(Global position – flexible to be based where Helen Keller can support employment)
Guided by the remarkable legacy of our founder, Helen Keller, Helen Keller Intl partners with

communities striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. By delivering the essential building
blocks of good health, sound nutrition and clear vision, we help millions of people create lasting
change in their own lives. Working in more than 20 countries – across Africa, Asia, Europe and in the
United States – and together with a global community of supporters, we are ensuring every person
has the opportunity – as Helen did – to reach their potential.
As we continue to grow and impact lives, we are seeking a dynamic and visionary Chief Financial and
Operating Officer (CFOO). The CFOO is a senior executive, responsible for leading the financial
strategy, resource allocation approach and operational efficiency of the organization. This involves
managing resources, ensuring financial health, improving processes, managing risk, driving
performance, and aligning operational activities with the organization’s long-term goals. The role
requires expertise in financial management, operations, leadership, and strategic decision-making to
ensure the organization’s growth and sustainability. The CFOO collaborates with other executives;

leads finance, legal, risk management, information systems and operations functions; and ensures
compliance with regulations. The CFOO additionally leads the executive responsible for People &
Culture.
As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, provides strategic direction, develops and oversees
implementation of a strategic plan and metrics, directs organizational pace, grows a collaborative
culture, and serves as an example of courageous leadership. Working closely with other C-suite
executives to align financial and operational strategies with overall business goals. Leads and
manages a team of professionals to oversee sound financial and operational oversight of the

organization. Ensures effective delivery of shared services to the operating units of Helen Keller,
including creating and upholding service level agreements, setting and managing performance
metrics, developing and evolving centers of expertise, and fostering professional development to
achieve organizational targets.
Functional Relationships
The Chief Financial and Operating Officer (CFOO) reports to the President & CEO and is a member
of the Executive Leadership Team. The CFOO holds a critical role at Helen Keller, overseeing
effective and efficient resource allocation across the organization. The Executive provides strategic
and operational management for financial oversight, strategy, and organizational effectiveness;
workforce development and organizational culture; risk management; legal and compliance functions;
and technology and systems operations. Serves as primary staff liaison to the Finance Committee of
the Board and represents Management’s perspectives at the Audit and Risk Committee of the Board.

Regularly makes presentations on the financial health of the organization to the Board of Trustees.
Builds and maintains networks with other C-Suite level professionals, overseeing financial and
operational aspects of international development agencies. Stays abreast of developments in our
sector and what it means to be a people-centered, results-focused, fair-minded international non-profit
organization.
Specific Responsibilities
• Strategic Leadership: In alignment with the organizational strategy and organizational health
goals, is accountable for the development of the vision, goals, and strategies for organizational
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resources, including its people, finances and systems. Serves as a member of the Executive
Leadership Team to provide strategic direction to the organization. Leads a senior

