Sr. Director of Finance & Business Strategy

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; occasional weekend and evening hours to meet business needs; hybrid eligible (predominantly on-site)

OVERVIEW

As a member of the ASI Leadership Team and Administration Team, the Senior Director of Finance & Business Strategy is expected to perform as a senior-level professional consistently providing ethical, strategic, forward-looking, collaborative, student-focused, and results-driven financial leadership to those internal and external to the organization. The Senior Director works with significant independence as ASI’s principal architect of long-range financial strategy, while regularly communicating openly, honestly, and directly with the Executive Director, the ASI Board of Directors and Finance Committee, and ASI department heads and their teams. Essential to the success of the Senior Director is a future-oriented mindset and the ability to: model the multi-year financial implications of present-day decisions; surface enterprise risk before it materializes; translate complex financial information for student-governed boards, university partners, and operational leaders; exercise sound fiduciary judgment in stewarding student fee resources, reserves, and investments; and partner with leadership to operationalize ASI’s mission through sound financial planning and business strategy.

POSITION DEFINITION

Under the general direction of the Executive Director, the Senior Director of Finance & Business Strategy is responsible for and provides leadership in the development, implementation, and refinement of ASI’s enterprise financial strategy, including long-range financial planning, capital and debt strategy, reserves and investment oversight, multi-year forecasting and scenario modeling, enterprise risk management, and financial governance. This position works collaboratively across the organization to ensure ASI’s financial decisions advance the mission and values of ASI and protect the long-term sustainability of student fee resources. The Senior Director leads and supervises the Financial Services department through the Associate Director of Financial Services (or equivalent department head), serves as the principal financial advisor to the ASI Board of Directors and Finance Committee, and partners with the Executive Director, Associate Executive Director, and Director colleagues to integrate financial strategy with organizational strategy and to foster a learning organization grounded in evidence-based decision-making.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Enterprise Financial Strategy & Long-Range Planning

• Lead the development, implementation, and refinement of ASI’s multi-year financial strategy in alignment with ASI’s strategic plan, mission, and values
• Develop and maintain multi-year financial models, forecasts, and scenario analyses that inform executive and Board-level decision-making on capital projects, fee strategy, programmatic expansion, and operational sustainability
• Direct long-range financial planning for ASI’s student space portfolio, including life-cycle capital planning, deferred maintenance funding strategy, and major renewal programs
• Lead enterprise resource allocation analysis and recommend strategic prioritization of resources to balance present-day program delivery with long-term financial sustainability and to delay fee increases for as long as fiscally responsible
• Anticipate emerging financial pressures (system, regulatory, demographic, and economic) and advise the Executive Director and Leadership Team on strategic responses
• Identify revenue stewardship opportunities and risks across all ASI funding streams, including student fees, programmatic revenue, and partnership-generated income
• Translate ASI’s strategic plan into financial roadmaps with measurable indicators of organizational financial health

Investment, Reserves, & Capital Stewardship

• Provide executive oversight of ASI’s reserves and investment portfolio in partnership with the Executive Director, Board of Directors, and Finance Committee, ensuring stewardship aligned with ASI’s fiduciary obligations to students
• Recommend, develop, and steward implementation of ASI’s investment policy in collaboration with the Board, Finance Committee, and external investment advisors; ensure the policy reflects ASI’s risk tolerance, liquidity needs, time horizons, and 501(c)(3) auxiliary obligations
• Oversee capital and debt strategy, including annual debt service, refinancing analysis, and future debt-capacity modeling for major capital projects
• Lead financial analysis, modeling, and business-case development for proposed capital projects, major facility renewals, and significant programmatic investments
• Partner with external investment advisors, banking partners, bond counsel, and rating-agency contacts as appropriate to optimize ASI’s capital structure and protect institutional credit standing
• Design and steward ASI’s reserves strategy, balancing operational, capital renewal, and emergency liquidity needs across short-, medium-, and long-term horizons
• Direct treasury management and cash flow forecasting to support long-range capital plans and ensure operating liquidity
• Lead post-investment performance review and report investment outcomes, allocation alignment, and policy adherence to the Board and Finance Committee

Strategic Financial Leadership

• Serve as a member of the ASI Leadership Team and Administration Team, contributing financial strategy and risk perspective to enterprise decisions that are not strictly financial
• Partner with the Executive Director, Associate Executive Director, and Director colleagues to operationalize the mission of ASI through sound financial planning and business strategy
• Provide consultative financial leadership to department heads on resource planning, programmatic financial sustainability, business cases for new initiatives, and capital requests
• Translate complex financial information into accessible language for the student-governed Board of Directors, Finance Committee, and student leaders, supporting financial literacy across student governance
• Build organizational financial acumen across professional and student staff through coaching, workshops, and decision-support practices, in partnership with key stakeholders
• Represent ASI in financial matters with university partners (Administrative Affairs, Student Affairs, Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises, Cal Poly Pomona Philanthropic Foundation), CSU system stakeholders (including the CSU Auxiliary Organizations Association), and external partners
• Support student fee strategy, fee-referendum financial impact analysis, and student-facing communication of fee implications
• Exercise financial systems strategy to build and strengthen ASI’s financial decision-making infrastructure through technology, process automation, and analytics
• Maintain awareness and knowledge of contemporary nonprofit and higher-education financial leadership practices, CSU auxiliary trends, and emerging risks to provide suitable interpretation and recommendation to the ASI leadership and management team(s)
• Demonstrate commitment and alignment with ASI’s mission, vision, and values

