regular financial reports and progress metrics for the Executive Director and Board.
• Streamline the financial processes to effectively track, manage and report out on all government and foundation grants. 
• Ensure the organization follows fiscal policies, and all funds are managed in compliance with GAAP.
• Oversee 990 and audit processes, ensuring effective internal controls and preparation, as well as managing the relationships with external auditors.
• Provide leadership, in collaboration with board treasurer, to manage cash reserves and investments in line with board policies.
• In collaboration with the ED, lead long-range financial planning, risk management, and plan for long-term sustainability of the GRIP Training Institute.

OPERATIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT

Leadership on capacity building & change management

• Plan and execute regular leadership team meetings and all-staff retreats ensuring timely project planning, progress to goals and alignment with overall strategic plan.
• Ensure teams have the resources and talent they need and are well positioned to deliver on their respective outcomes.
• In consultation with the ED and Operations Director, evaluate and refine the organizational structure to meet short- and long-term goals and priorities as GRIP scales its impact; this includes overseeing analysis on, and revisions to compensation and benefits for recruitment and retention of high performing talent.
• Guide processes to assess and refine current practices to reflect our transformative values of equity, transparency, and wellness. This includes employment policies, compensation and benefits, management practices, and organizational structure.
• Establish practices and systems that promote opportunity and professional growth at every level of the organization. This includes researching and experimenting with transformational structures and practices that promote equity and inclusion as we scale (eg., sociocracy; “reinventing organizations” practices).
• With a cross functional perspective, and an eye toward scaling and equity, seek ways to integrate and improve the organizational systems
• Support effective implementation of a comprehensive data system integration initiative for purposes of program tracking and evaluation, public communications, fundraising.  
• Support effective execution of a learning management system to improve current program implementation and the development of an e-learning delivery model acceptable within the state prison system.  

Model transformative management and learning culture

• Support the leadership development of current and future members of the staff to achieve their vocational goals, both at GRIP and beyond.
• Provide strong day-to-day management while cultivating shared purpose, building distributed leadership teams, and fostering interconnectedness throughout the organization’s culture and practices.
• Promote and serve as a culture carrier for GRIP’s values with a deep commitment to practicing the teachings and tools of GRIP curriculum, and supporting others to do the same. 

Who Should Apply:

The ideal candidate has exceptional financial management experience, loves to develop people and systems and has intricate knowledge of all that is integral to successful scaling of programs. They have deep knowledge of and compassion for the real experiences of incarceration and the impact of trauma/violence in people’s lives. They have an unwavering belief that people are the core to any mission-driven organization and that strong operations foster the ability to manage through complex, challenging issues. They have a passion for building organizations with equity and wellness in mind, and are lifelong learners themselves.  

The strongest candidates will have the following experience and qualities:

• 10+ years of work experience in leadership roles in financial management and operations management, connecting these aspects with strategy across the organization. 
• A proven track record of leading an organization through growth periods.
• Non-profit financial management expertise, with experience providing oversight of complex financial processes, as well as understanding of non-profit accounting principles, practices, and reporting. 
• Exceptional people management skills; ability to establish credibility and trust among staff and a wide array of stakeholders; has managed and developed teams to have shared ownership and deliver high-quality results. 
• High degree of emotional intelligence, including self-awareness to skillfully handle one’s own emotions and respond skillfully to others.
• Understanding of HR processes and systems, including compensation and benefits.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to organize and interpret data, generate insights, and anticipate challenges and opportunities.
• Experience operationalizing strategic growth plans into tactical implementation.
• Deep commitment to the transformative and healing mission of GRIP.
• Desired attributes: lived experience connected to incarceration and violence, and experience with restorative justice practices.

BENEFITS 

The GRIP Training Institute offers its staff competitive benefits, including 100% paid health and dental/vision insurance, 401k plan, 15 days PTO, generous paid holidays and office closures during winter breaks, as well as professional development, self-care funds, and staff retreat days. 

GRIP is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. We strongly encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented communities and people impacted by the criminal justice system. 

What we ask of our students inside prison, we also ask of ourselves outside the walls — to practice the GRIP tools of emotional intelligence, mindfulness, do-no-harm, and understanding the impact of our actions on others.