Interim Finance Manager

About SEAACA:

The Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA) serves 14 cities and just under 900,000 residents in Southeast LA and Northeast Orange counties. We are a team of professionals dedicated to animal care and control and work around the clock to provide the best possible outcome for lost, ill and/or injured animals a year. Ranging from cats to dogs to opossums to chickens to ducks, snakes, hamsters, rabbits and more, SEAACA takes in over 1,000 animals every month.

We are a Joint Powers Authority comprised of five main divisions: Animal Control, Animal Care, Animal Health, Community Engagement and Licensing & Customer Service. Together, our job is to help as many animals as possible find a good home. Last year, we placed nearly 91% of our live-intake dogs.

The agency is currently led by an interim executive director brought on board to bridge the gap between former and future leadership. The Finance Manager role is new and was previously combined as the Finance/HR Manager.

Position Summary:

The Interim Finance Manager is a key leadership role responsible for strengthening SEAACA’s financial management capacity, implementing enterprise-wide financial controls, and ensuring accurate, timely, and transparent financial reporting. The interim term would be approx. five months, subject to extension by mutual agreement. This position oversees daily accounting activities, budget development and monitoring, cost allocation, financial controls, and supports transition to modernized financial systems. The Finance Manager also provides financial guidance to leadership staff and positions the Authority for a smooth onboarding of the permanent Finance & Accounting Manager anticipated in early CY27.

This role reports directly to the Interim Executive Director and works closely with SEAACA’s leadership team and the Board of Commissioners.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Financial Controls & Compliance:

Design, introduce, and initially oversee enterprise-wide financial controls across all procurement workflows, ensuring compliance with internal policies, public-sector standards, and regulatory requirements.
Identify opportunities for cost efficiencies and enhanced regulatory compliance, recommending policy or process improvements as needed.
Provide monthly oversight and review of third-party bookkeeping outputs to validate accuracy, completeness, and proper documentation.

Budget Development, Monitoring & Reporting:

Lead the effort to ensure accurate and timely expense allocations within SEAACA’s newly developed budget format.
Support the creation and maintenance of monthly budget-to-actual variance reporting for leadership and the Board.
Partner with the Interim Executive Director to optimize financial reporting systems in alignment with a data-driven governance model.

Financial Systems Transition & Process Improvement:

Support the transition from manual timekeeping and payroll workflows to the agency-wide ADP implementation, coordinating with staff, consultants, and system vendors.
Evaluate financial processes to recommend improvements in efficiency, transparency, internal controls, and reporting accuracy.

Leadership, Training & Organizational Development:

Serve as a budget and finance mentor to SEAACA leadership staff, ensuring new cost center managers understand and effectively use financial reporting tools and data.
Prepare the organization for the onboarding of a permanent Finance & Accounting Manager (TBD), establishing documented processes, training materials, and a stable financial operations environment.

Strategic Financial Support:

Provide modeling and cost analysis for management and the Board during union negotiations, including preparing cost projections for proposed contract changes.
Collaborate with the Interim Executive Director to produce financial insights that strengthen decision-making, operational planning, and long-term financial sustainability.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Public Administration, Business Administration, or a closely related field.
Five years of progressively responsible public-sector or nonprofit financial management experience, including budgeting, accounting, financial analysis, or audit coordination.
Demonstrated experience implementing internal controls, cost allocation structures, and financial reporting systems.

Preferred Qualifications:

Certification such as CPA, CGFM, or similar credential.
Experience with ADP or other enterprise payroll/timekeeping systems.
Experience in government, JPA, municipal finance, or agencies with multi-jurisdictional governance.
Supervisory experience and background training staff in financial analysis and reporting.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Strong knowledge of governmental accounting standards, budgeting principles, procurement controls, cost allocation, financial reporting frameworks, and internal audit practices.
Ability to design and document financial processes, workflows, and policies.
Excellent analytical, communication, and organizational skills, with the ability to translate complex financial information into clear, actionable reports.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate in a multi-stakeholder environment and provide mentorship to non-finance staff.
High professional integrity and commitment to transparency, regulatory compliance, and ethical financial stewardship.

Working Conditions:

While this position primarily operates in a professional office environment, most of our building is comprised of kennels, vet clinic spaces and related spaces for animal care. Management team members are expected to be comfortable around animals and in spaces across the facility. We encourage you to walk a dog each day. The job requires regular interaction with SEAACA leadership, external service providers, and member and contract city representatives. Some remote work may be possible depending on operational needs.

This role may be a contract or employee status position. While negotiable, in an employee status, hiring salary would range from $9,000 to $10,500/mo, for full time work.

Please submit cover letters and resumes to employment@seaaca.org.

SEAACA

Interim Finance Manager

About the Job