Executive Summary
For more than 50 years, Ronald McDonald House has helped millions of families navigate some of life's most difficult moments, ensuring children can access critical healthcare while surrounded by the support of those who love them most. Today, with demand for services far exceeding capacity and a bold ambition to double the number of families served by 2030, the organization is entering one of the most consequential periods in its history.
To help realize that vision, Ronald McDonald House seeks an exceptional executive to serve as its inaugural Global Chief Financial & Administrative Officer (CFAO). Reporting directly to the President & CEO, the CFAO will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of a global System spanning 250 Chapters across 61 countries and regions. This newly expanded role combines strategic financial leadership with oversight of legal, governance, enterprise risk, and people and culture functions, creating a unique opportunity to build the organizational infrastructure required to support significant mission growth.
The CFAO will oversee the financial stewardship of a global headquarters operating budget of approximately $160 million, a substantial long-term investment portfolio, and a System that generates nearly $1 billion in annual revenue and manages more than $4.5 billion in assets worldwide. More importantly, this leader will help design and lead the transformation needed to strengthen organizational capacity, modernize systems, and enable Ronald McDonald House to serve more families, and serve them better, in the years ahead.
Based at the McDonald’s and Ronald McDonald House Global combined headquarters in Chicago and working closely with an engaged Global Board of Trustees, a dynamic senior leadership team, and the organization's founding and forever partner, McDonald's, the CFAO will have a rare opportunity to combine enterprise leadership, global impact, and mission-driven purpose at extraordinary scale.
The Opportunity
The Global Chief Financial & Administrative Officer (CFAO) will join Ronald McDonald House at a pivotal moment in its history. Reporting to President & CEO Katie Fitzgerald, the CFAO will help build the financial, operational, and organizational capabilities needed to advance the organization's ambitious growth objectives and long-term strategic priorities.
This is a rare opportunity to lead enterprise-wide transformation across finance, legal, governance, enterprise risk management, and administrative functions while helping strengthen the infrastructure of one of the world's largest and most respected nonprofit systems.
The CFAO will be responsible for advancing Ronald McDonald House's strategic, financial, and organizational goals through the following priorities:
Strategic Financial Leadership
- Serve as a strategic partner to the CEO, Global Board of Trustees, and senior leadership team, aligning financial strategy, resource allocation, and risk management with the Ronald McDonald House mission and goals.
- Lead the build-out of multi-year financial and strategic planning capabilities, bringing greater rigor and predictability to budgeting, forecasting, and revenue projections.
- Provide the Board, CEO, and Chapter leaders with clear, benchmarked insight into financial performance and cost-to-serve across the global System.
- Partner closely with the philanthropy team to bring fundraising fluency and financial discipline to restricted-gift stewardship and revenue planning.
- Oversee the investment portfolio and operating reserves in partnership with the Treasurer, Finance Committee, and investment advisors, ensuring policies keep pace with the organization’s risk profile and long-term sustainability.
Enterprise Risk, Legal, and Compliance
- Provide executive oversight of enterprise risk management, partnering with the General Counsel and the Audit and Risk Management Committee to prioritize and mitigate risk across the global System.
- Guide the legal and compliance functions, ensuring sound governance and protecting the organization’s reputation and assets across a complex, multi-country footprint.
Global Systems and Transformation
- Sponsor the modernization of financial systems, chart of accounts, and reporting infrastructure, improving consistency, data quality, and scalability across Chapters.
- Lead the redesign of legacy processes, including international Chapter payments, revenue-share mechanics, and reimbursement structures that today rely on manual workflows.
- Bring a federated mindset to change management, influencing Chapter-level adoption through vision and collaboration rather than mandate.
Board and Governance Partnership
- Serve as the key staff partner to the Treasurer, Board Chair, and Board of Trustees, and as primary liaison to the Finance Committee and the Audit and Risk Management Committee.
- Prepare and present clear, timely financial reports, forecasts, and risk assessments that support sound Board decision-making.
- Represent Ronald McDonald House with credibility and gravitas in engagements with McDonald’s corporate leadership and other key external stakeholders.
People, Culture, and Team Leadership
- Lead a team of 12, fostering a culture of best practices and accountability, while extending influence and vision across the broader global network.
- Provide leadership oversight of administrative functions, including the People and Culture team as it transitions into the role’s purview.
- Cultivate a culture of trust, accessibility, and continuous growth, mentoring staff and connecting their day-to-day work to the Ronald McDonald House mission.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will bring a compelling combination of leadership experience, strategic acumen, functional expertise, and personal qualities, including many of the following:
A Highly Strategic and Enterprise-Minded Finance Executive
This leader will:
- Bring a track record of progressive financial leadership experience, ideally spanning accounting, treasury, forecasting, investments, and enterprise risk; a CPA or equivalent credential is a plus, though not required.
- Be a strategic thinker with the range to move fluidly between big-picture vision and operational detail, translating complex financial data into clear, actionable insight, while remaining genuinely willing to be hands-on and roll up their sleeves when the moment calls for it.
- Bring intellectual curiosity and analytical rigor, along with sound judgment and healthy skepticism to question “the way we’ve always done it.”
- Have a track record of success operating at significant scale and complexity, ideally within a multinational, matrixed, or federated organization.
A Bold, Transformational Change Agent
This leader will:
- Be agile, nimble, and creative; energized by leading through ambiguity and driving change with confidence.
- Bring a track record of strengthening, modernizing, and scaling financial operations through standardization, process improvement, and technology advancement.
- Know what a best-in-class global finance function looks like, with an entrepreneurial eye and the vision, credibility, and change management skills to elevate Ronald McDonald House toward that standard.
