About XPRIZE

XPRIZE competitions change the world for the better by accelerating innovation life cycles, catalyzing markets, and energizing stakeholders.  

The XPRIZE Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and incentivizing breakthroughs to the most critical challenges facing humanity. Since its beginning in 1994, the Foundation has been building and continues to build a vision of hope and abundance for humanity’s future by harnessing the power of innovators, technology, and resources.  

Through incentive prize competitions, XPRIZE enables people to create bold and transformative solutions that are scalable and drive real impact. XPRIZE competitions positively impact both the marketplace and humanity by addressing the market failures that have prevented significant breakthroughs across multiple sectors.  

An XPRIZE… 

sets an audacious but achievable goal that aims to overcome challenges deemed impossible. It tackles some of humanity's most pressing issues by redefining what is achievable and pushing the boundaries of human potential.  

defines and addresses a clear problem through extensive research, a design sprint, and a competition that catalyzes the development of the next breakthroughs to put humanity on the path toward a preferred future state for all. The desired outcome from an XPRIZE is clear and measurable, and the rules of the competition are transparent and easily understood.  

democratizes innovation by encouraging expert and nonexpert participation and multidisciplinary collaboration.  

catalyzes markets and revitalizes stagnant industries by increasing awareness of market failures and accelerating innovations to address them.  

is highly leveraged, with competing teams attracting and mobilizing investment capital, partner support, and new members in pursuit of the prize. Philanthropic dollars are thus magnified in support of a solution.  

Our first XPRIZE, the $10 million Ansari XPRIZE for private spaceflight, spurred an industry and created exponential breakthroughs. Since then we have provided over $140 million in incentives through these competitions. Each prize has created an industry-changing technology that brings us closer to a better, safer, more sustainable world.  

The use of incentive competitions, or prizes, to accelerate innovation goes back over 300 years, to when the British Admiralty launched the Longitude Prize in 1714 to find a better way to navigate our seas. In the years since, several well-known innovations have resulted from incentive competitions, including canning as a form of food preservation (a competition launched by Napoleon in 1795), modern plastics (the Billiard Ball Prize, 1863) and commercial aviation (the Orteig Prize, 1919).  

This is more than a job to us. When you work at XPRIZE, you’re making a positive impact on some of the biggest challenges facing our world. Whether you’re working in prize design or development, marketing and communications, stakeholder relations, business operations or any other department, you’re playing a critical role in turning the impossible into the possible.

Role Summary

Hands-on CFO works closely with the CEO to act as a strategic business partner to the senior executive leadership team and provide insight and recommendations to both short-term and long-term financial plans of the organization. The CFO will be the primary interface to the XPRIZE Board of Directors as to the financial health of the Foundation. The Chief Financial Officer will direct and oversee the financial activities of the corporation, direct the preparation of current financial reports and summaries, and create forecasts predicting future growth.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with team to inspire high performance and team connectivity.
• Oversees Accounting department, budget preparation, and audit functions.
• Works with other department heads to monitor each department and make recommendations.
• Establishing finance organizational strategies by evaluating trends, establishing critical measurements, and act as an advisor.
• Strong modeling skills to work through potential revenue models. 
• Work with Director/Controller to manage and oversee staff and build best practices to ensure efficiency and accuracy of department’s process and processes tied to other departments.
• Developing and tracking annual budget and forecast.
• Supporting the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Budget Committee, Audit Committee, operating Departments, administrative Management, external Auditors, Bankers, governmental Agencies and funding Organizations with necessary financial information and forecasting.
• Serve as the management liaison to the board and audit committee; effectively communicate and present critical financial matters at a select board of directors and committee meetings. 
• Serving in a key leadership role including setting the Foundation’s strategic direction in collaboration with the CEO and other members of the Executive Staff.
• Leading high-level teams to refine and execute the Foundation’s vision and strategic direction.
• Signing contracts, agreements and legal documents on behalf of the Board of Trustees.
• Maintaining the Foundation’s system of accounts and keeping books and records on all transactions and assets.
• Overseeing accounts payable and accounts receivable processing, including coordination of payroll processing and 403(b) coordination with the People & Culture department, cash handling with the Strategic Relations Department and coordination of donations and gifts with the Strategic Relations Department. Manages and coordinating financial activities with the appropriate departments/staff.
• Ensuring the Foundation’s compliance with policies, procedures and fiscal and management controls for the effective recording, analyzing and reporting of all financial matters, all cash handling, and all asset and inventory control. Updates accounting procedures as needed for efficiency and compliance. Ensures the legal and ethical standards for a nonprofit corporation as they relate to financial management are maintained.
• Unless otherwise assigned in the department, all or some of these financial duties apply. Reviews the financial and business environment in which the Foundation operates and advises the CEO, Foundation management and the Board of Trustees on appropriate actions to maximize the use of the protection of the Foundation’s financial resources. Develops business plans and financial forecasting and options as needed. 
• Responsible for maintaining the annual budget and long-term financial plan.
• Ensures the timely and accurate preparation and filing of all required tax and other regulatory reports.
• Serving as the primary liaison with independent auditors, including the response to and implementation of recommendations.

Qualifications

• Excellent management and supervisory skills.
• Strong but mindful leader able to share ideas and work successfully with other dynamic people
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills.
• Proficient in database and accounting computer application systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Netsuite and or heavy experience in system conversions
• Demonstrates a high level of initiative and results-oriented organizational and leadership abilities with the capacity to work independently and as part of a team.
• Understands the processes involved in strategic planning and in setting an organization’s vision and direction. Is capable of contributing to the conceptual framework for the organization’s vision. Can translate the organization’s vision to specific divisional goals. Is capable of monitoring implementation of goals at this level, making necessary adjustments and informing higher levels of management regarding significant changes.
• Excellent technical accounting skills; hands-on, detailed oriented and comfortable running the day-to-day operational accounting function.
• Problem solver with a customer service orientation.
• Ability to assess complex situations and make decisions and/or recommendations across departments and functions.
• Demonstrates a collaborative and flexible management style including the ability to develop professional working relationships at all levels of a complex organization.
• Skills necessary to be a successful supervisor including compliance with human resources policies and procedures, and training staff, providing regular feedback to direct reports, establishing and supporting the attainment of goals for direct reports and completing annual performance evaluations.
• Bachelors in Business Administration Finance or Accounting.
• Certified Public Accountant certification in California.
• Position requires 8 to ten years of experience of progressive responsibility managing and supervising staff for an NGO/nonprofit or higher education institution; five years experience in financial management in the Los Angeles regional marketplace considered a plus. 
• GAAP for nonprofits- specific accounting on profit transfer between funds, closing out funds, highly desired

Come change the world with us.

XPRIZE Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to having a truly inclusive workforce. We do not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or on the basis of actual or perceived gender as expressed through dress, appearance, or behavior.