Job Description

Chief Financial Officer

Horizon Texas Conference - Fort Worth, TX 76105

Overview

Salary Range $145,000.00 - $155,000.00 Salary

Description

Chief Financial Officer

Conference Treasurer / Director of Administrative Services (¶ 619) — Senior Leadership Team

Position at a Glance

Position title - Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Disciplinary offices - Also elected by the Annual Conference as Conference Treasurer under ¶ 619 of The Book of Discipline, and designated Conference Benefits Officer and Conference Statistician.

Reports to - Administratively to the Resident Bishop through the senior leadership team; disciplinarily amenable to the Conference Council on Finance and Administration (CF&A) per ¶ 619.

Team led - Stewardship Team — 5 direct reports, including staff and contractors.

Financial scope - Approximately $14.8M annual operating budget for 2026; $116.9M total net assets, including $108.8M designated and restricted net assets.

Constituency served - 352 local churches, 10 districts, 3 camps and 8 Wesley Foundations; and 692 clergy and lay benefit plan participants

Classification - Full-time, exempt (FLSA). Lay and clergy are eligible.

Location - Hybrid, based at the Horizon Texas Conference office in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. On-site at least 2 days per week; residence within commuting distance required.

Travel - Approximately 30 days per year — including Annual Conference session, Cabinet Retreat, district meetings, and periodic denominational trainings.

Compensation - $145,000-$155,000, commensurate with experience, plus the benefits summarized below.

Target start date - November 1, 2026

Posting closes - September 22, 2026

About the Conference and This Opportunity

The Horizon Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church invites inquiries and applications for the position of Chief Financial Officer. This is a senior leadership appointment with denominational, fiduciary, and pastoral dimensions, and it is central to how the conference resources ministry across its churches, camps, campus ministries, and mission partners.

Our vision is to be Jesus followers seeking the loving, just, and free world God imagines for all people. We pursue that vision by loving boldly — multiplying ministry, raising up younger leaders, and building a conference culture marked by inclusion and respect for the diversity of our churches and communities. We are looking for a financial leader who understands that stewardship is a ministry: budgets, audits, and benefit plans are means by which congregations are freed to serve.

The CFO serves on the senior leadership team as the chief financial voice of the conference and as the principal steward of its financial integrity, transparency, and accountability. The role combines the strategic work of an executive with the disciplinary duties of the Conference Treasurer, and it carries responsibility for the conference's benefit programs and statistical reporting.

Why This Role Matters Now

The next CFO will step into a season of significant change and consequential decisions. Candidates should expect the following to shape the first two years of the work:

• Overseeing accounting system, ensuring transparent reporting across the conference, and pursuing efforts to streamline business practices.
• Stewarding mission share (apportionment) income in a period of changing congregational capacity, and helping leadership build realistic multi-year revenue models.
• Strengthening the sustainability of pension, health, and welfare benefit programs for clergy and lay employees.
• Rebuilding or reinforcing internal controls, documentation, and audit readiness so the conference can answer financial questions quickly and credibly.
• Raising the financial literacy and confidence of local church treasurers, finance committees, and trustees.

Expected Outcomes in the First Twelve Months

Success in year one will be evaluated against outcomes, not activity. The CFO will be expected to:

1. Deliver a clean, on-time annual audit with no material weaknesses and a documented plan for any management letter comments.
2. Produce a balanced, mission-aligned conference budget developed collaboratively with the senior leadership team and CF&A, and successfully interpret it to the Annual Conference session.
3. Issue accurate month-end financial reports on a published calendar, with a dashboard that leadership and boards can use for decision-making.
4. Complete a documented review of internal controls, restricted-fund compliance, and investment and reserve policies, with recommendations to CF&A and Trustees.
5. Confirm the health and compliance of benefit and insurance programs, including renewal strategy and participant communication.
6. Establish a stable, well-supported Stewardship Team with clear roles, cross-training, and no single points of failure.

Primary Responsibilities

1. Strategic Financial Leadership

• Serve as the chief financial advisor to the Resident Bishop, the senior leadership team, CF&A, and the Cabinet, translating financial information into clear strategic options and recommendations.
• Develop multi-year financial forecasts, scenario models, and reserve strategies that connect resources to the conference's mission and priorities.
• Anticipate emerging trends and assess internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats, then lead the implementation of practical solutions.
• Design and continuously improve streamlined administrative and financial systems that increase operating efficiency, control cost, and free capacity for ministry.
• Communicate financial information effectively to widely varied audiences — clergy, lay leaders, boards, agencies, donors, and the public — in plain, non-technical language.
• Participate and provide leadership on various conference boards and committees, including CF&A, Board of Trustees, Investment Management Committee, and Board of Pension and Health Benefits.

2. Accounting, Treasury, and Internal Control

• Oversee all accounting operations, ensuring professional application of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and appropriate fund accounting practice for a nonprofit religious organization.
• Direct all treasury functions, including banking relationships, cash management, liquidity planning, investment administration in coordination with Trustees, and payment controls.
• Perform the duties of the Conference Treasurer under ¶ 619, including receiving and disbursing remittances from local churches and remitting general, jurisdictional, conference, and district funds on the required schedule.
• Maintain a documented system of internal controls with appropriate segregation of duties, approval thresholds, and fraud-risk safeguards; oversee the security and integrity of financial data and systems.
• Oversee management of all restricted, designated, and endowed funds in compliance with GAAP, donor intent, the Discipline, and federal and state law.
• Manage the annual audit process with the third-party audit firm, including preparation of schedules, workpapers, and financial statements, and lead timely remediation of any findings.
• Ensure timely and accurate filing of all required returns and reports, including Forms 990 or applicable religious-organization filings, 1099s, payroll tax returns, and state filings.

3. Budget Development and Mission Share Stewardship

• Prepare, develop, and manage the approval of the conference budget in timely consultation with the senior leadership team, CF&A, and other relevant committees.
• Recommend and administer the mission share (apportionment) formula, monitor collection performance, and advise leadership on trends and interventions.
• Interpret the budget and apportionment methodology to districts, congregations, and the Annual Conference session in a way that builds trust and participation.
• Ensure the distribution of accurate and timely month-end and year-end reports to conference senior staff, boards, agencies, and other required parties, together with periodic funding and cost-management reporting.

4. Pension and Benefits

• Serve as Conference Benefits Officer, overseeing all matters relating to pension, health, disability, and life insurance for clergy and lay employees.
• Administer direct billing of pension and health costs to local churches and other employing units, and resolve participant and church-level questions.
• Partner with Wespath, the Board of Pension and Health Benefits, brokers, and third-party administrators on plan design, renewals, funding strategy, and

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