- Bring a strong execution mindset paired with strategic vision, with the practical discipline to move seamlessly from high-level planning to hands-on implementation.
A Global, Systems-Minded Executive
This leader will:
- Bring fluency navigating diverse regulatory, tax, and currency environments, or the humility and curiosity to learn and master them quickly.
- Be a systems thinker who appreciates the dynamics between global standards and local autonomy; energized rather than frustrated by complexity.
- Ideally bring experience with global finance transformation, shared-services models, or large-scale system modernization.
A Trusted, Boardroom-Ready Presence
This leader will:
- Bring the executive presence and gravitas to earn the confidence of an active, sophisticated board, finance committee, and McDonald’s corporate leadership.
- Be a polished, credible communicator, able to distill complex financial and risk topics into language a broad range of stakeholders can act on.
- Enjoy and excel at representing an organization externally, projecting confidence and warmth without ego.
- Be decisive and courageous, willing to hold a position respectfully under pressure while remaining genuinely open to other viewpoints.
A Collaborative, Head-and-Heart People Leader
This leader will:
- Bring a relational, approachable leadership style, marked by active listening, sound rationale, and a “no surprises” communication ethic that builds lasting trust.
- Have the humility and emotional intelligence to preserve and nurture a close-knit team and positive culture while welcoming and integrating new team members.
- Be a natural mentor and coach, energized by developing talent and connecting individual contributions to organizational mission.
- Have the ability to push and challenge the team to learn, grow, and elevate the function’s capabilities, balancing high expectations with genuine investment in their development.
A Deep Commitment to the Mission and Organizational Values
This leader will:
- Be genuinely and authentically passionate about the mission and the families Ronald McDonal House serves, with the discipline to translate that passion into sound financial stewardship.
- Hold high personal integrity and a strong sense of fiduciary responsibility, paired with the courage to challenge assumptions on the mission’s behalf.
- Bring intellectual curiosity, humility, adaptability, and emotional intelligence, with a natural drive to understand complex organizational nuances quickly.
Compensation and Benefits
The total compensation for this role is expected to be $450,000-480,000 per year, inclusive of base salary, bonus, and an annually determined long-term incentive of McDonald’s stock or other equity grants.
The role offers a comprehensive benefits package, including comprehensive health insurance (medical, prescription drug, mental health, dental, and vision), life insurance, a 401(k) plan, an adoption assistance program, an educational assistance program, flexible ways of working, and time off policies including sick leave, parental leave, and vacation/PTO.
Location & Travel
The successful candidate must be based in or willing to relocate to Chicago. Ronald McDonald House Global operates on a hybrid schedule, with employees expected to be on-site at the McDonald’s global headquarters in Chicago’s West Loop 3-4 days per week.
Travel for the CFAO is expected to be ~25% including domestic travel and, on average, 4-5 international trips per year.
Employment Structure
Ronald McDonald House Global is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization governed by its Board of Trustees. Since its founding, McDonald's Corporation has provided employment services for Ronald McDonald House Global staff, who support the charity's mission under the direction of Ronald McDonald House Global leadership and Board governance.
Ronald McDonald House is an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of its workforce. Ronald McDonald House promotes an inclusive work environment and provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. Ronald McDonald House provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Cheryl Stevens and Claire Hunt. Express interest in this role by filling out our talent profile or emailing the search team directly at [email protected]. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.
DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
Appendix: About Ronald McDonald House
For more than 50 years, Ronald McDonald House has helped remove barriers to healthcare for children and their families. Its mission is to provide essential services that strengthen families and promote healing when children need healthcare, guided by a vision of a world where every family has what they need to ensure the best health outcomes for their children.
50+ Years of Impact
Founded in 1974, Ronald McDonald House has grown from a single House in Philadelphia into a global network of 250 independently operated Chapters across 61 countries and regions. Through Ronald McDonald Houses, Family Rooms located within hospitals, and locally tailored programs, Chapters provide accommodation, social support services, and resources that help families stay together and remain close to the care their children need.
Global Reach and Momentum
From 2023-2025, Ronald McDonald House served more than 4 million families through House, Family Room, and local programs worldwide, providing more than 8.4 million overnight stays and helping families save an estimated $2.2 billion in meal and lodging expenses. During this time, the System opened 24 new Houses and 33 new Family Rooms.
As a global System, Ronald McDonald House is financially strong, with approximately $4.5 billion in assets, $960 million in operating revenue, and 70% of Chapters reporting revenue growth in 2025. A unique partnership with McDonald’s, its founding and forever partner, provides significant support—approximately 25% of total annual System revenue—brand recognition, volunteer engagement, and community outreach.
Even with this level of System financial strength and mission growth, demand consistently outstrips capacity; families regularly remain on waitlists for both Houses and Family Room programs. Ronald McDonald House estimates it is currently only meeting 24% of global demand for its services. In the United States, even providing almost 90% of temporary housing support for families with hospitalized children, only 58% of demand is being met.
Bold Ambitions to Serve More Families, Better
To address this need, the Ronald McDonald House System has co-created a unified strategic plan focused on serving more families and serving them better. This work is guided by four bold ambitions:
- To double the number of families served in Ronald McDonald House and Family Room programs by 2030.
- Make family-centered care—where the entire family is fully supported, engaged, and involved in their child’s medical care—the standard of care.
- Meet the top unmet needs of families, including providing one daily nutritious meal and social support services.
- Sustain System revenue over $1 billion annually.
Achieving these goals will require continued growth, operational excellence, and investments in the financial and administrative capabilities that support one of the world's largest and most impactful family-centered healthcare nonprofits.
For more information about Ronald McDonald House, visit ronaldmcdonaldhouse.org.