Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Onondaga Community College, located in Syracuse, NY, is a college of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and one of 30 locally sponsored community colleges throughout New York State. Onondaga County is our sponsor. We offer two-year degree programs that serve as transfer opportunities to baccalaureate degree programs at four-year campuses or for direct entry to the workforce. We also offer certificate programs that can generally be completed in one year. Onondaga is a diverse educational learning community. We are committed to creating and maintaining an atmosphere where individuality is not only recognized - but encouraged - to contribute to the fabric of the campus environment. We continue to serve the educational and economic development needs of the region and proudly boast more than 40,000 alumni.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a key visionary of the College with overall responsibility for managing business operations, accounting procedures, financial planning and fiscal management, business accounting, risk management, forecasting, budgeting and facilities management. The CFO will manage in ways consistent with the strategic direction of the President and Senior Vice President of Administration, Enrollment, and Finance (SVP).

Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President of Administration, Enrollment, and Finance, the CFO is an effective team player and member of the Expanded Executive Council. This position works towards establishing priorities through the allocation of limited resources and participates with other senior managers in strategic planning, policy formulation, and problem solving and offers advice and counsel on the financial implications of institutional decisions.

With strategic vision at its core, the CFO provides mission-driven leadership and regularly considers how changes to the current business model can advance the College's mission and financial position and seeks new and creative ways to support the efforts of the whole institution. The CFO collaborates with the President and Senior Vice President of Administration, Enrollment, and Finance in developing financial strategy, budgets, new revenue strategies, and financial practices aligned with the College's student success and equity agenda. The CFO is expected to reliably predict the College's future financial challenges and opportunities and prepare the institution to meet those challenges and maximize opportunities. The CFO serves as a catalyst for innovation, identifying opportunities to redesign business processes, leverage technology, diversify revenue streams, and deploy resources in ways that improve student outcomes while strengthening long-term financial sustainability.

Major Responsibilities:

• Leads the development of a sustainable financial strategy that aligns resources with institutional priorities, student success goals, and long-term organizational resilience through proper preparation and administration of the College budget, and financial operations by directing the overall financial plans, multi-years forecast and accounting practices of the College
• Oversees annual institutional budget process ensuring that all financial resources are expended in support of the College's mission, goals, and strategic plan.
• Manages the College's operating, grant, and capital budgets, coordinating the budget and resource allocation process, accounting and financial management, cash management, formulating financial policies, and implements procedures and internal controls that ensure the financial integrity of the College.
• Assesses institutional performance against both the annual budget and the College's strategic plan, looking for ways to gain efficiencies and revenue opportunities.
• Maintains an effective program of fiscal management and internal controls. Directs the overall financial plans, multi-year forecasts and accounting practices of the College in direct support of the institution's mission, goals, and strategic plan.
• Serves as a board member of each of the College's 501c3 affiliate corporations as: Treasurer of OCC Housing Development Corporation and OCC Association, and Ex-Officio CFO for the OCC Foundation.
• Exercises administrative supervision over several functional areas of the College.
• Provides oversight of facilities planning and operations, deferred maintenance strategies, and long-range campus infrastructure planning maintaining budget control in accordance with approved budgetary allocations in regard to capital, operation and special projects.
• Works with numerous entities related to financial matters on behalf of the College, including the Board of Trustees, OCC Foundation, OCC Housing Development Corporation, OCC Association, State University of New York (SUNY), and New York State and Onondaga County legislative and executive offices.
• Works closely with academic and senior administrative leaders to align financial operations with institutional mission and strategies.
• Interacts significantly with faculty, staff, and student groups as well as the community in matters related to assigned functional areas.
• Helps build understanding for all members of the President's senior team of how finances work, how finance is a strategic tool for student success, and why certain financial decisions are made.
• Maintains strong relationships with College leadership team to collaborate on joint efforts toward student success and equity goals.
• Seeks to understand program and project goals and readily adapts finance strategy accordingly.
• Ensures timely financial and statistical reports and projections for management and/or Board use; develops draft and final budgets for approval and submission to the College President and Board of Trustees.
• Involves each employee within area of supervision in the development of a divisional master plan and operational plan that measurably supports the College's mission and strategic plan.
• Oversees all accounts, ledgers and financial reporting systems ensuring compliance with appropriate Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, regulatory requirements, and internal control processes.
• Works with third party consultants and vendors to optimize savings to the College; leads the request for proposal process to negotiate affordable rates for insurance related to the College's: health and dental, property and liability, workers' compensation, and cybersecurity plans.
• Negotiates all auxiliary-related services and agreements on campus.
• Remains knowledgeable about all areas of the enterprise in academic and administrative units.

Requirements:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree required from a regionally accredited college, university or foreign equivalency in accounting, finance, business administration, or related field and substantial experience in business, financial or public administration, preferably within higher education
• Ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in planning, financial analysis/management and budgetary control, to include five (5) years of increasingly responsible administrative, management, and leadership experience in a fast-paced, changing environment
• Experience in capital planning, project development and oversight
• Demonstrated experience with and commitment to strategic planning and continuous quality improvement
• Experience with a unionized environment
• Solid experience with revenue and expense forecasting
• Extensive experience negotiating contracts and agreements

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in higher education, public-sector, nonprofit, healthcare, or similarly complex mission-driven organizations or highly regulated environments
• Solid understanding of local, state, and federal laws and regulations applicable to public higher education
• Knowledge of SUNY, state and county funding structures
• Proven success developing high-performing teams and building leadership capacity within finance and administrative functions
• Demonstrated ability to use financial and operational data to drive strategic decision-making and resource allocation

Demonstrated Attributes (Knowledge, Skills & Abilities):

• Understanding of how strategic finance can advance the student success agenda and works with senior team to align practices with the college/university's student success and equity goals for improved student-outcomes
• Demonstrated ability to build trust and credibility across diverse stakeholder groups, including faculty, staff, students, trustees, government officials, and community partners
• Innovative financial leader with demonstrated financial expertise
• Demonstrated success leading organizations through periods of fiscal constraint, enrollment fluctuations, or changing revenue environments while maintaining mission focus and organizational effectiveness
• Commitment to the institution's mission and student success goals
• Ability to effectively lead complex organizational change
• Proven ability to identify and develop new revenue opportunities, strategic partnerships, grants, auxiliary enterprises, and alternative funding models
• Strong analytical and listening skills in understanding and monitoring how institutional financial and operational processes impact students, with focused attention on under-resourced students, students of color, adult learners, and first-generation students
• Strong communication skills with direct reports and staff members, senior team-level colleagues, the president, Senior Vice President and board members
• Oriented to building effective relationships and making things happen
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout all levels of the organization
• Demonstrated accomplishments in maintaining administrative/financial controls while actively supporting entrepreneurial initiatives and translating complex financial information into clear, actionable insights for non-financial audiences
• Strong knowledge of public sector accounting/financial management involves expertise in governmental accounting principles (e.g., SFFAS, GAAP), budgeting, and compliance to ensure transparency, accountability, and efficient public resource management
• Effective interpersonal, organizational and communication skills

Onondaga Community College