Vice president of finance

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO:

The Lancaster Conservancy is a 501(c)3 private, nonprofit land trust accredited by the Land Trust Alliance. The Conservancy has been successfully preserving and stewarding natural lands in Lancaster and York counties for over 50 years, culminating in a portfolio of 8,000+ acres across 50+ nature preserves. Recently, the Conservancy has significantly increased its pace in preserving the remnants of interior forest and other natural landscapes within the Susquehanna Riverlands and Pennsylvania Highlands bioregions of Lancaster and York counties. The Conservancy’s greatest success is its proven ability to connect individually preserved parcels into broad conservation areas; it has done so through strategic land acquisitions, stewarding existing forest, and restoring degraded ecosystems.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Vice President of Finance is responsible for ensuring that compliance, accounting, cash flow, and risk management at the Lancaster Conservancy run effectively and efficiently. They will play a key role in partnering with the President/CEO, Vice Presidents, and General Counsel to ensure the continued financial success of the organization. The selected individual will maintain timely and accurate financial records in accordance with GAAP and oversee Human Resources functions for the organization. This position partners with and represents Conservancy staff on the Finance & Audit Committee of the Board of Directors and supervises the Development & Accounting Manager.

Primary Finance Responsibilities

• Annually create a budget for the calendar year in partnership with the CEO and SVP’s.
• Provide accounting functions for the Conservancy, working closely with the Development & Accounting Manager.
• Manage income, grant, and expense tracking, including management of restricted funds.
• Oversee bookkeeping (payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and cash receipts), working closely with the Development & Accounting Manager.
• Prepare timely financial reports in cooperation with the President/CEO to present to the Board of Directors as needed.
• Coordinate the annual audit and tax filings with the external auditors.
• Manage banking relationships, cash flow, and the organization’s short and long-term investments.
• Streamline financial data management providing effective and transparent information to SVPs, the Board and other stakeholders.
• Provide compliance and tracking for donor gift agreements and restricted donor gifts including endowment funds.
• Manage funding requests and reporting required for acquisitions and tax issues.
• Manage the Board Finance & Audit Committee, including implementation of the Board approved policies that direct treasury and endowment and the recommendation of the annual budget to the Board.

Other Responsibilities

• Manage all human resources functions for the organization, including hiring process oversight, background checks, contracts for employee benefits, records management, and time reporting for all employees (currently about 30 staff members).
• Manage organizations’ risk by overseeing insurance contracts, both liability and employee benefits.
• Provide business consulting services to departments who propose income generating proposals.
• Manage the property function of the organization including a growing portfolio of building and land leases.
• Adhere to Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices to maintain the organization’s accredited status, participating in re-accreditation activities when applicable.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance and minimum 5 years of experience in accounting, non-profit accounting experience preferred.
• Knowledge of Sage Intacct Accounting software preferred.
• Passion for the environment and land conservation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Goal oriented and extreme attention to detail.
• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Familiarity with Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices.

This is a full-time, salaried, exempt position with competitive pay and benefits. The Lancaster Conservancy is headquartered in Lancaster City, PA. The position is office based at the headquarters location with the possibility of hybrid work upon approval.

Interested, qualified applicants should send a cover letter and resume to Jenn Teson Pitts at [email protected]. Applicants are assessed continuously until we find the right candidate, so please don’t hesitate to submit your application as soon as possible and no later than Monday, December 1, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Please list your last name and VP of Finance as the email’s subject line (i.e. Lastname-VP of Finance) and note where you saw the job posting in the body of the email.

Lancaster Conservancy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.