Senior Director, Strategic Finance

$104,000 - $165,000/Yr

The College Board - Austin, TX

Full-time - Senior

Remote - Austin, TX

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 of 14, which works closely with senior leaders across the organization to drive key decisions. The team serves as the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) arm of the Finance division, managing and analyzing a billion-dollar budget to ensure that resources are strategically and sustainably allocated 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 start to finish, identifying Finance and Program needs, scoping projects, coordinating with cross-functional teams to gather and analyze data, and managing towards deliverables and deadlines. Your ability to effectively identify and communicate clear, synthesized, and actionable insights from analytical projects to senior leaders will be crucial. Managing budgeting and forecasting will take up 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, ensuring that you remain flexible and responsive to the evolving needs of the organization. Our ideal candidate is someone who is passionate about finance, curious about strategic business drivers, and possesses a strong understanding of FP&A best practices. If you are a strategic thinker who enjoys working in a collaborative environment and is driven by a desire to make a positive impact on students' lives, this is a great opportunity for you.

Responsibilities

• Own Strategic Financial Planning for Portfolio Programs (55%)
• Perform complex financial analyses to generate recommendations to drive sound business and strategy decisions.
• Lead key analytic work streams from start to finish, identifying Finance and Program needs, scoping projects, coordinating with cross-functional teams to gather and analyze data, and managing towards deliverables and deadlines.
• Effectively identify and communicate clear, synthesized, and actionable insights and recommendations from analytical projects to senior leaders.
• Deeply grasp the economics of the College Board, including revenue and expense drivers, key performance indicators, and recent historical trends.
• Manage Budgeting & Forecasting (35%)
• 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.
• Identify, evaluate, and track financial risks and opportunities each fiscal year.
• Own the development of financial projections and performance reports in collaboration with Program and Finance colleagues.
• Proactively design and deliver custom strategic financial reports, outlining actionable insights for senior leadership.
• Complete Special Projects (10%)
• Manage ad-hoc projects and 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 preferred, 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.