Chief Financial Officer in Washington, District of Columbia at Justice Climate Fund Inc

The Justice Climate Fund (JCF) is a purpose-built nonprofit that provides the capital and technical knowledge necessary for community lenders to successfully finance clean energy projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country. Supported by a $940 million EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund award and an ecosystem of coalition members—including the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, National Bankers Community Alliance, Partners for the Common Good, and Oweesta Corporation—JCF capitalizes community lenders through a Green Lender Certification Program that ensures funding reaches only appropriately assessed, trained, and certified institutions.

JCF is now entering a pivotal transition: from EPA grant administrator to institutional asset manager and private capital mobilizer. The CFO hire is central to this evolution, building the financial infrastructure, controls environment, and fund operations capability required to manage institutional capital at scale while maintaining the mission discipline that defines JCF’s identity.

Reporting and Governance

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer (Amir Kirkwood).

Board Exposure: Regular reporting to the Finance/Audit Committee and Risk Committee. The CEO retains hiring authority; the board is informed of strategic finance decisions.

Direct Reports: Finance team staff. The CFO works in close partnership with the Head of Compliance, who maintains functional independence, direct CEO access, and a standing board committee channel. Compliance authority is separated from the CFO’s finance and capital-raising responsibilities to preserve investor confidence and regulatory credibility.

Mandate

Build and operate an institutional-grade finance function for JCF while maintaining a lean, high-performance operating model. The CFO is accountable for financial close and reporting integrity, internal controls, fund administration architecture, fundraising readiness, and active partnership with the CEO on capital strategy and fund design. The role carries an explicit expectation of systems modernization, automation, and scalable process design—JCF intends to grow fund execution capacity without proportional headcount growth. The “operations” dimension of this role is centered on finance and risk management operations, not administrative functions such as human resources, procurement, or general organizational management.

Core Responsibilities

Financial Leadership and Controls

Own budgeting, forecasting, runway management, and scenario planning. Ensure clean, consistent financial statements and reporting packs. Implement internal controls appropriate for an institution managing external capital under public and regulatory scrutiny. Ensure compliance with all financial reporting and oversight required by the EPA grant agreement, including coalition-level financial coordination across all 28 members.

Fund Operations and Administration

Design the fund finance architecture: accounting treatment, valuation approach, reporting cadence, and administration oversight. Manage the fund administrator relationship (if outsourced), ensuring service quality, timeliness, and data integrity.

Capital Strategy & Fund Design

Partner directly with the CEO on the design of JCF's deployment vehicles including fund architecture, capital stack composition, syndication mechanics, and credit enhancement structures. Contribute to decisions on parallel-track vehicle design (fund alongside syndicate), leverage posture, and LP/GP economics. The CFO is an active architect of how JCF deploys capital, not a passive operator of decisions made elsewhere. This dimension of the role reflects the financial sophistication required by JCF's transition to institutional asset manager and is essential to closing the capital markets, structured finance, and fund-design experience gap that currently exists in the leadership team.

Fundraising and Investor Readiness

Build finance-side diligence materials and support capital raise execution. Produce credible financial narratives, portfolio performance reports, and operating metrics for both EPA reporting and private investor audiences. Act as a key financial voice for JCF in partnership with the CEO, establishing JCF as a financially reliable, trusted, and credible institution. The CFO supports fundraising but does not serve as the compliance authority for external materials—that function resides with the Head of Compliance.

Risk and Compliance Partnership

Partner closely with the Head of Compliance to ensure functional independence of the compliance function. Establish clear escalation paths and a dual sign-off practice for all external capital-raising materials: the CFO signs for financial integrity, the Head of Compliance signs for regulatory and risk compliance. If the CFO identifies a tension between speed-to-market and compliance rigor, the escalation path is to the CEO. This separation is critical to maintaining investor confidence and regulatory credibility.

Systems, Data, and Automation

Implement automation across financial close, reporting, and portfolio monitoring workflows. Build KPI dashboards covering fundraising pipeline, operating runway, portfolio performance, and compliance status. Drive process redesign for approvals, contract workflows, and investor reporting production. Manage technology vendors with discipline—including fund administration platforms, CRM integrations, and reporting stacks. Understand model risk sufficiently to ensure that automated outputs do not introduce uncontrolled results into financial reporting or investor materials.

Team Leadership

Build and manage a lean finance team with a player-coach mentality. Elevate financial literacy across JCF’s pathway leaders so they understand P&L trade-offs, resource constraints, and the financial implications of their operational decisions. The CFO should model the generalist, high-ownership mindset that JCF’s leadership expects across the organization.

Location and Work Arrangement

This position is based in the Washington, DC metro area (DMV — DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia). The CFO is required to work from JCF's Downtown DC office a minimum of two (2) days per week. JCF does not provide relocation assistance for this role; local candidates are strongly preferred. Out-of-area candidates may be considered only if they relocate at their own expense and meet the in-office cadence. Remote-only arrangements are not available.

Compensation

Total compensation includes a 401(k) plan, comprehensive health benefits package, and professional development opportunities. A formal annual bonus structure is not in place at this time and is anticipated to be introduced as JCF's fund management infrastructure matures (anticipated 18–24 months).

An Equal-Opportunity Employer with a Commitment to Diversity

Justice Climate Fund (JCF) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and as an organization committed to diversity, we consider applicants equally without regard to age, race, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, national origin, on the basis of genetic information, political affiliation, pregnancy, or veteran status.

Controls & Compliance: Demonstrated experience building internal controls and financial reporting infrastructure in a regulated or high-scrutiny environment. Comfort operating under federal oversight and audit requirements, including EPA grant reporting obligations.

Systems & Technology: Systems-first operator with demonstrable experience in financial automation, dashboard implementation, and process modernization. Depth of understanding in AI/ML applications for financial operations is a differentiating qualification.

Vendor Management: Strong track record managing external service providers: auditors, fund administrators, technology platforms, and compliance consultants.

Mission Alignment: Comfort operating in a mission-driven organization without losing institutional discipline. Genuine interest in environmental justice and equitable community investment, expressed through institutional-quality execution rather than prior sector experience.

Education: Master’s degree in business, finance, or related field preferred, or equivalent combination of education and experience. CPA, CFA, or equivalent professional credentials are a plus. Start-up or build-stage organizational experience is a plus.