Finance Director

Title

Finance Director

Reports to

Chief Finance and Operations Officer

Location

Remote within the United States, with regular schedule overlap with Ecuador and Peru and occasional travel to country offices

Engagement type

Full-time employee, exempt

Language

English required. Working Spanish is a significant advantage.

About Amazon Frontlines
Amazon Frontlines (amazonfrontlines.org) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in the Amazon region of Ecuador. Amazon Frontlines fights the climate crisis by securing indigenous stewardship of the Amazon rainforest. We build power with Indigenous leaders to form a bulwark of resistance throughout the upper Amazon, working together deep in the forest, at our organizing hub in northeastern Ecuador, and in the halls of power worldwide. Our mission is driven by a commitment to environmental conservation and empowering indigenous communities through partnership and sustainable practices.

Position Summary

The role is the organization's senior technical finance professional and its chief accountant: responsible for the books, the financial statements, the annual audit, United States tax and regulatory compliance, treasury, and the quality of every figure the organization reports to its leadership, its Board, and its funders.

The role suits a hands-on finance professional who is comfortable working with a great deal of data and has an eye for detail, and who also enjoys change management and building structural solutions rather than patching gaps. 

The Finance Director manages a team that is in consolidation phase, the Finance Manager and the Manager, Grant Finance and Budgeting, with a Staff Accountant reporting through the Finance Manager. The role reports to the Chief Finance and Operations Officer, who holds financial strategy, Board presentation, and the organization's operations, legal, people, and risk portfolios. The Finance Director produces the financial information those responsibilities depend on and is accountable for its accuracy and timeliness. The role leads the finance function; it does not process transactions or run the monthly close.

Scope

•     Accounting management, monthly close, and financial statement quality

•     Internal controls, financial policy, and delegation of authority

•     Annual external audit and audit readiness

•     United States tax and regulatory compliance, including Form 990 and state filings

•     Treasury, banking, and payment platform administration

•     Financial reporting to leadership and to the Board Finance Committee

•     Financial oversight of re-granting to partner organizations and of operations in Ecuador and Peru

•     Supervision of the finance team and transition of accounting functions in-house

Key Responsibilities

1. Accounting Management and Financial Close

•     Oversee the monthly close, account reconciliations, accruals, payroll review, and coding quality, led by the Finance Manager.

•     Review and approve monthly financial statements, including net asset classification, restricted fund balances, and material accruals.

•     Own the chart of accounts and the class and project structure, including the restructure scheduled for 2027.

•     Own the documented methodology for allocating personnel and shared costs across program, management and general, and fundraising functions, and review it annually with the external auditors.

•     Ensure the accounting record is maintained to a standard that supports audit without reconstruction.

2. Audit, Tax, and United States Compliance

•     Run the annual external audit under the oversight of the Chief Finance and Operations Officer: planning, schedules, fieldwork, the auditor relationship, management responses, and implementation of agreed recommendations.

•     Own preparation and review of Form 990 and related schedules, including Schedule F for activities and grantmaking outside the United States.

•     Maintain California and multi-state compliance, including Registry of Charities and Fundraisers filings, Secretary of State filings, and charitable solicitation registrations.

•     Apply and document United States nonprofit accounting standards, including FASB ASC 958, contribution revenue recognition, and functional expense reporting.

•     Prepare audit results and management letter responses for the Board Finance Committee.

3. Internal Controls and Financial Policy

•     Develop and maintain the internal control framework and the financial policy manual for approval by the Chief Finance and Operations Officer: delegated authorities, approval thresholds, segregation of duties, travel and advances, and payment authorization.

•     Design workable controls for a small team across three countries, including compensating controls where full separation of duties is not possible.

•     Ensure written procedures exist for every critical finance process, each with a documented backup.

•     Maintain the financial section of the organizational risk register, including fraud, key-person, currency, partner, and liquidity risk.

4. Treasury and Financial Reporting

•     Own banking, credit card, and payment platform relationships, including account structure, signatory authority, user access rights, and periodic access reviews.

•     Manage cash positioning across countries and currencies to fund operations without holding unnecessary idle balances.

•     Maintain a rolling twelve-month cash flow forecast and report the reserve position against the reserve policy.

•     Prepare the monthly leadership financial package and the quarterly Board financial package, and translate results into decision-useful analysis.

•     Escalate material variances, liquidity pressure, control failures, and compliance risks promptly and in writing.

5. International and Grant Finance

•     Maintain the framework that documents Amazon Frontlines' discretion and control over funds re-granted to partner organizations, including counterparty screening before disbursement.

•     Confirm the accounting treatment of pass-through funds, distinguishing principal from agent arrangements, and apply it consistently in the ledger and in Form 990 reporting.

•     Oversee the accounting and statutory cost obligations attached to operations in Ecuador and Peru, including local payroll costs, benefit provisions, and accruals.

•     Provide financial oversight of legal entities and affiliates.

•     Review complex and high-value donor financial reports before submission.

6. Team Leadership and Systems Transition

•     Supervise, coach, and develop the Finance Manager and the Manager, Grant Finance and Budgeting, across two countries and two languages.

•     Manage the outsourced accounting, tax, and compliance relationships: scope, deliverables, deadlines, and technical judgment calls.

•     Lead the transition of accounting work in-house as internal capacity is built, with a documented transition plan and handover of procedures.

•     Build financial management capacity across the organization so budget holders understand and use their financial information.

Experience and Qualifications

Required

•     Five or more years in nonprofit finance and accounting, including at least two years supervising staff.

•     Direct experience with United States 501(c)(3) accounting and reporting, gained either in an operating nonprofit or auditing nonprofit clients at a public accounting firm.

•     Working command of US GAAP and FASB ASC 958: net asset classification, contribution revenue recognition, and functional expense reporting.

•     Experience running or closely supporting an annual external audit, and experience with Form 990 preparation or review.

•     Practical internal controls experience, with judgment about what works in a small team.

•     Advanced Excel and administrator-level command of QuickBooks Online or a comparable system.

•     Ability to explain financial information clearly to colleagues without a finance background.

•     Authorization to work in the United States without visa sponsorship.

Also Valuable

•     International NGO experience, particularly with field operations, foreign grantmaking, sub-awards, or Schedule F.

•     Professional working Spanish. 

•    CPA or an equivalent professional accounting qualification.

Professional Profile

The successful Finance Director will demonstrate:

•     Technical rigor combined with the judgment to know which issues are material and which are not.

•     The ability to build reliable systems and documentation without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

•     Comfort leading a distributed team across countries, languages, and time zones.

•     Persistence in resolving problems at their source rather than correcting them downstream.

•     Clear written and verbal communication with colleagues, auditors, and Board members.

•     Discretion and sound judgment with confidential and sensitive financial matters.

•     Comfort working across multiple legal entities, jurisdictions, and operating environments.

•     A commitment to Amazon Frontlines' mission and to respectful partnership with Indigenous peoples, communities, and allied organizations.

Compensation and Application

The pay range for this position is $95,000 to $115,000 per year. This is a good faith estimate of the salary Amazon Frontlines expects to pay for this position on hire. Placement within the range depends on experience and qualifications.

Applications will be accepted until Monday, September 21, at midnight (Ecuador time).

Amazon Frontlines is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, age, gender, sexual orientation, or social class. As part of our commitment to diversity, we especially encourage applications from individuals from Indigenous and/or Afro-descendant communities.