About OLV Human Services
With a commitment to preparing, supporting, and empowering individuals to achieve their life goals, OLV Human Services (OLVHS) strives to be the premier behavioral health organization in Western New York.
OLV Human Services traces its roots back to the 1850s, when mass immigration resulted in rapid growth for the population of Western New York. With this massive influx of new residents came a need for care for abandoned children in the community. Father Nelson Baker led the establishment of services, provided a home-like atmosphere for these children, and dedicated his life to those in need. Father Baker’s legacy of caring for those in need remains a core aspect of OLVHS’s organizational culture, strategy, and growth. His “City of Charity” has grown from the original infant home, orphanage, and protectory into the robust programming of OLV Human Services.
OLVHS now serves approximately 12,000 people each year across a range of program areas – all dedicated to fostering the highest possible quality of life and personal achievement for children, adults, their families, and the Western New York Community through a diverse array of social, health, and human services. To read more about Father Baker’s ongoing legacy, please visit: https://www.fatherbaker.org/.
While the organization has evolved over time, at the heart of OLVHS’s work is a mission to ensure that every contact an individual has with someone at the organization will create a sense of safety and trust. OLVHS believes that the primary agent of change is a healing relationship for those we serve and for those who serve.
OLVHS is committed to providing Trauma Informed Care (TIC). All staff receive training in “Risking Connection,” an organizational model which emphasizes the concepts of empowerment, connection, and collaboration. Staff work to provide TIC across the following program areas:
Clinical Services: Through services like the Baker Victory Dental Center and the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, OLVHS serves thousands of patients each year.
Education: OLV Human Services’ Education Division provides services to children and youth from birth to age 21. Services include support for children with emotional or behavioral health challenges in a trauma-sensitive environment; serving over 400 students in six different schools.
Home and Community Based Services: Programs within the realm of home and community-based services are focused on creating brighter futures for children, adolescents, and families through a wide array of supports intended to empower individuals, strengthen family units, and promote permanency to ensure the safety and well-being of children.
Residential Services: Residential services support over 150 individuals through programs including, the Residential Treatment Facility, the Intensive Treatment Program (the first and only one of its kind in the state of New York), an Emergency Foster Care Program, and Individualized Residential Alternatives for adults with developmental disabilities.
Employment Services: Employment Programs provide specialized supports to jobseekers with barriers, serving over 200 adults each year.
OLVHS’s Values
OLV Human Services considers the following values to be the guiding principles necessary to successfully fulfill organizational goals.
- Teamwork - Working together toward a common goal with trust and support.
- Respect - Valuing skills, experiences, and knowledge that differ from your own.
- Integrity - Doing the right thing by being truthful, honest, and consistent.
- Adaptability - Willing to be creative, flexible, and innovative while accomplishing goals.
- Accountability - Following through on commitments and expectations.
The Future of OLVHS
OLVHS is in the midst of a Strategic Plan that runs through 2025, focused on the following priorities:
- Provide High Quality Services & Outcomes: Focusing on quality improvement and measuring outcomes/impact across the agency.
- Targeted, Sustainable, & Mission Driven Growth: Enhancing services and expanded geographic access for children and families with complex needs.
- Cultivate a Diverse, Engaged, & Mission-Driven Workforce: Improving retention, satisfaction, engagement, and developing an agency-wide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan.
- Be Widely Known & Recognized: Enhancing community engagement and sharing impact across the region and state.
- Create an Infrastructure That Will Propel Our Future: Increasing access to data for external and internal purposes; utilizing facilities to maximize their financial and operational potential.
Within this broader context of strategy, the OLVHS Board and Executive Leadership Team are aligned in their pursuit of programming and services that evolve, and are refined, based on the needs of the community. The leaders of OLVHS are committed to establishing programs and services that are both mission-driven and sustainable, in order to maximize impact while directly addressing the most pressing needs of the community.
OLVHS’s work is sustained by an annual budget of $60 million and a dedicated staff of 1,100.
For more information, please visit the OLV Human Services website.
