Accounting Director

Accounting Director

The Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) is a tax-exempt nonprofit focused on revitalizing Cincinnati's urban core, particularly the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine. Partnering with the City of Cincinnati and the corporate community, 3CDC works to create a vibrant downtown through development, programming, and district management, supported by a team of roughly 185 full-time and 150 part-time staff.

3CDC has contributed to more than $2B in development across Downtown and OTR, including civic spaces, mixed-income housing, and mixed-use projects. The organization manages nearly 700K square feet of commercial space, ~200 apartment units, and 5,900+ parking spaces, generating $51M+ annually. 3CDC oversees seven civic spaces, hosting nearly 1,600 free events each year. 3CDC also manages the Downtown Cincinnati and OTR South Special Improvement Districts, providing clean and safe services, outreach, beautification, and marketing.

The Accounting Director reports directly to the CFO and leads a team of five accounting professionals responsible for the financial management, reporting, and budget execution of key operational areas of 3CDC, including corporate operations, civic space management and programming, and business district management. The role ensures accurate and timely accounting, strong internal controls, and clear, useful financial reporting that supports effective operational performance across the organization. Beyond day-to-day accounting oversight, the Accounting Director is expected to think strategically about how the function operates. This includes improving processes, strengthening internal discipline, and using financial results to identify trends, explain variances, and support stronger decision-making. The position requires a hands-on leader who can balance technical expertise, systems stewardship, analysis, process improvement, and people leadership in a complex, fast-moving environment.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of five, setting clear expectations for accuracy, timeliness, and accountability.
• Provide structured review, coaching, and support to build staff capability and independence.
• Collaborate closely with the other Accounting Director to maintain consistent processes, documentation standards, workload balance, and quality expectations across the accounting function.
• Ensure staff understand how their work supports organizational goals and contributes to overall performance.
• Develop and maintain a structured onboarding and cross-training program to ensure team resilience and continuity.
• Foster an environment where issues are identified early, discussed openly, and resolved constructively.
• Lead the annual budgeting process for assigned departments, translating operational plans into clear, realistic financial expectations.
• Serve as a strategic finance partner to operational leaders and staff by building strong working relationships, ensuring open communication, and helping them interpret financial results and the financial impact of operational decisions.
• Monitor financial performance throughout the year, identifying trends, issues, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Provide clear, actionable recommendations to department and organizational leadership.
• Oversee and manage month-end close activities for assigned entities, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.
• Review key journal entries, reconciliations, and internal financial reports, ensuring issues are understood and resolved quickly.
• Maintain and strengthen accounting processes and internal controls to support reliability, consistency, and efficiency.
• Assist in maintaining and configuring business settings within the organization's accounting systems to ensure accurate processing and reporting, coordinating with IT or vendors as needed.
• Ensure internal financial reporting is well-organized, clear, and tailored to the needs of leadership, committees, and the Board.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and accuracy within accounting systems and workflows, and implement changes in coordination with IT or system vendors.
• Lead efforts to improve the clarity, timeliness, and usefulness of financial information used for operational decision-making.
• Analyze financial results to identify trends and variances and to highlight opportunities for operational or process improvements.
• Help shift the function beyond producing results toward interpreting what they mean and guiding improvements.
• Prepare financial materials and analysis for leadership, committee, and Board discussions and participate in meetings as needed.
• Coordinate with external auditors for assigned entities and ensure timely, complete, and accurate support and documentation.
• Work closely with the CFO, the other Accounting Director, and finance leadership to ensure alignment in processes, reporting, and financial practices across the organization.
• Elevate issues requiring leadership attention with clear context, implications, and recommended next steps.

This job description is not intended to be all inclusive. The employee will also perform other reasonably related business duties as assigned by their immediate supervisor and other management as required.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in accounting or a related field; CPA preferred but not required.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in accounting or finance, including direct staff leadership.
• Strong knowledge of accounting, budgeting, internal controls, financial reporting, and real estate finance concepts.
• Ability to research and interpret technical accounting issues and applicable IRS or GAAP guidance.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present information clearly to Board and committee audiences.
• Demonstrated problem-solving ability and experience supporting financial statement audits.
• Professional, collaborative approach with the ability to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders.

Skills or Specialized Knowledge

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel.
• Ability to learn and effectively manage the business-side configuration of accounting and financial systems.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment.