The Opportunity
Ashley Hall School seeks a new Chief Finance and Operations Officer and aims to fill the position not later than July 1, 2025, but preferably earlier. Ashley Hall is an independent day school for girls and young women located in Charleston, South Carolina, enrolling students in kindergarten through grade 12, with a co-educational Early School program serving children ages two through four.
The Position
Ashley Hall School seeks an experienced and collaborative Chief Finance and Operations Officer to join its leadership team. The Chief Finance and Operations Officer (CFOO) at Ashley Hall, reporting directly to the Head of School (HOS) and working with the Board of Trustees, plays an integral role in the School's overall operational effectiveness and financial management. The CFOO advises the HOS on strategic planning, budgeting, accounting and oversees all business and operations office responsibilities to ensure the school's financial and operational stability. As an important part of the senior leadership team, the CFOO is responsible for working collaboratively with the broader administration to advise on annual and long-term financial matters, set financial objectives and policies, and safeguard the integrity of funds and essential documents to ensure the execution of the strategic plan and the School's future sustainability.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Serve as a member of the School’s Executive Team, fully participating in strategic planning and implementation and supporting wise financial planning to accomplish the School’s goals.
- Facilitate collaboration and ensure that all financial, operational, and human resource functions support the school's current strategy and mission.
- Support all members of the Administrative Leaders Team in making financial decisions that impact their respective departments or areas.
- Provide counsel to the HOS and the Board of Trustees and serve as staff liaison to BOT committees and their chairs, including Finance, Audit/Risk, and Investment committees.
- Serve as part of the Administrator On Duty Team which provides administrative oversight during after-school hours.
Finance Responsibilities
- Prepare and review financial and budget statements, investment reports, and capital project reports; make presentations to the HOS, Board, and committees as appropriate.
- Maintain accurate financial records, prepare periodic financial statements, and report on the School’s economic affairs to the HOS and Board of Trustees.
- Administer and manage banking arrangements and loan agreements; receive, have custody of, and disburse monies and securities.
- Monitor all loans and indebtedness, including inter-fund loans and transfers.
- Maintain adequate sources for the School's current borrowings from commercial banks and other lending institutions.
- Approve all financial obligations and execute leases, loans, real estate transactions, contracts, and other actions requiring a commitment or receipt of economic resources in consultation with the HOS and the Board of Trustees.
- Comply with formal reporting requirements of financial institution relationships.
- Receive, account for, and disburse monies and securities received by the School.
- Assess the financial requirements to develop and implement strategies to achieve the financial goals/requirements of the strategic plan.
- Represent the School's interests in all income tax and financial reporting matters.
- Invest the school funds according to Investment Committee guidelines.
- Manage the School's cash flow. This responsibility includes the authority to establish credit, collections, and purchasing policies and schedules for paying bills and financial obligations.
Budget Responsibilities
- Prepare preliminary annual budget proposals and financial forecasts in conjunction with the HOS, considering departmental requests and estimates of operating expenses and income, for Board Finance Committee review and approval.
- Establish the financial need and priority of requests in consultation with the HOS, the Board, and/or the School’s Executive Team.
- Meet with budget managers in conjunction with Business Office staff to maintain a strategic planning forecast for budget preparation.
- Ensure/monitor that all expenditures are consistent with the approved budget or that the appropriate authority approves deviation from the budget in advance.
- Collaborate with Institutional Advancement to articulate financial needs and opportunities as part of the annual plan.
- In consultation with the HOS, develop recommendations to the Finance Committee regarding annual tuition increases, financial aid budgets, and salary plan increments.
- Establish policies, procedures, standards, and strategies for areas of responsibility and provide adequate internal control capabilities and strengths to safeguard the School's assets.
- Oversee investments made on behalf of the School along with the HOS and the Board of Trustees.
Accounting Responsibilities
- Maintain proper procedures, controls, and records, and prepare financial records/systems per Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
- Maintain compliance with governmental regulations and changing regulatory environments by staying current on laws and regulations that may affect compliance, including ADA, OSHA, and IRS reporting.
- Supervise internal auditing of all financial and accounting systems.
- Ensure the maintenance of appropriate financial records and preparation of required financial reports.
- Optimize the handling of the School's banking and investment manager relationships.
