Director of Finance, NCSY

Who We Are:

NCSY, a program of the Orthodox Union, connects with Jewish teens through innovative, cutting-edge social and recreational programs to develop a positive Jewish identity. NCSY inspires Jewish teens through informal Jewish education, retreats, and summer programs. NCSY empowers teens through leadership development and guidance to become passionately committed leaders of the Jewish community and instruments for positive change and renewal. 

The Orthodox Union (OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for the disabled, localized religious study programs, and international units. The OU maintains a kosher certification service, whose circled U symbol, Ⓤ, is found on the labels of many kosher commercial and consumer food products.

Position Summary:

The Director of Finance / Divisional Controller is the senior finance leader responsible for NCSY across National, Summer, and regional operations. As a member of the OU Finance team and a trusted advisor to NCSY leadership, this role owns the quality and timeliness of financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and planning; leads the NCSY finance team; and ensures leadership has accurate, decision-useful information before decisions are made. This is a player-coach role that combines strong accounting discipline with forward-looking analysis, operational judgment, and hands-on leadership in a complex, multi-program organization.
 

Responsibilities:

• Lead the team. Set priorities, assignments, deadlines, and standards; hold staff accountable; assess capability and capacity; and help define and recruit needed roles.

• Own budget and planning. Lead the annual budget across National, Summer, and the Regions, establish clear budget ownership, and prepare/refine materials for NCSY, OU senior management, and lay leadership.

• Own close and management reporting. Drive an accurate, dependable monthly close and timely variance reporting against budget, with actionable updates for NCSY National, Summer, and regional leaders.

• Run forecasting and program projections. Produce quarterly revenue and expense forecasts, track significant programs against plan, and surface risks, opportunities, and expected year-end results early.

• Lead Summer finance. Partner closely with the large-scale NCSY Summer portfolio on program economics, pricing, enrollment, revenue recognition, cost structure, fundraising assumptions, staffing and timely close.              

• Lead regional finance and policy. Advise regional directors and administrative staff; ensure timely local financial activity; and establish clear policies for restricted gifts, surpluses, deficits and Finance approvals.

• Support grants and fundraising. Provide financial information, budgets and reporting for formal grant requests, donor solicitations and related program needs.

• Improve controls, cost discipline and processes. Identify inefficiencies, strengthen reporting and information flow, improve accountability, and pursue structural and operating cost opportunities.

• Clarify the operating model. Define responsibilities across NCSY including Finance, shared services and the Regions related to service levels, required information, escalation and centralization opportunities.

• Partner on systems and cross-functional execution. Serve as the finance stakeholder for NetSuite/ERP and other system changes affecting close, reporting or forecasting, while building strong relationships across OU functions.
 

Qualifications & Leadership Role:

• Senior finance leadership experience with exposure to monthly close and ownership of budgeting, forecasting, management reporting and financial analysis.

• Proven people leadership, including performance management, team development, role design and accountability.

• Strong accounting and operating judgment; able to diagnose root causes, solve process breakdowns and translate financial issues into decisions.              

• Experience in a complex, multi-program or multi-unit environment; nonprofit or mission-driven experience preferred.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills with senior leaders, operating teams , and regional stakeholders.

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, or related field required; CPA, MBA, or comparable advanced credential preferred. NetSuite or similar ERP experience preferred.

Success in this Role:

Reliable close and reporting; clear budget ownership; actionable forecasts; strong Summer and regional financial management; improved process discipline; and a finance team structured and accountable to deliver consistently.
 

Salary & Benefits:

The salary range for this position is $175,000 - $210,000, commensurate with experience.

Health, Dental & Vision Insurance:
The OU offers health insurance through an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA). Instead of a single group plan, employees have the freedom to choose their own health insurance plan that fits their personal and family needs. The OU contributes a generous monthly amount directly toward your premium, making coverage more flexible, affordable, and tailored to you.

Employees enrolled in our health plan also receive an annual BeniComp stipend, a supplemental benefit that reimburses eligible medical, pharmaceutical, dental, and vision expenses.

In addition, the OU offers employees group dental and vision insurance through MetLife.

Additional Benefits and Perks: 

• 10 paid sick days
• 10-15 paid vacation days
• Paid Jewish and Federal holidays
• Short Fridays to accommodate for Sabbath observance
• Free life and disability insurance
• Discounted continuing education opportunities
• 403(b) retirement plan with a 5% employer match after 3 years (requires a minimum 2% employee contribution)