Senior Director, Strategic Finance

$104,000 - $165,000/Yr

The College Board - Madison, WI

Full-time - Senior

Remote - Madison, WI

Educational Services

About the position

As a Senior Director of Strategic Finance at the College Board, you will play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between program priorities and the organization's financial strategy. This position is part of a highly collaborative Strategic Finance team, which consists of 14 members dedicated to working with senior leaders across the organization to drive key financial decisions. The team operates as the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) arm of the Finance division, managing and analyzing a billion-dollar budget to ensure that resources are allocated strategically and sustainably in support of the College Board's mission. In this role, you will be responsible for owning the strategic financial planning for portfolio programs, which constitutes 55% of your responsibilities. You will perform complex financial analyses to generate recommendations that drive sound business and strategy decisions. This includes developing new product business cases, conducting cost of acquisition and ROI analyses, and engaging in long-term financial planning. You will lead key analytic work streams from inception to completion, identifying Finance and Program needs, scoping projects, coordinating with cross-functional teams to gather and analyze data, and managing deliverables and deadlines. Your ability to effectively communicate clear, synthesized, and actionable insights from analytical projects to senior leaders will be crucial. Managing budgeting and forecasting will account for 35% of your role. You will drive budgeting and forecasting processes in partnership with large, complex revenue-generating departments, develop analyses of key revenue and expense levers to improve projection accuracy, and identify, evaluate, and track financial risks and opportunities each fiscal year. You will also own the development of financial projections and performance reports in collaboration with Program and Finance colleagues, proactively designing and delivering custom strategic financial reports that outline actionable insights for senior leadership. The remaining 10% of your responsibilities will involve managing ad-hoc projects and initiatives, showcasing your versatility and ability to adapt to the evolving needs of the organization. Our ideal candidate is not only passionate about finance but also possesses a strong understanding of FP&A best practices, is endlessly curious about strategic business drivers, and is driven by a desire to make a positive impact on students' lives.

Responsibilities

• Own Strategic Financial Planning for Portfolio Programs, performing complex financial analyses to generate recommendations for business and strategy decisions.
• Lead key analytic work streams from start to finish, identifying Finance and Program needs, scoping projects, and managing deliverables and deadlines.
• Effectively identify and communicate clear, synthesized, and actionable insights and recommendations from analytical projects to senior leaders.
• Manage Budgeting & Forecasting processes in partnership with large, complex revenue-generating departments.
• Drive budgeting and forecasting processes, develop analyses of key revenue and expense levers, and track financial risks and opportunities.
• Own the development of financial projections and performance reports in collaboration with Program and Finance colleagues.
• Proactively design and deliver custom strategic financial reports for senior leadership.
• Complete special projects and manage ad-hoc initiatives.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics or related technical field preferred.
• A minimum of 7 years of relevant and progressive experience in FP&A and/or strategy roles; extensive experience with quantitative analyses.
• Advanced MS Excel, PowerPoint, and Word skills.
• A strong understanding of corporate finance.
• A track record of building financial models that drive strategic decision-making for programs and products at different stages of development.
• The ability to succinctly summarize complex financial analysis and present key findings to senior management.
• Project management skills and the ability to prioritize and independently manage multiple time-sensitive projects.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• A strong interest in proactive problem-solving and continuous improvement.
• The ability and willingness to both teach others and learn from colleagues.
• Experience with financial planning systems preferred, especially Workday and Adaptive Planning.
• Willingness to travel 4-6 times per year.
• A strong interest in expanding educational opportunity for all students.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with financial planning systems, especially Workday and Adaptive Planning.

Benefits

• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous paid time off
• Paid parental leave
• Fertility benefits
• Pet insurance
• Tuition assistance
• Retirement benefits
• Recognition of exceptional performance through annual bonuses
• Salary growth over time through market increases
• Opportunities for merit raises and promotions based on increased scope of responsibility
• A job that matters, a team that cares, and a place to learn, innovate and thrive.