Finance Director

Position Overview

Central Church is seeking a strategic Finance Director to oversee financial stewardship, build scalable systems, and guide executive decisions in a growing multisite nonprofit environment.

This role will lead the church's financial systems, forecasting, accounting, and risk management functions while partnering with executive leadership to make wise, faith-aligned financial decisions. The Finance Director will integrate nonprofit fund accounting, financial forecasting, data analytics, technology, and robust fraud prevention measures to support ministry growth and protect resources.

The ideal candidate brings strong financial expertise combined with a collaborative, missional mindset that empowers ministry leaders. This position demands someone who moves beyond historical accounting to forward-thinking strategy—including proactive risk mitigation to safeguard against financial threats like unauthorized payment instructions or cyber scams—helping Central Church anticipate needs, evaluate opportunities, and steward resources for long-term kingdom impact.

This is a fully on-site position based at our Southwest campus in Sioux Falls, SD. Remote or hybrid arrangements are not available for this role.

This position requires membership at Central and a genuine commitment to engaging in the church's ministry and mission as part of the broader staff team.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Financial Leadership

• Partner with executive leadership to shape the long-term financial health and sustainability of Central Church.
• Develop financial forecasting models and scenario planning to support ministry growth, campus expansion, and capital planning.
• Provide financial insight that helps leadership discern what is financially sustainable versus merely possible.
• Assess and mitigate financial risks, including fraud, cyber, threats, and compliance vulnerabilities.
• Translate complex financial information into clear insights for executive leadership, elders, and ministry teams.

Nonprofit Fund Accounting & Financial Integrity

• Oversee all accounting operations using nonprofit fund accounting best practices.
• Ensure accurate management of restricted, designated, and operational funds.
• Design and enforce verification processes for all ACH, wire, and major payments (e.g., independent phone confirmation using known contacts, not provided numbers).
• Oversee annual audits, ensure compliance with nonprofit standards and regulations, and sustain policies for transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship.

Financial Systems & Technology Leadership

• Lead modernization and integration of financial technology platforms.
• Oversee secure integration between financial systems and church platforms (e.g., Planning Center Online, giving platforms, reporting tools).
• Develop financial dashboards and analytics using tools like Power BI.
• Implement and oversee cybersecurity, including staff training (phishing prevention) and secure payment systems.

Financial Planning, Metrics & Organizational Health

• Lead the annual budgeting process in collaboration with ministry leaders.
• Develop forecasting models and reporting tools that track giving trends, operating costs, and growth scenarios.
• Create financial models that incorporate key organizational drivers such as campus attendance, facility utilization, square footage, utilities, capacity, and ministry activity.
• Provide real-time budget visibility and clear reporting that supports wise, timely decision-making without overwhelming leaders with unnecessary data.

Generosity & Revenue Insights

• Partner with generosity and ministry teams to monitor church health via financial and engagement data.
• Develop insights on giving patterns: household participation, year-over-year trends, engagement indicators.

Finance Team Development & Leadership

• Lead and develop the finance team through coaching, clear expectations, and ongoing professional growth.
• Regularly evaluate team structure, roles, and capacity to ensure the department scales with the growth of Central Church.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen the team through training, process improvements, or strategic hiring.
• Continue to foster a culture where the finance team serves as trusted partners to ministry leaders, providing clarity, responsiveness, and excellent stewardship.

• Ensure the finance department serves ministry leaders as trusted partners rather than gatekeepers.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• 7–10+ years of financial leadership experience, preferably within nonprofit or mission-driven organizations.
• Strong expertise in nonprofit fund accounting.
• Demonstrated experience building financial models, forecasts, and strategic financial insights.
• Experience implementing or managing financial technology systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• CPA strongly preferred (due to ongoing professional education and regulatory expertise).
• MBA or equivalent leadership experience.
• Experience in a large church or complex nonprofit organization.
• Experience supporting multi-site organizations or multi-entity financial structures.
• Familiarity with financial analytics platforms such as Power BI.

Leadership Competencies

Strategic Thinking - Able to think beyond accounting and contribute to long-term financial architecture and ministry strategy.
Technological Curiosity - Comfortable leveraging financial systems, data tools, and emerging technology to improve insight and efficiency.

Problem Solving - Able to navigate complexity, operate in ambiguity, and provide solutions to challenging financial questions.

Risk-Aware Innovation - Comfortable evaluating new opportunities and investments while maintaining strong stewardship and integrity.

Collaborative Leadership - Works closely with pastors, ministry leaders, and operational teams to advance the mission of the church.

Please submit your resume, cover letter (including examples of fraud prevention experience or risk management in past roles), and references.  We value candidates who align with Central Church's mission and can help strengthen our financial safeguards.