Deputy Chief Financial Officer

Overview

Friendship Public Charter School operates a thriving network of college preparatory public charter schools. Headquartered in Washington, DC. Friendship serves over 4,800 students in preschool to grade 12 and guides a growing network of alumni to college completion annually.  Our mission is to prepare students to become ethical, literate, well-rounded and self-sufficient citizens by providing a world-class education that motivates students to reach high academic standards, to enjoy learning, to achieve success, and to contribute actively to their communities. For 25 years, with the support and guidance of our exceptional faculty, our students have risen to the challenge with high graduation rates, college acceptances and unparalleled success academically and socially.

Please note the salary range is $150,000 - $170,000 contingent on relevant experience and education. 

Responsibilities

Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Deputy Chief Financial Officer supports the team in stewarding the fiscal resources in support of Friendship’s strategic plan and leading the work of the Finance team across the areas of budget, accounting, procurement, grants and compliance.  This team member will create the financial strategy to support effective budget planning, maximizing available funds, and ensuring an equitable distribution of resources for the day-to-day operations to support Friendship’s vision for student success. The Deputy Chief Financial Officer must be an experienced and accomplished finance professional with knowledge of accounting, a key advisor to the CFO and other Friendship executive team members, and a collaborator with other departments and stakeholders (internal and external) that support the district’s improvement. The team includes Budget and Planning, Procurement and Purchasing, Payroll, Accounts Payable, Grants and Accounting.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

Equity Leadership and Student Success

Strategic District Leadership

• Support the implementation of strategic financial strategies that maximize available funds and ensure equitable distribution of resources across the district to support student success.
• Provide strategic leadership to develop the district’s annual budget and multi-year financial plans in conjunction with Friendship’s campus and network leaders.
• Spearhead, in collaboration with the CFO, annual capital planning and monitoring processes so that capital expenditures reinforce broader programmatic goals.
• Ensure compliance with requirements from the charter authorizer, bondholders and financial institutions, and State and Federal laws governing the oversight of the organization’s finances.

Finance Team Leadership and Management

• Represent the district, as needed, on budgetary matters in a variety of venues, including public hearings and external stakeholder and community meetings.
• Manage the performance and effectiveness of the Finance Office across all areas, including but not limited to: the successful implementation of financial and budget goals, effective controls and monitoring of the district’s budget, efficient operational processes, and excellent service to schools and district offices.
• Forecast short- and long-range cash requirements and obligations as a basis for sound financial and equitable funding mechanisms.
• Coordinate the preparation and presentation of monthly budget reporting and annual projections for all aspects of the budget; collaborate with the team and external support to ensure accuracy of analysis and data in departmental reports.
• Emphasize the importance of the Finance Office’s essential role serving the district’s students, families, staff, and community partners in interactions and communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Assist with the annual financial audit and reporting to external authorities as well as the completion of any required financial reports, including ongoing financial reports and grants reporting.

Systems, Support and Execution

• Ensure the successful implementation of the Finance Office’s tools, including Vena, ADP, and Coupa to improve organizational insights and data visualization.
• Provide project management oversight and for priority short- and long-term initiatives; develop tools to track progress and monitor key performance goals.
• Implement adequate internal controls and ensures adequate accounting records to document compliance with relevant laws and policies.
• Serve as a critical thought-partner and support for department leaders and on budgetary matters and build their capacity as fiscal stewards of the district’s resources.
• Create proactive systems that garner feedback from stakeholders to inform the budget process, budget transparency, and fiscal stewardship for departments and campus teams.
• Effectively communicate and share data with broad audiences to improve transparency, trust, and confidence in the district and to promote sharing learning.

Talent Management and Professional Learning

• Lead and coach an effective team united around a common vision of operational excellence and support.
• Support staff to develop, implement, and evaluate project plans and strategy to achieve goals and objectives.
• Cultivate positive relationships among staff internally and within the broader district, including principals, support staff, and the larger community.
• Support staff in ensuring up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge of relevant requirements, best-in-class operations, and use of tools.

Key Competencies

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following:

Vision and Courage to Ensure All Students Achieve

• Demonstrate belief and hold self and others accountable for reaching high academic achievement of all students.
• Foster and inspire a clear and compelling vision.
• Be courageous in addressing matters of equity, race, and bias in decision-making.

Leadership, Influence and Effective Communications

• Communicate effectively, tailoring messages for the audience, context, and mode of communication.
• Navigate politically complex structures, relationships, and dynamics to challenge ideas and enable thoughtful decisions and positive outcomes for students.
• Maintain visibility and work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders at all levels.
• Prepare the CFO for effective decision-making conversations, anticipating and organizing key questions and data that support productive discussions to direct key fiscal priorities.
• Build coalitions and work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders at all levels of the organization.

Strategic Planning and Effective Execution

• Exhibit outstanding critical thinking skills, including the ability to analyze data, identify trends, pinpoint problems and root causes, ask probing questions, and develop innovative solutions.
• Demonstrate excellent execution and leadership skills and the ability to successfully lead employees in balancing multiple projects with clear deadlines.
• Possess a deep understanding of systems-level operations, management, and organizational design in order to deliver desired outcomes for the district.

Team Leadership and Management

• Gain the trust and respect of all staff, cultivating personal accountability among staff for excellent service, problem solving, and efficient budget processes.
• Build and lead diverse staff; delegate and leverage the team effectively to achieve ambitious goals.
• Assess team and individual skills and identify development needs; provide feedback and support to improve practice, build capacity, and maximize talent.
• Promote professional learning and utilize effective adult learning techniques.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Accounting, Finance, or a related career field from an accredited college or university. MBA, Master’s strongly preferred.
• Must have an active CPA
• At least five (5) years of progressive, full-time, professional experience in budget leadership, public policy, public administration, or business management.
• Direct experience in budgeting, budget preparation, financial monitoring, and financial analysis and evidence of success leading and managing a multi-million dollar budget. Public sector work experience strongly preferred.
• Five (5) years of senior level supervisory/administrative/management experience, preferably in a large non-profit organization, government agency or school district.
• Thorough knowledge of various types of public budgeting practices, policies, procedures, and challenges.
• Experience in implementing comprehensive financial management systems, practices, and policies for an organization of significant size.
• Ability to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity, and to prioritize work efforts to execute overall strategy.

FPCS’s policy is to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants and employees regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, status as a special disabled veteran, or any other protected criteria as established by federal, state, or local laws.  This policy applies to recruitment and hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, transfer, layoff, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.  Employment decisions at FPCS are based solely upon relevant criteria, including an individual’s capabilities, qualifications, training, experience and suitability.