Kitsap Mental Health Services (KMHS), a respected nonprofit provider of comprehensive behavioral health and substance use treatment in Kitsap County, Washington, is seeking its next Chief Financial Officer. This search represents an important opportunity to identify a collaborative, mission driven financial leader who can work closely with the Chief Executive Officer, executive team, and Board to strengthen the organization’s financial operations and support its continued service to the community.

 

KMHS is a deeply trusted behavioral health organization offering a full continuum of care—including inpatient and outpatient services, school-based programs, crisis stabilization, and supportive housing. Operating in a complex and shifting funding environment, KMHS is focused on stabilizing and modernizing its financial systems, improving automation and workflows, and enhancing transparency and accountability across finance, IT, and facilities functions.

 

Rooted in strong community partnerships, a dedicated staff, and a commitment to inclusive, person-centered care, KMHS offers a meaningful platform for a thoughtful, strategic, and relational financial leader to make a lasting impact. The next Chief Financial Officer will play a vital role in helping KMHS build a more efficient, responsive, and resilient financial foundation to support ongoing service growth, system improvement, and long-term sustainability for the individuals and families who rely on its care.  

 

About Kitsap Mental Health Services (KMHS)

 

Kitsap Mental Health Services has been a cornerstone of behavioral health care in Kitsap County for more than 45 years, serving the community as the county’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). Headquartered in Bremerton, Washington, KMHS provides comprehensive, recovery-oriented mental health and substance use services to approximately 5,800 individuals each year across five locations, with a strong focus on serving low-income and high-need populations throughout the region. 

 

KMHS delivers a broad continuum of services for children, youth, adults, and families, including outpatient behavioral health treatment, crisis services, intensive community-based programs, housing supports, and multiple 24/7 treatment units. The organization is widely recognized for its deep expertise in youth behavioral health and has a long-standing history of providing specialized educational, therapeutic, and intensive services for youth with complex mental health and behavioral needs.

 

KMHS is grounded in a strong set of organizational values centered on equity, inclusion, dignity, and respect. The organization is deeply committed to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA), recognizing that behavioral health outcomes are intricately linked to systemic inequities and social determinants of health. This commitment is reflected in KMHS’s service design, hiring and workforce practices, leadership development, and ongoing efforts to create trauma-informed, culturally responsive environments for both clients and staff.

 

Operating within a complex public funding environment, KMHS is supported by Medicaid managed care organizations, state and federal contracts, grants, and local funding sources. The organization maintains a strong financial position, with diversified revenue streams, positive operating performance, and reserves exceeding industry benchmarks, allowing it to invest strategically in infrastructure, workforce development, and service expansion. 

 

KMHS works in close partnership with schools, hospitals, law enforcement, local governments, and community organizations to ensure access to care and continuity across systems. This collaborative approach is central to the organization’s mission and reflected in its strategic priorities, which emphasize clinical excellence, operational effectiveness, workforce experience, and long-term sustainability. 

 

Looking ahead, KMHS is undertaking a major multi-phase campus expansion on its Almira Drive property to address critical gaps in youth mental health services. This planned Youth Intensive Services Campus will include an expanded Madrona Academy, new youth inpatient treatment capacity, and a Staff Development and Administration Center, significantly strengthening the organization’s ability to meet growing community needs while supporting staff training and retention. 

 

As a trusted provider and community partner, Kitsap Mental Health Services remains deeply committed to advancing access, quality, and equity in behavioral health care, while building the systems, facilities, and leadership capacity needed to support its mission well into the future.

 

ABOUT THE ROLE

 

As Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of KMHS, you will serve as a key executive leader at a mission-driven community behavioral health organization providing a full continuum of mental health and substance use treatment services across Kitsap County. KMHS delivers a diverse and complex mix of inpatient, outpatient, crisis, school-based, and community-based services for children, youth, adults, and families, operating within a highly regulated and evolving public funding environment. KMHS is seeking a strategic and relational CFO who can bring strong financial leadership, stabilize internal systems, and serve as a collaborative partner across departments during a period of organizational evolution and increasing service demand.

 

The CFO will not operate as a parallel financial function, but as a fully integrated member of the clinical and operational leadership team. This leader will seek to personally invest the time and presence required to understand how care is delivered across KMHS, engaging directly with clinical leaders and frontline staff to understand workflows and care pathways. Rather than viewing financial strategy as separate from treatment delivery, the CFO will see themselves as accountable for ensuring that financial decisions strengthen clinical quality, access to care, and program sustainability. This requires an intentional commitment to learning the operational realities of KMHS services and utilizing that understanding to guide major financial and strategic decisions.

 

KMHS is looking for a CFO who can assess and improve core financial functions while supporting long-term sustainability in a changing state funding environment. This includes strengthening internal controls, improving cash flow and financial forecasting, leading budget development, and ensuring accuracy and transparency in financial reporting. The CFO will play a central role in managing organizational risk, modernizing systems, and improving automation, bringing a strategic mindset to systems, data, and information flow, while taking time to understand existing practices, culture, and relationships before implementing change.

 

Reporting directly to the CEO and serving as a member of the executive leadership team, the CFO will oversee finance, facilities, and IT. The CFO will be expected to balance day-to-day financial oversight with long-term infrastructure, capital planning, and campus development. With multiple existing buildings across the main campus, an off-site administrative facility, and significant planned future development, experience with facilities finance and capital project planning will be particularly important. The CFO will also serve as a visible leader and culture carrier within the organization, supporting leadership development and reinforcing a culture rooted in accessibility, collaboration, inclusion, and shared accountability.

 

The CFO must be comfortable engaging with clinical and operational directors who may not have deep financial training. Serving as a teacher and financial translator, the CFO will help department leaders understand their budgets, navigate staffing models, and take greater ownership of financial performance. This role requires a leader who is approachable, transparent, and accessible to staff at all levels, and who understands that financial stewardship in community mental health must balance fiscal discipline with mission-driven service delivery, including programs that may not be revenue-maximizing but are essential to community need. A strong emphasis will be placed on internal partnership, cross-functional communication, and building capacity at all levels of the organization.

 

The CFO will also provide financial reporting and strategic insights to the Board of Directors, supporting informed governance through clear, actionable information that goes beyond surface-level summaries. This includes helping the Board understand financial risk, long-term sustainability, capital investments, and the implications of potential policy or funding changes at the state level. As KMHS navigates future uncertainty related to Medicaid reimbursement, state behavioral health funding, and potential changes to CCBHC and PPS models, the CFO will serve as a key strategic advisor in helping the organization prepare for and respond to these dynamics.

 

As the executive leader responsible for IT, the CFO will also play a critical role in strengthening KMHS’s cybersecurity posture. This includes oversight of enterprise systems, coordination with external IT vendors, stewardship of the organization’s electronic health record and financial systems, and ensuring appropriate safeguards for sensitive clinical and financial data. The CFO will help assess cloud readiness, support compliance and security best practices, and guide thoughtful adoption of technology, including emerging tools such as AI-enabled supports where appropriate, while balancing innovation, risk mitigation, and accessibility for staff and clients.

 

Additionally, the CFO will be responsible for capital planning and facilities infrastructure, including oversight of existing buildings across multiple sites and involvement in future development projects. This includes participating in financial planning, funding strategy development, and project oversight for major planned investments in facilities and care environments designed to expand access, improve safety, and support staff training and retention.

 

This is a unique opportunity for a thoughtful, grounded financial leader to make a significant impact in a values-driven, community-based organization. KMHS is seeking a CFO who is deeply mission-aligned, relational in leadership style, committed to transparency, and aligned with the organization’s strong focus on DEIA, inclusion, and trauma-informed practice. The CFO will help KMHS maintain financial resilience, strengthen internal systems, and support a strong organizational culture, ensuring the organization remains positioned to serve its community with excellence, compassion, and stability for years to come.

