Director, Strategic Finance

Director, Strategic Finance 

College Board - Finance 

Location: This is a fully remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office).

Type: This is a full-time position

About the Team 

The Strategic Finance team is a highly collaborative team, working with senior leaders across the organization to drive key decisions that strengthen the outcomes of our programs and services. 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 to clear a path for all students to own their future.  

About the Opportunity  

As a 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 throughout the year, and keep leadership apprised of the financial health and needs of your portfolio of programs. You are your portfolio’s budget expert – masterfully tracking and telling the stories behind the investments, regularly adjusting projections to reflect new trends and inputs, and consistently using your financial modeling and analytical superpowers to provide actionable insights and recommendations to drive executive decision-making. Our ideal candidate is passionate about finance, has a strong understanding of FP&A best practices, and is driven by a desire to make a positive impact on student’s lives. 

In this role, you will be responsible for:

Budgeting & forecasting (40%)

• Run annual budgeting and quarterly forecasting processes for programs in your portfolio

• Lead monthly variance reviews with budget managers and ensure your programs stay on track to meet annual finance targets

• Maintain expense projections, regularly updating assumptions to reflect the latest vendor agreements, program decisions, and market trends

• Build and streamline financial models to improve budgeting and forecasting accuracy

• Proactively identify and size risks, opportunities, and other watch items

Financial analysis (25%)

• Support key analytical work streams, which may include unit cost analyses, ROI assessments, targeted cost reduction exercises, or other strategic finance projects.

• Distill complex analyses into key insights and recommendations that drive sound business and strategy decisions 

 Reporting (15%)

• Develop and deliver monthly and quarterly financial performance reports

• Proactively design custom strategic financial reports, outlining actionable insights for senior leadership 

Partnership management (10%)

• Build and maintain relationships with program and supporting cross-functional teams to ensure understanding of priority work and resourcing needs

• Serve as a finance expert and business partner for portfolio programs

About You 

You have: 

• Expertise in financial planning and analysis, with 5-7 years experience with budgeting and forecasting work

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, or related technical field preferred

• Strong organization and prioritization skills and the proven ability to move forward multiple projects in concert, both independently and as a member of the team

• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, including extensive experience in financial modeling

• Strong communication and customer service skills, including experience summarizing complex financial analyses and presenting key findings to senior management

• Solid understanding of corporate finance 

• Advanced MS Excel, PowerPoint, and Word skills

• Experience with financial planning systems preferred, e.g. Workday Adaptive Planning    

• A passion for supporting educational and career opportunities for millions of students   

• The ability to travel 4-6 times a year to College Board offices or on behalf of College Board business

• Authorization 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/video screen, work sample submission, hiring manager interview, performance exercise, a panel interview, a conversation with leadership and reference checks. This is typically a 6-to-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 $80,000 to $130,000. 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.

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