- Supervise accounting for the endowment funds, other bank funds, gift annuities, and other planned giving instruments, and ensure gifts of cash, stock, and gifts in kind are applied to appropriate gift categories.
- Manage operational cash flow by maintaining adequate sources of borrowing, executing approved draws from the endowment, and investing excess cash in short-term funds by the established policy.
- Oversee the annual benchmarking reports for INDEX and attend the annual meeting.
Audit Responsibilities
- Coordinate annual independent audits.
- Assume responsibility for the preparation and presentation of monthly financial statements and analysis of accounts.
- Prepare financial records for the annual independent audit and assist the audit team in preparing the yearly tax return, Form 990, and other returns, including Form 5500.
- Coordinate relationship with the School's independent auditors and supervise preparation for annual audit.
- Respond to the auditor's administrative recommendations in the management letter.
- Resolve all findings resulting from financial audits and consulting in a timely fashion.
Operations Responsibilities
- Oversee the physical operation of the entire school and its programs.
- Evaluate, purchase, administer and maintain property, liability, D & O, and workers' compensation insurance programs.
- Oversee risk management and nonreal estate leases.
- Review vendor contracts.
- Work with the Board on the financial aspects of real estate transactions and executing bids, contracts, and leases.
- Support the Director of Operations and the Director of Auxiliary Programs to ensure efficient functioning in those areas.
- Incorporate the School’s commitment to environmental sustainability when working with the Director of Operations on matters related to buildings, grounds, and transportation.
- Act as liaison when required with the Charleston Board of Architectural Review, the Board of Zoning and Appeals, and other agencies and organizations on matters related to historic preservation, zoning, grounds, facilities, construction and renovation.
Board Responsibilities
- Work with the appropriate Board committee chair to prepare meeting agendas and related information for Finance, Investment, and Audit Committee Meetings.
- Provide to the Finance Committee on a regular basis pertinent current and forecasted financial information.
- Be in attendance at Finance, Investment, and Audit-Risk Committee meetings.
Supervisory Responsibilities
- The CFOO will directly supervise the following roles:
- Controller and Assistant Controller
- Director of Human Resources
- Director of Operations - Rentals, Facilities, Housekeeping, Safety and Security, and Technology
- Director of Auxiliary Programs - Summer Camp, Extended Day, Ashley Hall Afterschool Program, Horizons and the Director of the Ashley Hall Private Lesson Program.
Other Responsibilities
- Work with the Admission Office on the processing of financial aid applications and awards.
- Oversee compilation of annual survey requests from school associations including NAIS, SAIS, NBOA, INDEX, etc.
- Complete other duties as assigned.
Qualifications and Personal Attributes
- CPA & MBA or Masters Degree in accounting or finance required.
- Ten years of managerial-level accounting/financial business management experience, preferably in an independent school environment .
- At least ten years of experience in financial analysis and budget formulation and forecasting, ideally in an independent school or non-profit setting Demonstration of a deep understanding of effective fiscal management of an independent school, including GAAP Proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office.
- Experience in using Blackbaud CRM products, specifically Financial Edge NXT and Raiser's Edge NXT preferred.
- Ability to adapt quickly to new computer software packages.
- Ability to analyze information to arrive at an appropriate solution.
- Capacity to work effectively as part of an institutional leadership and management team
- Ability to maintain strict confidentiality.
- Self-motivation skills with the ability to handle multiple, simultaneous, and complex projects
- Strong organizational and time management skills.
- Contract negotiation, verbal and written communication, project planning and management skills
- Superior oral and written communication skills—ability to communicate effectively and interact with all personality types and levels of management.
- Ability to analyze and organize financial data.
- Ability to communicate accounting policies to non-accounting individuals to ensure compliance with such policies.
General Responsibilities
- Resume, transcripts and references will be required as part of the application process.
- The School requires background checks, drug screening, and TB testing prior to employment.
Ashley Hall is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.
To Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit electronically in one email and as separate PDF documents the following materials:
- A cover letter expressing their interest in this particular position
- A current résumé
- A one-page statement of professional philosophy and leadership practice
- An annotated list of five professional references with name, phone number, and email address (references will be contacted only with prior candidate approval)
All materials should be sent via email to:
Hacker Burr
hacker@bigbackpack.org
President and Managing Director
Senior Search Consultant
Big Back Pack LLC
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