The Opportunity
OLVHS is seeking a strategic and dynamic leader to serve as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and elevate and lead the organization’s finance function into the future.
Reporting directly to and partnering closely with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the CFO will serve as a trusted thought partner and integral member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and contribute to the ongoing development and achievement of strategic plans and goals.
This is an outstanding opportunity to drive positive change in a critically important, mission-driven organization touching thousands of lives each year.
Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Financial Expertise & Strategic Leadership:
- Work closely with the CEO and ELT to translate the overall strategic vision into financial goals and plans.
- Develop a clear financial road map that maximizes opportunities and minimizes risk in order to drive near- and long-term strategic decisions for OLVHS.
- Communicate clear, relevant and actionable financial information across the organization and to the Board and Finance Committee.
- Drive proactive fiscal accountability throughout the organization by setting clear expectations around budgeting in all functional areas.
- Drive a culture of accountability in managing the business by supporting the Executive Leadership Team with key financial information and operational analytics.
- Work with the Board’s Finance and Audit Committees in an advisory capacity, ensure completion of financial information, and attend Committee and Board meetings.
- Ensure efficient funding and use of operating expenses and capital expenditures.
- Exhibit leadership and influence across the state through relationships, affiliations, partnerships, shared service opportunities, and behavioral health associations.
Team Management:
- Lead, inspire, and develop a team of 15 professionals, including 4 direct reports.
- Provide for all staff a strong day-to-day leadership presence cultivating the values of the organization; supporting a positive, inclusive and engaged work environment.
- Provide guidance and direction to the finance function to engage and support team members at all levels while ensuring a culture of accountability.
- Foster a trust-based and supportive culture within the Finance function and beyond.
- Provide an atmosphere of safety, resiliency, and healing for staff – in alignment with OLVHS’s commitment to Trauma Informed Care.
Financial Systems, Technology, Compliance, & Reporting:
- Serve as a change agent; constantly seek to improve and optimize internal infrastructure by adding processes and building out and updating systems.
- Establish, manage, and maintain effective systems to ensure that clear and up-to-date financial information is available internally, and that there is strong compliance with local, state, and federal requirements.
- Drive the Agency’s annual budget process and monthly reporting to guide and advance the mission and key organizational outcomes.
- Oversee cost reports, audits, and financial information provided to local, state, and federal governments.
- Effectively manage relationships with lenders, banks, board of directors, suppliers, and others.
- Manage relationships with outside auditors to ensure financial operations in compliance with all governmental and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) requirements.
- Maintain ongoing awareness of regulatory changes and educate staff accordingly.
Candidate Profile
While it is understood that no candidate will offer every desired skill, quality, and characteristic, the following competencies offer a detailed, aspirational view of the ideal candidate profile:
A Strategic & Transformational Leader with Financial Expertise & Business Acumen
This leader will:
- Bring a strategic financial lens to OLVHS’s programs and services, with a mastery of analyzing, assessing, and leveraging complex financial data in the development of strategic plans and goals.
- Have a strong results-orientation, with a sophisticated understanding of best-in class financial practices - including theory and practices of accounting, auditing, and GAAP and a deep understanding of Financial Information Technologies.
- Understand how to leverage accounting, budgeting, and forecasting functions in order to maximize organizational effectiveness.
- Possess an ability to bring clarity to processes within a complex, multi-disciplinary organization.
- Possess an ability to “deep dive” into the details while staying focused on the holistic financial health and sustainability of the organization.
- Address problems with creative, sophisticated, and sustainable solutions, and implement new strategies to ‘get things done.’
A Strong Communicator, Thought Partner, & Collaborative Decision-Maker
This leader will:
- Excel at clearly and effectively communicating complex financial information to stakeholders throughout the organization.
- Be energized by the opportunity to serve as a key thought partner to the CEO and ELT.
- Have a collaborative style, encouraging innovation and experimentation, and balance brainstorming with an ability to be decisive when needed.
- Bring confidence and decisiveness to the role, balanced with humility and approachability.
