VP Finance and Administration

Who We Are

St. John Ambulance, British Columbia & Yukon (SJA BCY) is a not for profit ‘mission-led enterprise’ committed to empowering safer communities through first aid leadership. SJA BCY is part of the federated St. John Ambulance organization in Canada, which is represented from coast to coast. We are privileged to be part of an organization with over 900 years of service to humanity. Today, SJA BCY is a market leader in the development and delivery of first aid courses, first aid products and we support first aid in communities through our 1500 plus volunteers.

The Opportunity

Reporting to and partnering with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Vice-President (VP), Finance & Administration will play a critical role in developing and implementing the business and financial strategy of SJA BCY. As a member of the senior executive team, the VP, Finance & Administration will play an active role in driving the future success of SJA BCY.

The VP, Finance & Administration will be responsible for overseeing all fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities for the organization. They will work at a strategic level, assessing and interpreting the “big picture” of the organization’s direction, and providing informed advice to the CEO on how to improve commercial and operational performance, reduce financial risk and add value to the organization’s mission.

Who You Are

• You are an experienced financial and business leader. You know what it takes to help run an organization, partnering with other leaders to build strategies, operational plans and financial resources to ensure success.
• You know how to lead a successful finance team, ensuring that they deliver on all financial requirements, while also being known as an added value part of the organization.
• You are a financial strategist. Your strong analytical and operational skills and experience allow you to analyze an organization, assess strengths and weaknesses, and make impactful recommendations to improve performance. You are confident and comfortable raising opportunities and discuss them with your colleagues as a respectful partner.
• You are comfortable working with big picture strategic opportunities (and likely creating them) but can also dig into detail to collaborate with your teammates, seeking new insights and opportunities that arise from thoughtful analysis. 
• You are a team leader, particularly for teams of finance professionals. Your leadership skills extend beyond finance, and you are a strong business operator as well, able to support or lead other teams when called on.
• You are a natural collaborator. Whether with your senior executive colleagues, or other members of staff, you are ready to help, coach and make the operation better, every day.
• You are a problem solver, open to finding challenges and creating solutions to move an organization or team forward.
• You are comfortable at the Board and Committee table, and with senior executives of external organizations, such as government or commercial customers.
• Lastly, you want to make a difference. You’re inspired by a mission and want to do work that really matters. 

Responsibilities and Duties

Finance:

• Lead the SJA BCY Finance function; assess systems and processes and drive performance improvement where warranted.
• Oversee all financial reporting (monthly, quarterly, annual); ensure highest level professionalism and compliance is standard practice for the team.
• Build and deploy financial tools to better inform decision making; drive a data based, analytical approach to strategy development and business improvement; ensure tools are deployed to improve SJA BCY’s ability to assess its current position, and its future opportunities and results.
• Manage key financial processes and workflows to ensure senior executives, Committee and Board members have the right information at the right time to understand business status and future direction.
• Participate on national committees or initiatives improve St. John Ambulance nationally.

Administration:

• Oversee administrative requirements for headquarters and branch operations (leases, insurance, suppliers) to ensure they meet operational requirements.
• Oversee procurement and key suppliers/partners; drive key relationships to improve operational and financial outcomes.
• Build and manage an enterprise risk management program, alongside tracking the overall financial health of the company.
• Provide ongoing commercial advice to the CEO, other senior executives and the Board or Committees as needed.

Executive Leadership:

• Be an active member of the senior executive team; partner with the CEO, Director of Marketing & Community Services, Director of Business Development, Director of Finance, and Director of HR to lead the company.
• Make SJA BCY better every day; regularly contribute beyond your core Finance & Administration portfolio. Lead key company initiatives as an executive leader, including key cross functional working groups. 
• Actively participate in organizational strategic planning to identify opportunities for growth, improved performance and team engagement.
• Interact with senior executive team to add value through financial analyses, reports, and recommendations.
• Drive and reinforce company culture; inspire SJA BCY staff on your team and throughout the organization.
• Represent your portfolio to the Board of Directors; lead engagement with the Finance & Audit Committee.

Team Leadership:

• Lead a small team of committed finance professionals.
• Show the team the ‘art of the possible’; utilize your industry leading experience to lead the team to new levels of performance.
• Inspire a strong team ethic; ensure commitment to the team, and to SJA BCY.
• Build the SJA BCY culture; ensure a strong ‘internal partnership’ mindset.

Qualifications

• To deliver on the expectations outlined above, we expect you’ve been a finance leader for 10+ years.
• You secured your CPA/CA qualifications and have kept them current.
• Your finance knowledge spans the spectrum of technical (accounting, budgeting, and cost control principles including Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and analytical (data, forecasting, modelling).
• You understand finance systems (e.g. IT) and how to extract value from them.
• You have strong strategic and operational experience, within and beyond a finance function.
• You are a strong commercial operator, able to represent an organization in commercial matters such as contract negotiation or procurement.
• You have worked in environments where a diverse and varied agenda is the norm; where internal and external clients matter equally.
• You have exposure to not for profit, mission-led organizations.
• You’ve led teams (whether small or large) and helped them be successful.
• You’ve been exposed to executive leadership and are comfortable working in, and above, your defined portfolio; you have a background in helping your organization grow and achieve success.
• You have been asked to make big things happen (but not necessarily for big organizations); you know the value of putting in some ‘hustle’ with your team to make the work special.
• You want to make a difference; you gain inspiration from our ambition to be ‘Known, across Canada, as the leader in First Aid and Community Health and Safety’.

Why Join SJA BCY?

• We offer a strong compensation package and are committed to creating a growth environment for everyone on our team. The salary range for this position is $120K – 140K, with an incentive available for strong performance against agreed KPI’s.
• Our working arrangements are flexible, and our teams share time working from home as well as in our office.
• We value work-life balance and flexibility in the workplace and offer 8 sick days and 2 personal days annually.
• We provide a valuable benefits package, including:

o  Generous vacation package starting at 3 weeks per year

o  Health and dental benefits, and mental health resources

o  Pension plan with employer matching contribution program.

o  Professional development support, including all SJA BCY course First Aid Certification offered to all employees at no cost.

• A supportive work environment where we like to work hard, but also have fun
• SJA BCY is a welcoming and collaborative organization. We welcome diversity in our organization and qualified applicants of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.