management team in setting and implementing organizational priorities aligned to the
organization-wide strategy. Ensures alignment with other departments and organizational
goals. Champions the practice of agile decision making and adaptability in the deployment of
resources. Drives the timely execution of strategy and evaluates organizational performance
against set goals and benchmarks and makes required management adjustments. Takes
ownership and accountability for achieving the strategic and operational goals of Helen Keller,
ensuring adherence to ethical standards and organizational values.
• Financial Management: Oversees long-term financial strategies, budgeting, and forecasting
to align with Helen Keller’s goals and growth objectives. Directs others to manage
organizational financial systems and processes to ensure accurate and timely financial
reporting, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow reports. Oversees
management of the annual external audit process. Manages a department to monitor and
manage the organization’s cash flow, ensuring appropriate liquidity and operational efficiency.
Directs a regular process to analyze organizational costs and presents and oversees the
implementation of cost-saving measures to improve competitiveness and organizational
impact. Ensures adherence to financial regulations, accounting standards (like GAAP or
IFRS), and tax laws. Maintains strong customer focus for support to program and project
operations, including creating agreements for shared services. Manages relationship with the
Board of Trustees Finance Committee and regularly presents financial results of the
organization to the Board.
• Compliance and Risk Management: Directs organizational resources for legal services, risk
management, and compliance. Serves as the executive sponsor of the enterprise-wide risk
management process, ensuring processes are fit for purpose and feeding into resource
allocation discussions and decisions with appropriate mitigation. Ensures the implementation
and monitoring of internal controls to safeguard organizational assets, maintain financial
integrity, and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory standards. Serves as the
management liaison with the Internal Audit function, proactively identifying areas for
assessment and efforts to improve areas with recurring internal audit findings. Represents the
perspective of management to the Audit and Risk Committee of the Board of Trustees,
including collaborating with the Head of Internal Audit and the committee chair to shape
agendas and work plans.
• Integrated Operations Management: Responsible for alignment of organizational resources
to meet organizational impact goals. These include Helen Keller’s workforce, financial
resources, and technology investments. Manages the heads of those departments to take an
integrated approach to the development of key skills, processes and systems to best serve the
organization. This includes enhancing collaboration, upskilling our workforce, improving
efficiency, reducing waste, and streamlining workflows. Formulates and supervises a collection
of centers of excellence to provide policies, tools, technical assistance, shared services and
systems to operating units of the organization. Works with Managing Directors to set
standards and targets for a consistent, high-quality operating environment and an excellent
internal controls environment of regional and country office operations.
• Organizational Transformation: Oversees business transformation and change
management efforts, including the development and implementation of contingency plans to
minimize disruptions and ensure business continuity. Accountable for evolving effective
organizational policies, systems and talent in key operational areas such as people and
culture, finance, systems applications, procurement, logistics and inventory systems,
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safeguarding and safety and security. Provides vision for technological solutions to improve
operational processes, automate routine tasks, and support decision-making.
• Organizational strategy and effectiveness: Supervises agile, adaptive strategic planning
function of the organization, supporting effective continuous planning and performance
feedback cycles. Manages a team to renew and track key performance indicators (KPIs) set
by the Executive Leadership Team to measure progress against strategic objectives, track
operational effectiveness, identify bottlenecks, and optimize performance. Leads the Executive
Leadership Team to regularly review the organization’s human, technological, and financial
resource allocation so that they are being used optimally for the greatest impact. Stays abreast
of adaptive strategy frameworks and methodologies to ensure Helen Keller stays at the
forefront of results-focused decision-making.
• Leadership and Team management: Fosters a positive organizational culture with a high
level of employee engagement and alignment to Helen Keller’s organizational values of
Compassion, Courage, Integrity and Rigor. Oversees the recruitment, development, and
retention of top talent, focusing on inclusive leadership and a talent pipeline for the whole
organization. Promotes organizational agility by sharing talent and providing broad
organizational views. With the Executive Leadership Team and in their department, the
organization leads through times of change and ensures smooth transitions and minimal
disruption during change processes.
Qualifications
For our team to be a great fit for you, the following qualifications should resonate with you:
• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field or similar required; MBA or relevant Master’s degree
preferred; plus a minimum of 15-20 years of directly relevant senior-level experience working
in a complex international organization; or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Personal commitment to Helen Keller’s mission and goals and the values embodied by our cofounder: compassion, courage, integrity and rigor.
• Demonstrated experience and a successful track record of:
o Leading and managing large-scale resource allocation efforts;
o Leading and driving successful organizational change, especially as it relates to agility;
o Evolving organizational systems and business models to be fit for purpose;
o Leading teams and managing managers.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively articulate decision points using relevant frameworks and
data analysis
• Experience managing all aspects of financial management of a complex organization,
including external audits, resource planning, forecasting and budgeting, and reporting.
• Strong knowledge of financial regulations, compliance, and risk management.
• Skilled in identifying and capitalizing on financial and operational opportunities to drive
financial health and improve efficiency.
• Proficient in process optimization, cost reduction strategies, and productivity enhancements
across multiple departments.
• Expertise in identifying financial and operational risks and designing mitigation strategies to
safeguard the organization’s assets and reputation.
• In-depth knowledge of financial technologies and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
to drive operational efficiency.
• Experience in leveraging data analytics and financial modeling tools to support decisionmaking and improve business processes. A commitment to fairness and belonging and
experience implementing these concepts in a living, adapting organization.
• Expertise in developing reports, dashboards, and presentations for executives and board
members.
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• Relevant organizational experience with the ability to work effectively across cultures and with
diverse groups as evidenced by excellent listening and communication skills, balanced and
reasoned approaches to problems, ability to inspire trust and confidence, respect and
understanding of backgrounds and cultures, and flexibility and openness to differing points of
view.
• Knowledge of and experience in implementing change management initiatives using industry
best practices to build trust and understanding among employees.
• The ability to make decisions in a dynamic environment, with an appreciation for how future
needs may affect those decisions: a willingness to iterate a strategy and approach, with the
ability to recognize the need to course-correct as necessary.
• Demonstrated understanding of the synergy between the programmatic, operational, and
financial components of development initiatives.
• Knowledge of office operations and donor requirements and a track record of delivery.
• Strong project management and communication skills with a track record of deploying them to
execute organizational design and human resource strategy.
• Demonstrated ability to undertake high-level representation, including ability to make effective
and persuasive speeches and presentations in English on complex topics to top management,
public groups, and/or boards of directors.
• Excellent oral and written English required. Ability to read, analyze and interpret complex
documents and to summarize information succinctly – both verbally and in writing—using an
engaging style. French language skills are a strong advantage.
• Well-established and practiced organizational and planning skills.
• Lived experience working and living in the contexts where Helen Keller works strongly
preferred.
• An ability to work in challenging and changing environments, to find solutions to emerging
challenges, and maintain balance when under stress.
• Collaborative, flexible and solution-oriented.
• Ability and willingness to flex work hours to accommodate multiple time zones, as needed.
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally, up to 20% of the time.
Compensation
The full-time annualized midpoint of the salary range for this position is $250,000. Actual salary will
vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, salary of internal peers, and functional
specialty.
Helen Keller offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes first-day eligibility for medical,
dental, vision, short and long-term disability, and life insurance coverage, along with an Employee
Assistance Program, a retirement savings plan with an employer match, paid vacation leave, sick &
wellness leave, parental/adoption leave, and opportunities for learning and development. Specific
offerings may vary by country in accordance with local laws.
Fairness, Belonging and Zero Tolerance to Abuse
As a member of the Helen Keller Family, each employee is expected to:
• Help to develop and maintain an environment that welcomes and develops a multi-cultural
workforce with varied lived experiences and identities.
• Foster a work environment where everyone feels valued and included.
• Support employees’ evaluation and promotion processes based on skills and performance.
• Promote a safe, secure, and respectful environment for all members of Helen Keller family,
stakeholders in general, and particularly for the communities we serve.
• Follow Helen Keller Code of Conduct helping to prevent any type of abuse including workplace
harassment, sexual abuse and exploitation, and trafficking in persons.
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• Adhere to the Organizational Core Values.
To Apply
Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to responses@russellreynolds.com.
Please quote the role title and assignment code 2503-085L in the subject heading of the email.
In the spirit of the extraordinary ability and vision of our founder, Helen Keller Intl fosters an
environment of fairness and belonging for our workforce.
Helen Keller Intl is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to the principles of equal
employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment.