On the road, West Virginia
Maple Grove, Minnesota
Maple Grove, Minnesota
Pennington, NJ / Hybrid & Flexible Work Options Available
Posted: 03-Mar-23
Location: Sewanee, Tennessee
Type: Full Time
YOU BELONG HERE.
St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School seeks a Director of Finance and Operations (DFO) with a passion for education and a desire to work in a diverse and welcoming Episcopal environment. This is a 12-month, full time position. The DFO will report directly to the Head of School and will work closely with the Board of Trustees. The projected start date is July 1, 2023. Outstanding candidates will be self-directed, possess exceptional rapport-building skills, have a generally upbeat and enthusiastic disposition, and enjoy working with adolescents and adults in fostering lives of challenge, balance, and joy.
ABOUT ST. ANDREW’S-SEWANEE SCHOOL
Named one of the eight most beautiful high schools in the South by Southern Living magazine, St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School (www.sasweb.org) is a private, co-educational, Episcopal, day and boarding college-preparatory school serving 240 students in grades 6-12. Established in 1868, the school welcomes students from across the country and around the world. Our faculty and staff appreciate abundant outdoor adventure, access to the cultural opportunities of the nearby University of the South, and the joy of cultivating close relationships in a small community. At SAS, we challenge our students to fulfill their greatest potential while helping them to cultivate lives of balance and joy.
The School has a profound commitment to academic excellence and recently announced several exciting initiatives including enhanced outdoors and arts programming, and greater financial accessibility. The School’s mission follows:
- To be an inclusive Christian community in which the Episcopal heritage is central;
- To provide superior preparation for college;
- To provide educational opportunities for those students for whom such experiences might not otherwise be available;
- To bring all members of the community to a richer spiritual, intellectual, social, physical, and aesthetic awareness, so that they might lead lives of honor and loving service to God and others.
The SAS campus is comprised of 300,000 square feet of buildings spread over 550-acres set on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau between Nashville and Chattanooga, in Sewanee, Tenn. The School is independent but maintains a strategic and historic relationship with the University of the South.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
The DFO will manage the finance and operation functions of the school including the physical plant, security, contracted food service, auxiliary services, and human resources.
Specifically, the DFO:
- Promotes the mission, standards, and policies of SAS, and provides leadership as those evolve and when they are evaluated.
- Maintains and fosters high ethical standards, integrity, and respect for colleagues, alumni, parents, and students in conduct of the School’s business.
- Maintains a strong working relationship with key SAS administrators, including the Director of Admission, Director of Advancement, Associate Head of School, and Dean of Students, and with appropriate personnel at the University of the South.
Financial Planning and Financial Management
- Manages SAS’s financial assets in a prudent manner, consistent with the mission, safeguarding the value of those assets for use of future generations by establishing appropriate financial controls and procedures.
- Manages the budget and forecasting process and provides those results to the Head of School and ultimately the Board of Trustees in a manner that earns respect and attention of the faculty, enrollment and advancement officers, other administrators, and staff.
- Creates the development of metrics to assess the performance in all operational functions to facilitate strategic data-informed decision making.
- Oversees the administration of the School’s endowment in accordance with investment policy and investment decisions of the Investment Committee.
- Oversees and maintains the prudent process requirements of the school’s retirement benefits.
- Manages and executes the timely audit of the financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles to ensure an unqualified opinion.
Human Resources
- Ensures that the human resource policies and practices are clearly articulated, consistently applied, and conform to legal requirements.
- Collaborates with the Head of School and other administrators on hiring, compensation, and management.
- Administers all employee benefit programs.
Oversight Responsibilities
Facilities
- Oversees the management of the physical plant, grounds, and construction functions and directs all replacement and renewals of the physical plant.
- Participates in campus master planning and capital campaign requirements and processes.
Risk Management, Safety, and Security
- Provides risk management analyses to ensure SAS proactively reviews, anticipates and addresses potential risks of all kinds impacting its mission and oversees the maintenance of appropriate insurance policies.
Technology
- Oversees the management of technology hardware and infrastructure.
Food Service Management
- Oversees the management of the School’s food service.
Auxiliary Program
- Supervises the Director of Auxiliary Programming and Special Events.
Reporting Responsibilities
- Provides assistance to the Head of School in administering the school and to the Board of Trustees in meeting its fiduciary responsibilities through attendance at meetings and informative disclosures.
- Serves as the school’s liaison to the Board of Trustees’ Audit (and Risk), Finance, Investment, and Buildings and Grounds Committees.
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE:
- A strong commitment to education and the School’s mission
- Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible senior management experience in complex, preferably academic, environment
- Strategic thinker who sees the larger picture
- Integrity and ability to maintain confidentiality
- An extraordinary work ethic and high energy
- A team player with superb people skills who is both demanding and compassionate.
- Comprehensive knowledge of accounting, reimbursement, financial compliance, internal controls, cash management, contracting, purchasing, enterprise and risk management, investing, human resources, and facilities management.
- Strong business acumen and a demonstrated ability to manage teams and vendor relationships
- Outstanding oral and written communication and ability to present data and ideas effectively to various constituencies
- Experience with an independent school is a plus.
COMPENSATION
This is a full-time, 12-month position. Salary is dependent on education and experience. Benefits include a tuition remission plan, health and dental insurance, worker’s compensation, short-term and long-term disability, group life insurance, retirement plan, and eligibility for grants for professional enrichment and continuing education.