 

CANDIDATE PROFILE

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To be successful as Chief Financial Officer of Kitsap Mental Health Services, the “ideal” candidate will demonstrate the following:

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• Demonstrate unwavering integrity, professionalism, and ethical financial stewardship, serving as a dependable and mission-aligned partner to the CEO, leadership team, and Board of Directors

• Possess deep accounting and financial expertise, including budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, internal controls, cash flow management, audit readiness, and nonprofit accounting and financial leadership in regulated healthcare settings

• Show strong alignment with KMHS’s mission to provide accessible, comprehensive behavioral health and substance use treatment across a broad service mix, recognizing that financial sustainability must be balanced with community-centered care

• Bring familiarity with the community behavioral health funding environment, including Medicaid reimbursement, multiple MCO relationships, and evolving Washington state funding models (including state budget constraints, match requirements, PPS considerations, and potential rate pressures)

• Demonstrate a personal commitment to understanding clinical workflows, service delivery models, staffing patterns, documentation requirements, and productivity expectations across KMHS services - not as an observer, but as an engaged executive partner who uses that insight to shape financial planning, guide operational decisions, and strengthen the overall care environment

• Be able to lead with flexibility and strategic insight in a funding landscape that may shift dramatically in the next several years, developing scenario-based financial planning and risk mitigation strategies that support both stability and future growth

• Understand accreditation frameworks (e.g., CARF) and CCBHC models and how they intersect with financial compliance, reporting, and long-term service delivery strategy

• Demonstrate a strong strategic mindset, with the ability to use financial data to inform organizational planning, guide resource allocation, and anticipate emerging needs across finance, facilities, and IT functions

• Possess hands-on experience managing or overseeing facilities infrastructure projects, including capital budgeting, facilities maintenance planning, and large-scale campus or multi-site development initiatives

• Provide steady operational leadership across finance, IT, and facilities, with the ability to assess, stabilize, and modernize systems while respecting existing workflows and organizational culture, helping to support day-to-day service delivery and long-term goals

• Serve as a thoughtful communicator and financial educator, capable of making financial information accessible to non-financial stakeholders and empowering program leaders with the tools and context to manage resources wisely

• Be approachable, relational, and collaborative, fostering trust and transparency with staff, clients, community partners, and external funders. The CFO should be visible, not siloed

• Bring high emotional intelligence and people leadership skills, demonstrating accessibility to staff, openness in communication, and a leadership style grounded in inclusion and relationship-building, creating psychological safety and supporting director-level talent

• Support the CEO and executive team in times of absence or transition, demonstrating readiness to provide executive coverage and continuity, and contributing to thoughtful succession planning and organization-wide leadership in key moments

• Be present and engaged on-site full time, committing to relocation to Kitsap County (if not already local), embracing a highly visible, hands-on leadership presence within the organization and community

• Meet the minimum educational requirement of a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, or a related field. A master’s degree and/or CPA designation is strongly preferred.

 

LOCATION

 

Bremerton, Washington is a waterfront community located in Kitsap County, directly across the Puget Sound from Seattle. The region is known for its natural beauty, maritime heritage, and strong sense of community, offering a unique blend of small-city accessibility and proximity to a major metropolitan area. Bremerton serves as a key population and employment center on the Kitsap Peninsula and is easily connected to Seattle via a scenic ferry commute.

 

Kitsap County’s economy is diverse and stable, anchored by healthcare, public service, education, defense, and nonprofit organizations. The area benefits from a strong public-sector presence, a growing healthcare workforce, and deep community investment in social services and behavioral health. Regional collaboration among counties, school districts, and community partners plays an important role in addressing complex health and human service needs across the peninsula.

 

Residents enjoy a high quality of life supported by a relatively moderate cost of living compared to larger West Coast cities, shorter commute times, and access to both urban and outdoor amenities. The region offers abundant recreational opportunities, including waterfront activities, hiking in nearby forests and the Olympic foothills, and access to parks and trails throughout Kitsap County. Arts, local dining, community events, and family-friendly neighborhoods contribute to a welcoming and grounded lifestyle.

 

Housing options range from historic neighborhoods near downtown Bremerton to quieter suburban and rural communities throughout the county, allowing residents to tailor their living experience to their preferences. With its combination of natural surroundings, civic engagement, and regional connectivity, the Bremerton area offers an appealing environment for professionals and families seeking meaningful work, balance, and community connection.

For more information, visit the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance, Visit Kitsap, and the City of Bremerton websites for additional insights on the region.