Chief Financial Officer

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a key member of the executive leadership team responsible for the financial management, strategy, and long-term stewardship of the organization. This role oversees financial planning and reporting, accounting, tax strategy, ESOP administration, enterprise risk management, financial systems governance, due diligence, and performance optimization across a complex, multi-entity engineering enterprise.

The CFO partners closely with the CEO, Board of Directors, ESOP trustees, and senior leadership, and works in direct alignment with the EVP of Corporate Development & Operations to drive sustainable growth, operational excellence, and employee-owner value across the enterprise.

This role is designed as a key enterprise leadership position with increasing scope and responsibility over time, reflecting the organization's long-term succession planning and commitment to leadership continuity.

The CFO is responsible for ensuring that all financial and operating practices preserve the organization's S-Corporation status and support the long-term sustainability of its ESOP structure.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Responsibilities

• Develop and execute long-term financial strategy aligned with corporate objectives and ESOP goals.
• Drive profitability initiatives including margin expansion, overhead optimization, pricing discipline, and project-level improvements.
• Lead ROI modeling for capital investments, service-line development, and geographic expansion.
• Champion enterprise-wide cost-saving, automation, and operational efficiency initiatives.
• Provide long-term financial leadership focused on sustainable, profitable growth and enhanced employee-owner value
• Lead, mentor, and develop high-performing teams across Finance, Accounting, Tax, ESOP, Risk, and Audit functions and work in close partnership with Treasury leadership to ensure alignment across capital, liquidity, and enterprise risk initiatives..
• Promote a culture of transparency, accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
• Build organizational capability through professional development, succession planning, and leadership pipeline development.
• Responsible for government contracting oversight, including compliance with accounting and reporting requirements.
• Partner with operations to improve project profitability, billing accuracy, cash cycle performance, and resource utilization.
• Enhance cost management, pricing strategies, overhead allocation methodologies, and margin optimization across all geographies and business lines.

Financial Management, Corporate Governance, Reporting, Policies & Internal Controls

• Direct all financial reporting functions, ensuring accuracy, integrity, and GAAP compliance.
• Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual close cycles across all subsidiaries and business units.
• Present financial results, forecasts, KPIs, and strategic analyses to the CEO, Board, ESOP trustees, and executive leadership.
• Ensure corporate practices-including distributions, ownership structure, and M&A activity comply with requirements necessary to maintain S-Corporation status.
• Maintain a strong internal control environment, ensuring robust policies, procedures, and segregation of duties to mitigate financial, operational, and compliance risks.
• Ensure cross-company consistency and audit readiness across all financial operations.
• Improve processes and systems to streamline workflows, reduce manual effort, and enhance financial visibility.
• Champion enterprise-wide cost-saving, automation, and operational efficiency initiatives.
• Review contracts as required and provide financial input on significant commercial terms.
• Oversee company-owned real estate assets and participatein lease versus buy decisions for capital equipment.
• * Policies:
  • Establish and enforce corporate financial policies such as delegations of authority, capitalization, procurement, intercompany transactions, expense management, and transfer pricing.
  • Ensure that accounting policies related to claims management - including claims loss tracking methodologies, reserve-setting processes, set-aside calculations, and rules governing the use or release of claims accruals - are consistently defined, tracked, and accounted for across the enterprise in coordination with Risk Management, HR, Operations, and subsidiary leadership.
  • Own all accounting policies across the enterprise, including documentation, communication, enforcement, and training.
  • Oversee the review, modernization, and simplification of accounting policies.
  • Lead an immediate, comprehensive update of all accounting and financial policies to align with the new ERP system (D365 F&O), including financial dimensions, workflows, approval hierarchies, and internal controls.
  • Ensure policies are consistently applied across all subsidiaries and offices, support audit readiness, and meet regulatory requirements.

Audit, Regulatory Compliance & Governance

• Lead planning, coordination, and completion of external financial audits. Serve as primary liaison with external auditors, ESOP trustees, valuation consultants, and regulatory agencies.
• Oversee ESOP audits and ensure compliance with ERISA, Department of Labor, and IRS requirements.
• Direct internal audit activities including controls testing, risk assessments, compliance reviews, and remediation efforts.
• Ensure compliance with federal and state audits, maintaining proper documentation and timely responses.

Insurance, Risk Financing & Enterprise Risk Management

• Evaluate risk financing options, including captives, self-insurance layers, and deductible programs.
• Partner with Legal, Risk, Safety, and Operations to reduce claim frequency and ensure alignment between contract requirements, risk exposures, and insurance coverage.
• Collaborate with the Legal team to manage significant claims, ensure appropriate financial reserves, and align settlement decisions with both legal risk and fiduciary responsibilities.

