Executive Director for Financial Planning & Analysis

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Job:

Executive Director for Financial Planning & Analysis

The Executive Director for Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) leads the College’s budget, forecasting, long-range financial planning, and institutional financial analysis functions. Reporting directly to the Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer, the Executive Director translates institutional priorities into sustainable financial plans and provides forward-looking analysis to support resource allocation and decision-making. The Director serves as a strategic advisor to the CFO and senior leadership on financial performance, affordability, enrollment and compensation planning, capital investments, and the financial implications of major institutional initiatives.
Reporting Structure
The Executive Director reports to the Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer and leads the Financial Planning & Analysis team. The role partners closely with the Provost’s Office and academic leadership, the Controller and accounting teams, Enrollment Management, Human Resources, Development & Alumnae Relations, Information Technology, and administrative and academic units across the College.

Job Description:

Key Responsibilities

Budget Development and Resource Allocation

• Lead development of the College’s annual and multi-year operating and capital budgets, including budget assumptions, targets, guidance, and consolidated recommendations for CFO and senior leadership review.

• Translate institutional priorities into integrated revenue, expense, compensation, staffing, capital, and funding plans and assess their impact on the College’s overall financial position.

• Develop resource allocation frameworks that support disciplined decision-making across operating, capital, and other funding sources.

• Partner with academic and administrative leadership to evaluate the financial viability, affordability, and sustainability of priorities, new initiatives, commitments, and resource requests and provide clear recommendations and alternatives.

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Forecasting, Long-Range Planning and Scenario Analysis

• Lead short- and long-range financial forecasting and maintain integrated multi-year models for the College’s revenues, expenses, capital needs, and key financial drivers.

• Develop scenario and sensitivity analyses to support major institutional decisions, including enrollment, tuition and financial aid, compensation and staffing, capital investments, housing, and other strategic initiatives.

• Identify emerging financial risks and opportunities, assess their potential impact, and advise the CFO and senior leadership on appropriate strategies and course corrections.

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Financial Performance and Management Reporting

• Lead the College’s forecasting and variance-management process, including regular updates to projected year-end performance and multi-year outlooks.

• Develop financial metrics, dashboards, and management reporting that provide senior leadership and budget owners with timely visibility into financial performance, trends, risks, and opportunities.

• Analyze significant performance and budget-to-actual variances, working with Finance and budget owners to understand drivers, improve forecast accuracy, and recommend corrective actions; prepare related analyses and presentations for the CFO, senior leadership, and Board of Trustees.

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Financial Systems and FP&A Excellence

• Lead the effective use of Workday Finance and related planning tools for budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, and financial analysis.

• Partner with Information Technology and Finance colleagues to improve planning workflows, reporting, data integrity, automation, and integration across financial systems.

• Strengthen financial planning and accountability across the College through effective budget policies, processes, tools, guidance, and support for budget owners.

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Leadership and Institutional Partnership

• Lead, develop, and hold accountable a high-performing FP&A team, establishing clear priorities, service expectations, and standards for analytical quality and timely execution.

• Serve as a trusted financial advisor to senior leaders and budget owners, translating complex financial information into clear implications, options, and recommendations.

• Build strong partnerships across academic and administrative units and support the CFO in advancing a culture of financial accountability, disciplined resource allocation, forward-looking planning, and continuous improvement.

Skills, Qualifications & Requirements:

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• CPA, MBA, or master’s degree in finance or a related field.

• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in financial planning and analysis, budgeting, forecasting, or related financial leadership roles in a complex organization.

• Demonstrated experience leading annual budget development, multi-year financial planning, forecasting, scenario modeling, and management reporting.

• Demonstrated experience using Workday Finance for budgeting, financial analysis, reporting, and related business process workflows.

• Advanced financial modeling and analytical skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data into actionable insights and recommendations.

• Demonstrated ability to advise senior leaders on financial performance, resource allocation, and the financial implications of strategic decisions.

• Strong leadership, communication, and collaboration skills, including experience developing staff and operating effectively across complex, decentralized organizations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant financial planning and budgeting experience in higher education or a similarly complex nonprofit institution.

• Experience supporting governing boards and senior executive leadership.

• Experience with Adaptive Planning or another enterprise planning and forecasting platform.

• Experience with higher education financial drivers, including enrollment, tuition and financial aid, faculty compensation, restricted funding, and capital planning.

Work Arrangement

Remote or hybrid work arrangement allowed. Occasional on-campus presence may be required based on college and operational needs.

|Salary Range: $230,000 - 240,000 annually

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the College's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Company:

Barnard College

Time Type:

Full time