Assistant Vice President for Finance

Associate Vice President for Finance

Williams College, one of the nation’s top liberal arts institutions, invites nominations and applications for the newly-conceived position of Associate Vice President for Finance (AVPF). The AVPF will serve as a future-minded, strategic partner to the campus community and to Williams’ new and visionary Vice President for Finance and Operations during an exciting period of system renewal and process reinvention for the college.

Williams College was founded in 1793 and educates around 2,000 students who benefit from a 6:1 student-faculty ratio.  Situated in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts, Williams College offers a rich academic environment in a beautiful setting on its 450-acre campus. The Berkshires—known as a cultural corridor—are a great place to live, work, and raise a family, with several top-notch schools and an array of recreational opportunities from world-class museums to swimming holes to hiking trails.

Williams is committed to careful stewardship of its significant resources. Annual operating expenses from the audited financial statements for FY20 were about $269 million and for FY21 about $267 million, with more than 50% of the operation funded from the endowment. Williams is fortunate to have one of the largest endowments in the country on a per student basis. A national leader in college access and affordability, Williams just took a major step toward what it calls a goal of “true affordability” for students receiving financial aid. Starting with the fall 2022 semester, the college will become the first in the country to totally eliminate loans, as well as required campus and summer jobs from all of its financial aid awards. The components will be replaced with equivalent grant funds.

The Associate Vice President for Finance provides leadership and strategic oversight of the financial and business operations of the college, providing campus-wide strategic oversight of financial planning and treasury services, risk management, accounting and payroll operations, external reporting, compliance, and service provider management. Reporting to the Vice President for Finance and Operations, the AVPF is a key member of the college’s financial leadership team and works closely with other senior administrators, faculty, staff, students, and the Board of Trustees, in particular the Audit and Budget and Finance Committees, to ensure a strong and efficient financial control environment that supports the educational mission of the college.

The AVPF leads a team approaching 15 employees, identifying and ensuring continuous professional development and business operations improvement opportunities to maintain an efficient function. The AVPF conducts and monitors peer comparisons on a regular basis to help guide these decisions and adopt best practices. The first few years of this role will focus on planning, organizing, evaluating, and coordinating the administrative functions of the financial division as part of the college’s central information system replacement. The AVPF will serve on the project leadership team and will lead finance staff in process improvements and policy revisions while implementing new finance, human resources, and student information systems. 

Williams College seeks an AVPF with a track record of successful and progressively responsible leadership in business and finance. The ideal candidate will have outstanding financial and administrative management skills; a record of building and leading diverse teams; and a demonstrated commitment to the advancement of an innovative, mission-driven institution. The successful candidate will be an effective, balanced, and highly collaborative strategic leader who deeply values education and thrives in a collaborative environment. The AVPF will bring a capacity for strategic vision to a close partnership with the Vice President and colleagues across the campus. A baccalaureate degree is required. An MBA/CPA or other advanced degree in accounting, finance, business or a related field is preferred. Experience from other sectors in addition to higher education is welcomed.

For the complete position profile, please visit: https://assets.storbecksearch.com/files/resources/williamscoll-avpfinance-pd.pdf

For best consideration, please send all nominations and applications (CV and cover letter) to:

Ruth Shoemaker Wood, Ph.D., Managing Director    

Lindsay Allison, Senior Search Associate

Storbeck Search

WilliamsAVPFinance@storbecksearch.com

Beyond meeting fully its legal obligations for non-discrimination, Williams College is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community where members from all backgrounds can live, learn and thrive. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please feel free to contact us via phone at (413) 597-2681 or email at hr@williams.edu.