Job Details

Job Opportunity: Controller

Start Date: As available

Location: San Francisco, CA | Hybrid Work Environment

Ready to Lead the Financial Heart of Civic Joy?

Civic Joy Fund exists to spark connection, belonging, and shared pride in our neighborhoods. We support and produce joyful, community-powered experiences—from volunteer clean-ups and public art installations to live music and neighborhood gatherings—that bring people together across lines of difference. What began in San Francisco has grown into a broader movement to make civic participation feel accessible, creative, and genuinely uplifting.

As our Controller, you won't just manage the books—you'll strengthen the backbone of a growing civic movement. You'll steward a $5M+ annual budget with rigor and transparency, ensuring resources are deployed effectively to power programs like Civic Joy Corps, neighborhood clean-ups, public art activations, and seasonal community events. Your leadership will help translate big, hopeful ideas into operational excellence—supporting artists, volunteers, partners, and neighborhoods with strong financial systems that scale.

We are organizers, creatives, neighbors, and civic builders who believe joy is serious work. We value accountability as much as imagination, and community trust as much as momentum.

Join us. Bring your financial expertise to a team committed to strengthening civic life through connection, creativity, and shared purpose.

Apply today to become our Controller and help build a more joyful public life.

Position Summary

The Controller will serve as CSF's financial lead—managing accounting systems, monthly closes, financial reporting, audits, budgeting, compliance, and financial analysis. The ideal candidate will have nonprofit accounting experience and a passion for community impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Accounting & Bookkeeping: Maintain QBO; reconciliations; monthly close; budget loading; generate financial reports
• Payroll & HR Support: Manage Gusto onboarding and payroll, including allocations and benefits
• Compliance & Audit: Lead audit preparation and Form 990; process 1099s; ensure payroll‑tax compliance
• Vendor & Contract Mgmt: Maintain vendor contracts/W‑9s; manage Bill.com approvals and payments
• Finance Analysis: Provide monthly program-level expense breakdowns; support budgets and ad‑hoc analyses; prepare board and committee materials; manage banking relationships and cash flow

Qualifications

• 3+ years of nonprofit accounting or audit experience
• Proficiency in QuickBooks Online, Bill.com, and Gusto
• Highly detail-oriented, organized, and mission-aligned

Compensation & Benefits

• $110,000–$135,000 depending on experience
• Full-time, exempt position with hybrid flexibility
• 403(b) retirement with up to 10% employer match
• Health, dental, and vision benefits; professional development stipend
• Supportive, collaborative, joyful team environment

In your cover letter, please include an anecdote about how Civic Space Foundation's mission speaks to you, personally.