Financial Governance, Risk, & Compliance

• Serve as the principal financial liaison to the ASI Board of Directors and Finance Committee; advising the ASI Treasurer; prepare and present financial strategy, performance, and risk briefings
• Lead enterprise risk management as it relates to ASI’s financial position, including identification, assessment, prioritization, and mitigation strategies for financial, operational, and reputational risk
• Ensure ASI’s financial governance practices align with California Education Code §89900 et seq., applicable Title 5 provisions, CSU Executive Orders, and 501(c)(3) regulatory expectations
• Oversee external audit engagement strategy, audit findings response, and management letter resolution at the executive level
• Partner with ASI legal counsel and the Executive Director on matters of financial risk, contracts, and regulatory compliance
• Steward IRS Form 990 strategy and ensure compliance with applicable nonprofit financial reporting obligations
• Advise the Executive Director on insurance, bonding, and risk-transfer strategies
• Champion strong internal controls and a sound control environment in collaboration with the Associate Director of Financial Services

Business Strategy

• Lead enterprise business analysis related to ASI operational sustainability, auxiliary business models, and long-term organizational capacity
• Partner with executive leadership to evaluate operational scalability, organizational effectiveness, and revenue sustainability strategies
• Support enterprise operational modernization through financial systems integration, analytics, and business-process optimization
• Evaluate financial and operational implications of emerging organizational initiatives, partnerships, and service models

Supervisory & Oversight Responsibilities

• Manages the recruitment, hiring, training and development, and performance management of the Associate Director of Financial Services (or equivalent department head); provides indirect supervision for four (4) unit managers and respective teams
• Directs the Financial Services department and key stakeholders to support enterprise financial strategy while preserving the operational integrity of accounting, payroll, accounts payable and receivable, corporate budgets, and student-organization financial services
• Works directly with the key stakeholders and other ASI support staff to develop and coordinate project-based tasks, including Board financial reporting, audit preparation, and capital planning deliverables
• Partners with the Director colleagues on organizational design, succession planning, and capacity building within Financial Services Department
• Ensure executive oversight of ASI's audit readiness and response across financial, operational, compliance, and CSU system audit requirements
• Oversee staff and cross-functional teams engaged in financial and/or audit activities, ensuring preparedness, accountability, and effective response to auditor inquiries and findings
• Exercises independent professional judgment regarding enterprise financial risk, fiduciary stewardship

KNOWLEDGE | SKILLS | ABILITIES

Minimum Knowledge and Experience:

• Master’s degree (MBA, MPA, or M.S.) in Finance/Accounting required
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license preferred
• Minimum eight (8) years of progressive financial leadership experience in a nonprofit, higher education, public sector, or comparably complex environment, including at least three (3) years at a senior leadership level
• Ability to lead multi-year financial planning, forecasting, and scenario modeling at an enterprise scale
• Ability to oversee investment portfolios, reserves strategy, and/or capital and debt management
• Ability to present financial strategy to a governing board, audit committee, or finance committee, ideally including a volunteer or student-governed board
• Strong working knowledge of GAAP and FASB applicable to nonprofit organizations; familiarity with GASB and the CSU Auxiliary Organizations Association (AOA) reporting environment preferred
• Working knowledge of California Education Code §89900 et seq., CSU Title 5 provisions, CSU Executive Orders, and 501(c)(3) regulatory framework, or ability to acquire it rapidly
• Experience leading external audit engagements and managing auditor relationships
• Experience in successfully leading and developing direct reports and managing through subordinate leaders
• Proficient with enterprise financial systems like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and enterprise performance management (EPM/CPM), business intelligence and financial-modeling tools, and Microsoft Office Suite or related software

Required Skills:

• Superior strategic, analytical, and quantitative reasoning skills, including the ability to model multi-year financial implications of present-day decisions
• Advanced financial modeling, forecasting, and scenario-planning ability
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial information for non-financial audiences (students, board members, operational leaders, university partners)
• Strong governance and board engagement skills, including the ability to staff and present to a student-governed board
• Excellent project management skills with the ability to manage multiple strategic priorities simultaneously
• Strong people-leadership skills, with demonstrated ability to develop technical professionals and to influence peers without direct authority
• High emotional intelligence, sound judgment, and the ability to maintain confidentiality and discretion on sensitive financial matters
• Strong systems thinking and ability to integrate financial strategy with organizational strategy
• Strong data analytics acumen to support strategic initiatives and Board-level decision-making
• Comfort working autonomously and with significant accountability
• Global perspective and ability to work effectively with diverse cultures
• Commitment to ASI’s mission, values, and student-centered orientation

WORK ENVIRONMENT

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, talk, and hear; manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination, and verbal communication; use of office equipment: telephones, calculator, copier, and fax. Must be able to walk, stand, bend, and lift up to 15 pounds.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Extended periods of computer-based financial modeling and analysis are routine for this position.

POSITION SENSITIVITY

Based on the duties and responsibilities of this position, including fiduciary oversight of investments, reserves, capital and debt, and access to confidential financial and personnel data, this position has been designated as a sensitive position with access to sensitive data.

BACKGROUND CHECK

A background check (including a criminal records check and a credit history check appropriate to a fiduciary position) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can begin employment with Associated Students, Inc., Cal Poly Pomona. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current ASI employees who apply for this position.

MANDATED REPORTING REQUIREMENT

In compliance with the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) and the CSU Executive Order 1083, each ASI employee is designated as a mandated reporter and is required to sign an Acknowledgment of Mandated Reporter Status and Legal Duty to Report Child Abuse and Neglect.

SYSTEMWIDE SMOKE AND TOBACCO FREE ENVIRONMENT EO 1108

Cal Poly Pomona is a smoke and tobacco-free campus. Please refer to the link below for policy information.

COVID-19 VACCINATION

CSU, along with Associated Students Inc., strongly recommends all staff who are physically accessing campus facilities or programs to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which includes obtaining a COVID-19 booster dose. See policy at