Description

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Financial Officer is a member of the executive leadership team responsible for overseeing all fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities for the Institute and serves as an advisor on a broad range of financial issues to academic and administrative units and the Board of Trustees. The CFO will collaborate and partner with colleagues campus-wide providing resourcing plans for new initiatives, enhancing resource allocation decision-making and identifying opportunities for efficiencies and reallocation. Directs financial functions in areas that include: capital improvement financial planning; annual planning and operational budget development; cash and investment management; risk and endowment management; internal control functions; procurement operations; and auxiliary enterprises. Other responsibilities include insurance and risk management, strategic planning and long-range financial projections, cost-benefit analysis of programs and services, grant development and management, and evaluating the financial viability of new initiatives.

Essential Job Duties

Financial Management and Operations

Oversees all financial operations, including accounting, financial reporting, and compliance. Ensures the accuracy and integrity of financial records and reports, adhering to regulatory requirements and best practices.
Analyzes the Institute's financial results with respect to trends, costs and compliance with budgets. Reviews regular status reports with senior management.
Serves as the primary liaison with external auditors, regulators, and financial institutions.
Monitors all necessary accounting policies and systems, including general ledger and financial reporting. Ensures that records are maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Manages cash flow, investments, and financial risk to maintain the financial health of the Institute.
Partners with the CIO and investment team in coordinating cash planning, audit and reporting, and risk management related to operational due diligence.
Manages the deployment of the Institute's endowment and restricted funds in keeping with applicable legal requirements, as well as the policies and investment guidelines established by the Finance and Investment committees.
Manages non-resident alien taxation reporting including the generation of appropriate tax documents, maintenance of current tax treaty information, and consults with external counsel.
Serves as the lead for key external financial relationships – banking, bond counsel, investments, property and casualty and workers compensation insurance.
Partners with CHRO and COO to review employee fringe benefits programs (health, life insurance, retirement).
Partners with Chief Information Technology Officer on finance related technology (accounting/payroll/HRIS systems, point of sale systems and PCI compliance)

Financial Strategy and Planning

Provides strategic financial leadership in the development of a multi-year financial and capital plan ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and resource allocation.
Serves as a key partner with the COO in the strategic planning for, and preparation of, materials for presentations and discussion with the Board of Trustees.
Builds budgets and business models for new initiatives and opportunities.
In conjunction with the other department heads, manages and develops the annual operating and capital budgets tracking the long-term strategic plans of the organization. Partners with other department heads to track progression of those long-term plans.

Financial Reporting and Analysis

Prepares and presents accurate and timely financial statements, reports, and analyses, in both quantitative and qualitative terms, in the regular meetings of the Board of Trustees.
Manages relationships and communications with financial institutions, external auditors, and other stakeholders.
Oversees the production of financial statements, tax documents, and other financial regulatory documents.
Develops and promotes a process of review, assessment, and continuous improvement of existing financial and administrative policies and procedures.

Risk Management

Identifies, reviews, and reports on areas of potential organizational risk.
Formulates, recommends, and implements sound fiscal policies, procedures and internal controls.
Maintains internal controls to safeguard organizational assets and mitigate risks.
Ensures compliance with all relevant laws, regulations, and reporting requirements related to finance and administration including audits and taxation.

Grant Awards Management

Oversees development, implementation, and optimization of full range of grant award management activities and practices to deliver strong support to principal investigators and programmatic leadership to achieve excellence.
Ensures that grant, cooperative agreements, contract, and subcontract workflows, processes and tools including knowledge management, reporting, and ensuring compliance with all requirements and regulations are completed on a timely basis.

Leadership and Team Management

Leads, attracts, manages, motivates, develops, and retains a high-performing finance team to optimize performance and support organizational priorities.
Offers vision, strategy, and success metrics for teams and marshal their talents to achieve new benchmarks of success by providing consistent leadership, coaching, and accountability.
Collaborates with senior leadership to drive organizational effectiveness and operational excellence.
Provides financial guidance and leadership for larger, cross-departmental teams.
Supports other duties as assigned by the COO/Associate Director for Finance and Administration.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree preferably in accounting, finance or a relevant field
Ten years of accounting, finance, or business management experience in a leadership role, with five of those years being in a supervisory capacity
Collaborative, effective and proven leader, with a track record of leading the fiscal functions of a complex institution
Excellent record of leadership in policy formation, including planning, assessment, project accounting, grant and general administration
Demonstrated expertise in the development and implementation of strategic financial plans
Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills. The candidate will be confident and effective at communicating across all levels of the organization, as well as presenting to the Board, Committees, and diverse external constituencies
Comfortable and effective in dealing with ambiguity, complexity, competing demands, and change while providing balanced leadership
Excellent supervisory and management skills, the ability to work in a team-oriented environment, and the ability to work effectively with internal and external constituencies
Consistent track record of attracting, motivating, mentoring, developing, and retaining high performing talent at all levels, both on an individual and team basis
Experience with a variety of finance related software platforms such as NetSuite, Paylocity, Raiser's Edge, MS Office

Preferred Qualifications

CPA and/or Master's degree or MBA
Supervisory experience in higher education business and financial management
Working knowledge of non-resident alien taxation regulations

Supervisory Responsibilities

Comptroller
Grant Accountant (2)
Budget/Finance Accountant (2)
Procurement Accountant (3)
Payroll & Tax Specialist
Accounts Receivable/Payable Assistant (2)
Accounting Assistant

Working Conditions

Public facing position with frequent interaction with staff, faculty and scholars

The Institute for Advanced Study retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position at any time.

To perform this role successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package. For consideration please submit a cover letter and your CV.

At the Institute for Advanced Study's creation in 1930, the founders wrote: “fundamental in our purpose, and our express desire, [is] that in the appointments to the Staff and Faculty as well as in the admission of workers and students, no account shall be taken, directly or indirectly, of race, religion, or sex.” We recognize these ideals require continual examination of our culture. Today, we strive to create a community in which all people feel welcomed, respected, and valued. We seek to address the harmful effects of inequity and discrimination on individual Scholars, Faculty, Staff, and scholarship as a whole. We affirm equality and embrace our differences as we work to transform principles into action and grow new forms of scholarly community.

Institute for Advanced Study

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