The Moran Company Seeking CFO for Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium
November 25, 2020 – The Moran Company, an executive recruitment firm that specializes in the non-profit sector, has been enlisted to find the next chief financial officer/associate director of administration for Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). The organization conducts research and promotes education in the marine sciences and marine technology on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Senior search consultant Gretchen Kunkel is leading the assignment for the search firm.
LUMCON’s CFO will support all areas of the organization, including contracts and grants management, financial management, and personnel administration. The position will play a critical role in partnering with the management team in strategic decision making and operations. The CFO, who is responsible for an annual operating budget of close to $15 million and numerous federal and state grants, reports to the executive director and directly supervises three administrative staff.
“The CFO will join LUMCON during an exciting growth phase, including a new maritime campus in Houma (LA), the future operation of the newly constructed 199-foot research vessel Gilbert Mason, a growing funding portfolio and increases in staff, including five recent faculty hires,” said The Moran Company.
Key Responsibilities
The new financial officer will serve on the organization’s management team, helping to develop and execute multiyear business plans and strategies that advance LUMCON’s priorities and impact, said the search firm.
The job also involves leading the design and assessment of financial strategy and performance related to managing against the annual budget and long-term goals while fostering organizational effectiveness and sustainability. In addition, the CFO is charged with analyzing and presenting financial reports in an accurate and timely manner; communicating monthly and annual financial statements; collating financial reporting materials for all donor segments; and overseeing all financial, project/program, and grants accounting.
Other duties include grant and contract management as well as payroll, reporting and compliance responsibilities.
Job Requirements
Candidates should have a master’s degree in business administration or accounting (or similar degree) and a minimum of seven years of progressive responsibility at a managerial level, preferably in an academic setting. At a minimum, prospects should have a bachelor’s degree in business administration or accounting or the equivalent in education and experience plus 10 years of related experience.
Supervisory experience and a demonstrated ability to develop and lead others is required. Candidates should have successful experience managing a budget of at least $10 million, a track record in federal and state grants management, demonstrated experience being an agent of organizational change and a commitment to LUMCON’s mission, vision, and values.
Knowledge, skills and abilities required for the CFO role include: demonstrated ability to be a leader and team player with a strong results orientation; ability to work effectively with a diverse population of faculty, staff and students; excellent knowledge base of business principles and techniques of administration, organization and management, as well as managerial accounting and GAAP finance principles (including practice management); knowledge of science funding and management, and an understanding of trends in research funding; and strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities to ensure work is completed in a timely and productive manner.
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Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium promotes, facilitates and conducts research and education among Louisiana’s universities in marine and coastal sciences relevant to the sustainability of coastal and marine environments of the Gulf of Mexico. LUMCON strives to provide innovative models of scientific and educational programs and answers to questions relevant to the national and international stage. In 1979, the Louisiana State Legislature created LUMCON, and 2016 legislation placed LUMCON as a division of the Louisiana Board of Regents. The organization is based in the DeFelice Marine Center in Cocodrie, 85 miles southwest of New Orleans, in the heart of the estuarine wetland complex.
Non-Profit Recruiters
The Moran Company, based in Leawood, KS, specializes in searches for non-profit leadership, including executive directors, fundraising/development directors, hospital foundation directors and other senior executives. Some of the Moran Company’s current searches include executive director of cultural survival, executive director of Mount Nittany Health Foundation and executive director of TNC Community.
Bill Moran founded the search firm in 1996. He has worked on more than 60 non-profit searches over the past 12 years. He brings a combination to the search sector of having spent another 10 years as senior fundraising staff and 12 years as a fundraising consultant serving more than 100 clients.
Ms. Kunkel has 25 years of experience addressing a broad array of family and community health issues, including children’s and women’s health, community development, early care and education, food systems and food insecurity, healthy eating and active living, and public health. In 2004, she helped found KC Healthy Kids, a non-profit organization advancing children’s health by increasing opportunities for healthy eating and active living. From 2008-2018, she served as the organization’s second president. Before that, Ms. Kunkel served as associate executive director of the Center for Community Solutions, a research and advocacy non-profit organization, and the director of community health services at the Center for Health Affairs, a metropolitan hospital association, both located in Cleveland.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
