Chief Financial Officer

Colorado College
Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Colorado Springs, CO

Based in scenic Colorado Springs, Colorado College seeks a strategic and collaborative executive to serve as its next Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). This is a fantastic opportunity for a forward-thinking leader who brings a refreshed and contemporary approach to higher education budget modeling and progressive fiscal strategy with an entrepreneurial spirit.

A private, four-year liberal arts college with roughly 2,300 undergraduates, Colorado College is located on a beautiful 99-acre campus in downtown Colorado Springs. The campus features historically recognized buildings and innovative contemporary architecture. Consistently ranked among the top 30 national liberal arts colleges, Colorado College is the only institution of its kind in the Rocky Mountain region. Best known for its innovative Block Plan, where students take, and professors teach, only one class at a time, Colorado College attracts top students seeking new perspectives and an array of experiential learning opportunities possible only in an immersive learning environment.

The CFO will join Colorado College at a pivotal moment in the institution's history. L. Song Richardson became the college's 14th president in July of 2021 with the vision "to prepare students to create a more just world by igniting their passions and potential, and encouraging them to reach across differences to find common ground and understanding." Working alongside the president and other senior leaders, the CFO will help envision and create a future for Colorado College that reaffirms and builds upon the president's vision and the long-standing mission to provide the finest liberal arts education in the country.

Reporting to, and working in partnership with the president, the CFO is accountable for the administration of all financial operations of the college, including the development a financial strategy with supporting metrics and for the ongoing development and monitoring of control systems designed to preserve college assets, report accurate financial results, monitor adherence to budget and develop long term financial strategies to ensure a successful, sustainable, and stable future for the college.

The CFO will be an individual who is energized by the future opportunities at Colorado College and who thrives in a dynamic environment where bold and courageous decisions are encouraged. The CFO will play an important role in developing and implementing a new strategic plan, and shepherding new capital projects, like the recently completed $65.7M Robson Arena, and short and long-term asset planning. The president and other senior leaders welcome a strategic and collaborative partner and advisor with a record of exercising creative and innovative approaches to strategic budget planning.

The successful candidate will be an experienced financial executive with a reputation for implementing best practices to maximize results in a highly tuition-dependent environment. The new leader will bring demonstrated financial management success, and experience leading organizational change. The CFO will be a superb communicator with exceptional analytical skills who works with colleagues in a spirit of transparency and partnership to advance shared institutional goals. Fostering inclusive decision-making, innovative practices and working collaboratively to develop and manage strategic budgetary processes and policies that encourage accountability and responsibility will all be critical. A bachelor's degree in business administration, accounting, finance, or a related area and a minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in financial planning, budget management at the senior management level are required; advanced degree preferred.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile found at www.wittkieffer.com.

WittKieffer is assisting Colorado College in this search. Candidates will be considered until an appointment is made. Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer's candidate portal:
https://candidateportal.wittkieffer.com/description?jobID=24162

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to:

Sarah Palmer and Melissa Fincher
ColoradoCollegeCFO@wittkieffer.com

Compensation Range: $250,000 – $300,000

Benefits: https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/humanresources/benefits/index.html

Colorado College aims to provide the finest liberal arts education in the country. As a leading institution in higher education, we strive for inclusive excellence in access to, and development and delivery of, outstanding learning opportunities and success for our diverse community of individuals who teach, learn, and work at the college. We pursue the equal opportunity of individuals to fully participate in our mission.

Colorado College is an equal opportunity employer committed to increasing the diversity of its community. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, gender identity or expression, disability, or sexual orientation in our educational programs and activities or our employment practices.


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