Tax Strategy, Compliance & S-Corp Stewardship

• Develop and implement tax strategies that optimize the company's tax position while ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local tax regulations.
• Oversee preparation and review of all corporate tax filings, disclosures, and supporting documentation.
• Advise leadership on tax implications of business initiatives, acquisitions, ESOP transactions, and capital structures.
• Maintain practices required to preserve S-Corporation election, including shareholder requirements, reasonable compensation, distribution policies, and ownership structure.
• Manage relationships with external tax advisors and stay current on tax issues affecting engineering firms, ESOPs, and S-Corps.

ESOP Governance & Employee-Owner Engagement

• Ensure compliance with ESOP regulations and fiduciary requirements.
• Oversee annual ESOP valuations
• Evaluate long-term ESOP sustainability-including repurchase obligations, liquidity planning, demographic impacts, and capital requirements.
• Partner with trustees, plan administrator, valuation firms, and ESOP legal counsel to advise the Board on ESOP strategy and plan evolution.
• Support employee-owner engagement and financial literacy programs that reinforce the value of ownership and long-term value creation.

ERP, Data, & Financial Systems Governance (Works With IT, Treasury, and Operations)

• Serve as executive sponsor for all financial and operational systems including D365 F&O, Solver, ExFlow, treasury tools, and integrated receivables platforms.
• Ensure system architecture supports GAAP, financial reporting, internal controls, financial dimensions, and efficient workflows.
• Oversee master data governance, chart of accounts structure, financial dimensions, and integration architecture across subsidiaries.
• Lead automation and digital transformation across Finance to reduce manual work and improve data quality and reporting capabilities.
• Work collaboratively with IT, Treasury, and Operations leadership to ensue systems support accurate financial reporting, cash visibility, internal controls, and enterprise decision making.
• Evaluate emerging financial technologies that enhance automation, visibility, and executive decision-making.

Mergers & Acquisitions / Corporate Development

• Lead all financial due diligence of acquisitions and partnerships.
• Work collaboratively with the EVP of Corporate Development on valuation modeling, deal structuring, purchase accounting, and transaction execution.
• Ensure M&A activity aligns with S-Corp rules, ESOP requirements, tax strategy, and long-term capital planning.
• Partner with M&A team to promote synergy realization, post-acquisition integration, and financial reporting of acquired entities.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• 15+ years of related experience
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting (Master's preferred), Business Administration or Finance
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license is preferred
• If driving for, or on behalf of, any ECS subsidiary, a valid driver's license is required
• Demonstrated mastery of S-Corporations, GAAP accounting, multi-entity consolidations, and financial reporting, with experience managing audits, tax, and regulatory compliance across complex organizations.
• Advanced financial modeling and analytical skills with high proficiency in Excel and Microsoft Dynamics; skilled in designing and implementing systems that improve accuracy and efficiency in financial operations.
• Proven ability to translate detailed financial data into insights for executive decision-making, including building and maintaining budgets, forecasts, cash flow models, and scenario analysis.
• A record of bringing structure, discipline, and accountability to finance operations; comfortable working at both strategic and detailed levels to ensure timely, high-quality outcomes while empowering the team to perform athigh levels.
• Demonstrated success in mentoring and developing high-performing teams through consistent communication of goals, feedback, and strategic direction.
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to present complex financial concepts clearly to senior leadership and boards.
• Experience supporting or leading M&A transactions, including financial due diligence and integration.
• Background in civil engineering, professional services, or project-based firms.
• Experience with FAR audits.
• Strong understanding of ESOP compliance, valuations, and employee communication strategies.

**This position is located in our Corporate Headquarters in Chantilly, VA. The ideal, successful candidate will report to this location for work. Non-local candidates will be considered under the assumption that they will relocate upon hire.**

ECS Group of Companies (ECS) was founded in 1988 with the goal to raise the standards of professional engineering consulting. Today, we are a leader in geotechnical, construction materials, environmental and facilities consulting services. We are employee-owned with more than 3,000 employees in 100+ offices and testing facilities coast to coast. ECS is currently ranked #66 in Engineering News-Record's Top 500 Design Firms (April 2025), #148 in Engineering News-Record's Top 200 Environmental Firms (October 2025) and #50 in Zweig Group's Hot Firm List (May 2025). For additional information about ECS, visit: www.ecslimited.com.

ECS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To learn more, click here.