Vice President of Finance

Sweet Briar is a liberal arts college for women with a long history of forging female leaders.  Sweet Briar College is repeatedly named by the US News and World Report as one of the most innovative liberal arts colleges in the nation. Sweet Briar College is financially stable and actively growing, attracting students who are drawn to it for its excellent liberal arts program, coupled with distinctive programs in women leadership, engineering, sustainability, arts and its legendary equestrian program.

Located in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains approximately 12 miles north of Lynchburg and 54 miles south of Charlottesville. Its campus is one of the nation’s most spectacular, replete with nature sanctuaries, lakes, forests, trails, vineyards, apiary and greenhouses.

The College boasts a modern core curriculum focused on women's leadership in the 21st century and undergraduate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities, as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching. It is one of only two women’s colleges in the United States with an ABET-accredited engineering degree. The women’s leadership core curriculum is innovative and energizing.

When students graduate, they are persuasive communicators who know how to think on their feet and bring people together. No matter what they study or where they go, Sweet Briar women are prepared to lead. The campus community is a family of faculty, staff, coaches, and alumnae who support and encourage students and each other. With an average class size of eight students, students lead research, ask questions and forge supportive relationships with faculty that can last for decades.

POSITION TITLE:  Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Classification:  Exempt

Reports To:  President

Job Summary/Objective:  The Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) reports to the College President and is responsible for the administration and oversight of strategic financial management for the College, including finance and budget, business office operations, purchasing, human resources, and financial aid.  As a member of the College’s President’s Cabinet, the Vice President of Finance/CFO collaborates and networks internally across departments and externally with other colleges, governance bodies, and the College. 

The Vice President of Finance/CFO provides leadership, oversight, and stewardship for all aspects of the College’s financial resources, assuring integrity and fiduciary compliance.  As a strategic thinker and creative problem solver, the Vice President of Finance/CFO engages with the President’s Cabinet by:

Increasing system efficiencies through continuous innovation and transformation of effective customer focused business and financial services Maximizing limited budgets Managing funding sources to respond to changing funding formulas and to maximize College impact Maintaining the College’s responsibility as good stewards of the public’s trust while at the same time serving students, staff and faculty with excellent customer service focused on finding viable solutions to meet or exceed customer needs within all applicable local, state and national rules and regulations. 

Essential Responsibilities:

• Strong management and leadership skills with ability to drive initiatives across the organization. Strong financial planning, analysis and management, pragmatic and creative problem solving and strategic thinking skills to enable sound judgement calls and execution. Serve as chief financial officer of the College. Exercise primary stewardship of College resources, ensuring that all financial processes and procedures are fiscally sound and compliant with regulations. Provide vision and innovative leadership for business office activities, accounting, payroll, purchasing, equipment and inventory control; coach team members for success, conduct goal setting and performance evaluations. Organize, coordinate and supervise the development of the College’s budget, ensuring the fiscal integrity of the College. Oversee the College’s risk management programs and the College insurance programs. Promote literacy on budget-related processes, explaining methodology and collaborating with all departments to assist in strategic budget-related decision making. Evaluate and creatively address budget needs and requests while remaining compliant with all regulations. Collaborate, develop, plan and execute work programs, budget requests and quarterly reports. Research and prepare detailed reports on a variety of College management topics as appropriate. Manage cash flow for the College, ensuring compliance with all local, state and federal financial regulatory agencies. Serve as the chief financial advisor to the President and the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees. Review and advise the President and President’s Cabinet on contractual matters and funding streams. Provide financial advice and strategic financial guidance to the President and in support of the Board of Trustees as requested. Prepare and present financial statements, reports, presentations and necessary correspondence related to the financial oversight and management of the College. Ensure finance-related policies and procedures meet audit standards by managing annual policy and procedure reviews and providing any necessary intermittent review for areas under supervision to ensure all policies and procedures are appropriately approved through the President’s Cabinet, by the President or the Board of Trustees, or by other governing agencies as required. Direct and supervise all financial control activities to ensure soundness of all College financial processes. Manage financial reconciliation process for financial aid ensuring complete and accurate documentation for financial processing and compliance of financial aid within all state and federal laws and audit procedures. Administer institutional programs with revenue streams efficiently and effectively, assuring they are recorded appropriately and leveraged according to College needs and within all governing rules and regulations. Manage OC10 process as a liaison to Board Committee. Oversee endowment with annual review conducted in coordination with the Vice President of Alumnae Relations and Development. Provide oversight and strategic advice for the College’s investment program for institutional and scholarship funds. Perform additional duties as assigned by the President.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• Directly supervise the Assistant Vice President of Finance and Controller, Director of Human Resources, and the Director of Financial Aid.  Provide supervisory support in the Business Services Division including Financial Aid. Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws; leads empathetically and collaboratively. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; evaluating performance; addressing concerns and resolving problems.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics or Business or other related fields. Chartered Accountant, MBA, CFA, or equivalent is preferred. Minimum five years’ related experience in finance administration and leadership, or a combination of education and experience commensurate with the requirements of the position. Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively with the College faculty, staff and administrators, and with governing boards. Experience with operational and strategic planning, policy development and financial analysis. Ability to effectively communicate ideas and information in written and oral format to administrative staff, professional colleagues, governing boards and the general public in large or small group settings.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in college administration, with working experience with various college applications.  Previous Banner and other College data management experience desirable. Earned Master's Degree

Work Environment: Office environment, primarily indoors.

Physical Demands: Extensive periods of sitting/standing and computer work are required. Ability to lift 15+ pounds.

Travel: As needed for professional development, compliance training, etc.

Other Duties: This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time with or without notice.

Deadline for Submission: Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

To Apply:  All applications should include a cover letter and resume.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Sweet Briar College is committed to enhancing our community and encourages applications from qualified individuals with varied backgrounds, experiences and ideas who would increase the diversity of the College.