Description
WEST EDGE OPERA Finance Director Job Overview
Formerly known as Berkeley Opera, the company was founded in 1979. As it grew under the leadership of General
Director Mark Streshinsky and Music Director Jonathan Khuner, the company was renamed West Edge Opera in 2014.
Repertoire includes new and unusual works as well as favorite and less-known works by well-known composers. Over
the past 10 years the company has more than doubled in size, to a projected $1.5M in revenue for FY2026.
West Edge Opera's major production is our annual summer festival taking place over 3 weeks in August at the
Oakland Scottish Rite Center on Lake Merritt. Three operas are presented in repertory for three performances each.
We also develop and support new opera. We have presented the world premiere of two commissioned works –
Bulrusher (2024) by Nathaniel Stookey and Eisa Davis, and Dolores (2025) by Nicolás Lell Benavides and Marella
Martin Koch. Two further commissions are now in development.
In our programming and casting, our new opera development, and in our day-to-day work, West Edge Opera is deeply
committed to embodying the diversity of our Bay Area community.
All of this is supported by a year-round staff of 3 full-time and 3 part-time people, working collaboratively. For the
summer festival we employ as many as 130 seasonal artists and crew. Our Finance Director for the past 10 years will
retire in April 2027, and we plan to hire her successor with a 5-6 month overlap for training and transition.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
Internal Reporting
Internal reporting to the WEO Board (bimonthly), Finance Committee (monthly) and staff (as often as weekly) on all
aspects of the financial activity, status, and health of the company.
- Prepare financial statements: Income/Expense and Balance Sheet
- Develop and track measurements of key activities such as ticket sales, donations, and expenses vs. budget by
program at a detailed level - Provide supporting analysis of what the reports mean, in practice
Budgeting
- Develop Fiscal Year budgets with input from all staff, and present to the WEO Board for approval
- Analyze and report actuals vs. budget, and in the final fiscal quarter provide forecasts to year-end
External / Compliance Reporting
- 990 federal tax filing and related CA state filings
- Budgets/forecasts for grant applications and post-grant reporting and auditable detail
Operational Support for financial data capture and accounting, including:
- Gather, correlate/reconcile, and advise the booking of financial data from multiple source systems (ticketing,
donations, credit card transactions, payroll, etc.) - Take point on handling or distributing incoming payments and invoices; when needed, issue payments online or
by check; monitor positive-pay processing - Run payroll, including capturing/entering employee data, timesheets, and ancillary deductions (union dues,
CalSavers) and payments (union-mandated benefits) - Monitor cash flow: manage payment timing and shift funds between accounts as needed
- Ensure all operations meet existing financial controls and policies; propose new/changed controls as needed
- Manage the booking of multi-year/restricted gifts and grants and the related expenses
- Maintain the Chart of Accounts and Class (program/project/production) structures in QuickBooks
Risk Management / Compliance
- Identify insurance coverages needed; work with our broker to secure and administer them
- Monitor external sources for changes in employment law, data/banking security requirements, etc.
Related but non-core responsibilities may include:
- Support contract negotiations with vendors, unions, commissioning projects, etc.
- Software and systems selection, acquisition and administration
- Investment monitoring and management
This is a part-time (50% to 75% time) position, located in the SF Bay Area, with annual pay in the range of $40k-$70k.
During the summer festival the staff is based in the Oakland Scottish Rite Center (the current festival venue), offseason we work remotely with lots of time on zoom.
We expect to fill this position in October 2026 and the transition is planned for 5-6 months, spanning the time when
the FY2027 budget is developed and approved, the summer 2027 festival is set up, and the 990 filing for the FY ending
9/30/26 is completed.
Requirements
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE will have demonstrated commitment to performing arts in their work and/or life outside of work. They will be comfortable working in a fast-paced and always short-staffed environment, open to taking on work outside of the finance core when needed. They will have the skills to understand the finances of the company and represent them accurately and clearly — and the confidence to present and discuss them with the Board. And they will love working this hard because they believe in what the company is accomplishing.
SKILLS / KNOWLEDGE NEEDED
- Very strong Excel skills (including, e.g., mastery of pivot tables, vlookups, charting, and advanced formatting)
required - Knowledge of general accounting principles and hands-on experience with their application to reporting and
operations required; non-profit accounting knowledge/experience preferred - Hands-on experience with zero-based budgeting required
- General knowledge of QuickBooks data structure and functions strongly preferred
