The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) seeks an accomplished Chief Strategic and Finance Officer (CSFO) to drive innovation and resilience in sustainable finance and operational planning. As a strategic partner to the CEO/President, the CSFO will be instrumental in shaping GTRLC’s financial and operational blueprint to preserve the unique natural legacy of northern Michigan. Reporting directly to the CEO/President, this role requires visionary leadership in sustainable finance, proactive risk management, and mission-aligned operational strategy to ensure GTRLC’s long-term impact and growth. To achieve these overarching outcomes, the CSFO will facilitate the Management Team’s role in decision-making and implementation of the organization’s strategic priorities and program objectives. This position embodies an innovative and strategic approach to financial stewardship and operational resilience in alignment with GTRLC's mission, values, and long-term vision. This is a unique opportunity for a dynamic, results-driven leader to significantly advance GTRLC's financial strategies, setting new benchmarks for environmental stewardship and financial ingenuity in one of Michigan's most treasured regions.
Long-Range Financial Forecasting: Spearhead financial projections that address revenue growth, expense trends, and capital requirements. Identify and implement new revenue streams that complement GTRLC’s conservation mission.
Data-Driven Decision-Making: Deploy financial modeling, data analytics, and dashboards to communicate real-time insights, empowering GTRLC to be agile in decision-making.
Risk Assessment and Mitigation: Proactively assess the financial impacts of emerging trends and develop risk mitigation strategies, ensuring ongoing support for GTRLC’s top-priority projects.
Cross-Departmental Operational Integration
Collaborative Leadership: Working with Director-level leaders, fostering integration across functions to optimize resource allocation and operational efficiency. Onboarding work-plan will establish a timeline for knowledge transfer and departmental engagement.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Dashboard Implementation: Lead evolution of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and performance dashboards to ensure cross-departmental transparency and operational excellence.
Anticipate the financial impacts of emerging trends on GTRLC’s mission, assessing risks and opportunities to sustain top-priority conservation projects.
As directed by the CEO’s Strategic Priorities, engage with Board of Directors in Committee and Ad Hoc Committee projects.
Community and Donor Relationships: Working with the Director of Development and the CEO, help identify creative solutions with conservation buyers, high-value donors, and key stakeholders to advance innovative funding partnerships.
Innovation-Driven Initiatives: Spearhead projects such as the Rapid Response Revolving Fund (RRRF), incorporating strategy into finance and increasing organizational resilience.
ROI Leadership: Oversee the growth and impact of the RRRF, ensuring strategic responsiveness to conservation opportunities with measurable returns on investment.
Financial Strategy, Innovation, and Proactivity
Ensure Robust Financial Management: Oversee strategic financial planning, and resource allocation to align with GTRLC’s mission and growth objectives.
Sustainable Funding Development: Establish diversified funding channels to empower GTRLC in securing and conserving essential properties, minimizing risk while maximizing impact.
Diversified Funding Streams: Move beyond traditional revenue sources by identifying potential income-generating opportunities
Endowment Growth: Develop and implement strategies for growing the endowment, focusing on securing GTRLC’s long-term financial sustainability through targeted fundraising and investment initiatives.
Comprehensive Financial Stewardship & Compliance
Sustainable Investment Strategy: Guide resource allocation and manage the Rapid Response Revolving Fund to ensure fiscal health and mission alignment.
Governance and Compliance: Oversee adherence to all governance, legal, tax and non-profit tax requirements, and environmental standards, ensuring GTRLC meets industry benchmarks for ethical and compliant operations.
Leadership in Organizational Culture and Development
Operational Excellence: Continue a culture of organizational efficiency by building cohesive systems and integrated performance metrics that support data-driven decision-making.
Talent Development and Mentorship: Inspire and mentor a team that reflects GTRLC’s values, emphasizing innovation, collaboration, and accountability.
Stakeholder Communication: Maintain proactive communication with the board, donors, and partners, upholding GTRLC’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
Executive-Level Discretion: Exercise sound judgment to elevate critical financial or strategic issues, particularly those with broad implications, to the CEO level.
The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy seeks a skilled executive for an inaugural position, the Chief Strategic and Financial Officer, to drive innovation and resilience in sustainable finance and operational planning.
Founded in 1991, GTRLC is a 501(c)3 serving a five-county area in beautiful northern lower Michigan. Continued growth in our portfolio, which includes nearly 50,000 acres of protected land and more than 150 miles of protected shoreline and total assets exceeding $100M, requires additional capacity for strategic financial forecasting and risk and opportunity assessment, cross departmental operational integration, impactful philanthropic engagement, and new revenue generation.
This is a unique opportunity for a dynamic, results-driven leader to advance GTRLC's financial strategies significantly, setting new benchmarks for environmental stewardship and financial ingenuity in one of Michigan's most treasured regions.