- Be a natural relationship builder, with an ability to seek out and form relationships with external partners.
An Exceptional Team Leader & Manager
This leader will:
- Be an inspiring, empathetic, approachable, empowering, and inclusive leader with an infectious optimism and adept ability to lead through periods of change.
- Naturally foster trust and collaboration among team members.
- Be able to develop a powerful sense of shared purpose and engagement in the future of OLVHS’s work and the possibilities ahead.
- 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.
A Commitment to the Mission
This leader will:
- Bring a passion for OLVHS’s mission to prepare, support, and empower individuals to achieve their life goals.
- Be energized and motivated by OLVHS’s goal to be the premier behavioral health organization in Western New York.
- Be an individual of unquestioned integrity, ethics, and values – someone who can be trusted without reservation.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary for the role is currently anticipated to range from $170,000 - $210,000, commensurate with experience. OLVHS offers a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance; FSA/HSA; voluntary life insurance/short term disability coverage, and various discount programs.
Location
This is an in-office role, with an expectation that the CFO have a full-time presence in OLVHS’s headquarters in Lackawanna, New York (just outside of Buffalo).
Contact
Koya Partners, the executive search firm that specializes in mission-driven search, has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Cheryl Stevens, Claire Hunt, Bryn Siberski, and Liam Gibbs of Koya Partners are leading the search. To express interest in this role please submit your materials by filling out our Talent Profile. To make recommendations or submit an inquiry, please email olvhumanservicescfo@koyapartners.com. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.
About Koya Partners
Koya Partners, a part of Diversified Search Group, is a leading executive search and strategic advising firm dedicated to connecting exceptionally talented people with mission-driven clients. Our founding philosophy—The Right Person in the Right Place Can Change the World—guides our work as we partner with nonprofits & NGOs, institutions of higher education, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
For more information about Koya Partners, visit https://diversifiedsearchgroup.com/koya-partners/.
Appendix: About Buffalo
Located on the apex of Lake Erie and the tip of Canada with proximity to Niagara Falls and Toronto, Buffalo is a shining star of New York state.
Despite its Northeast location, Buffalo is described as a Midwestern city with family-friendly values and a close-knit community feel.
Also known as “the City of Good Neighbors,” Buffalo has a history of welcoming immigrant and migrant communities since the 1800s. This is reflected in the vibrant cultural richness and diversity of the community.
Many of the architectural greats left their mark on Buffalo – Wright, Sullivan, Richardson, Olmsted, and beyond. There are few cities more abundant in architectural richness and significance than Buffalo. Once one of the country’s most bustling and prosperous industrial hubs, the Queen City’s twentieth century boom period drew the attention of not only powerful business magnates, but some of the era’s most distinguished and venerated design talents.
With 1.1 million people residing in the Buffalo-Niagara region, the city provides all the attractions of a much larger metropolitan area. Given its location on Lake Erie, proximity to Western New York’s outdoor scene, and a reinvigorated waterfront, there are countless opportunities to explore the great outdoors and stay active. The city itself boasts vibrant art centers, restored architectural treasures, a noteworthy food scene, countless historical and cultural attractions, entertainment, live music, flourishing and distinct neighborhoods, family-friendly attractions, outdoor recreation, and thriving professional sports teams. Even with all it has to offer, in addition to its proximity to numerous major metropolitan areas, Buffalo is recognized for its reasonable cost of living, including accessible and affordable housing.
Often touted as a “big, small city,” Buffalo is experiencing a renaissance, with significant growth and development, and the year ahead promises to be a blockbuster for Buffalo. The city’s decade-long transformation has culminated the completion of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s incredible 30,000 square foot expansion; the continued evolution and adaptive reuse of its architecture; expansion of the city’s thriving arts scene; a significant investment in and development of the city’s parks and public spaces; and the addition of new hotels and restaurants.
To discover more about the Buffalo Niagara Region, visit visitbuffaloniagara.com. Read a comprehensive Relocation Guide here.