Senior Director, Strategic Finance

College Board - Finance

Location: Fully remote, with a preference for NYC based candidates.

Type: This is a full-time position

About the Team 

The Strategic Finance team is a highly collaborative team of 14, working with senior leaders across the organization to drive key decisions. As the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) arm of the Finance division, we leverage a strong understanding of College Board’s economics, a broad range of financial models, and deep relationships with program leaders to manage and analyze a billion-dollar budget. Our work ensures that the College Board’s resources are strategically and sustainably allocated in support of our mission.  

About the Opportunity  

As a Senior Director of Strategic Finance, you are an adept translator between program priorities and the organization's financial strategy. You help teams craft and refine their budgets, accurately forecast changes in current and future years, and keep leadership apprised of the financial health and needs of your portfolio of programs. You are your portfolio’s financial expert – masterfully telling the story behind the P&L and program investments, regularly adjusting projections to reflect new trends and inputs, and consistently using your financial modeling and analytical superpowers to provide actionable insights and inform key decisions. Our ideal candidate is passionate about finance, is endlessly curious about strategic business drivers, and has a strong understanding of FP&A best practices.

If you're a strategic thinker who enjoys working in a collaborative environment and is driven by a desire to make a positive impact on student’s lives, this is a great opportunity for you. 

In this role, you will: 

Own Strategic Financial Planning for Portfolio Programs (55%)

• Perform complex financial analyses to generate recommendations to drive sound business and strategy decisions. Projects may include new product business case development, cost of acquisition and ROI analyses, and long-term financial planning

• 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 and ensure that programs and service units have the information they need to apply these insights to their work

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

 About You
You have:

• 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

• Eligible to work in the United States

About Our Process 

• Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled

• While the hiring process may vary, it generally includes: resume and application submission, recruiter phone screen, hiring manager interview, performance exercise and/or panel interview, final interview, and reference checks.  This is an approximately 8-week process

About Our Benefits and Compensation

College Board offers a competitive benefits and compensation program that attracts top talent looking to make a difference in education. As a self-sustaining non-profit, we believe in compensating employees equitably in relation to each other, their qualifications, their impact, and the relevant market.

The hiring range for a new employee in this position is $104,000 to $165,000. College Board differentiates salaries by location so where you live will narrow the portion of this range in which you can expect a salary.

Your salary will be carefully determined based on your location, relevant experience, the external labor market, and the pay of College Board employees in similar roles. College Board strives to provide our best offer up front based on this criteria.

Your salary is only one part of all that College Board offers, including but not limited to:  

• A comprehensive package designed to support the well-being of employees and their families and promote education. Our robust benefits package includes health, dental, and vision insurance, generous paid time off, paid parental leave, fertility benefits, pet insurance, tuition assistance, retirement benefits, and more

• Recognition of exceptional performance through annual bonuses, salary growth over time through market increases, and 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

You can expect to have transparent conversations about benefits and compensation with our recruiters throughout your application process.

 About Our Culture 

Our community matters, and we strive to practice and improve our culture daily. Here are some headlines: 

• We are motivated to positively impact the educational and career trajectories of millions of students a year

• We prioritize building a diverse and inclusive team where every employee can thrive, and every voice is heard

• We welcome staff to join any or all six of our affinity groups: ARISE (Alliance for Asian Retention, Inclusion, Success, and Engagement; DIASPORA (Alliance for Pan-African Success and Achievement); Pride (alliance for LGBTQ+ staff and allies); Resilience (alliance for Native staff and advocates); SALSA (Staff Alliance for Latinx Success and Achievement); and WIN (Women’s Impact Network)

• We value learning and growth; we offer formal and informal ways to lead through your superpowers, sharpen your strengths, and meet your development goals

• We know that our impact is strongest together. Our College Board Cares program offers all staff up to $1,000 annual match against partner non-profit organizations

• We offer a transparent approach to promotions and merit raises, annual performance-based bonuses, and how to grow your career here over time