Director of Finance Analysis and Evaluation (Immediate Opening)

Director of Finance Analysis and Evaluation

Role Mission: The Finance Team strives to support the leadership at IDEA as we work together to meet and exceed our ambitious financial and student achievement goals.  The Director of Finance Analysis and Evaluation will report to the Vice President of Treasury and support the Finance Team regarding execution on operational and strategic issues within the area of treasury and cash management, including portfolio investment decisions and commercial banking business operations and relationships. Additionally, the Director of Finance Analysis and Evaluation will ensure major programs and staff composition are evaluated each year to identify potential cost savings and support leaders during the planning process.

Accountabilities

1. Achieve annual operating income goals to ensure long term financial stability for IDEA Public Schools across all network entities.

•          Partner across Finance functional areas to ensure national, regional and campus leaders understand the importance of financial results and their responsibility as IDEA Public Schools fiduciaries, support them in making real connections to their functional work through development programming and resources highlighting key elements of monthly and annual financial results on an entity and regional basis

•          Provide insights and data connections to support in the educating leaders regarding financial position, compliance and key performance indicators.

•          Revise and build resources and professional development based on trends and organizational need especially as circumstances change and new policy focus, funding streams or investment areas develop.

•          Attend, engage in, and sometimes lead Finance Lead Team operating mechanisms including weekly tacticals, strategy meetings and monthly statement review meetings to ensure appropriate communication and support for evaluation project findings and recommendations.

•          Implement Team/School Finance Report Cards detailing financial goal attainment and performance in finance compliance areas in partnership with Finance Team functional areas.

Measurable Goals: Achieve the operating income target by the end of the fiscal year across all entities.

2. Evaluate program performance relative to investment

• Evaluate areas of investment risk modeled after Internal Audit risk analysis
• Establish annual evaluation plans assessing no fewer than ten major areas of investment through individual transactions or in aggregate, in addition to a review of marketing investment and full-time equivalent ratios across national teams in IDEA Texas and IPS Enterprises
• Establish appropriate national or regional financial benchmarking to support evaluation
• Report risk assessment and annual evaluation plan to internal stakeholders and Finance and Audit Committees across fiduciary boards
• Report return on investment evaluation results by the second quarter of each fiscal year to support the strategic planning process
• Ensure all return-on-investment evaluation reports include clear and actionable recommendations for functional area teams and leaders, and functional area team responses
• Identify organizational cost savings through return-on-investment evaluation plan
• Identify long-term vacancies, relative ratios across teams in areas such as administrative support and mid-level management, roles that are duplicative or no longer strategically aligned, and functional area or compliance coverage gaps through the full time equivalent (FTE) evaluation
• Partner with functional teams and key partners such as the Research and Development Team and Internal Audit to collect evaluation supporting data

Measurable Goals: Complete return on investment evaluations prior the second quarter of the fiscal year. Identify 1% in organizational cost savings per fiscal year.

3. Improve the Finance Team customer service model and results

• Establish improved methods to determine Finance Team customer service results through maintainable mechanisms such as periodic surveys and qualitative data collection
• Partner with the Chief Financial Officer to revise customer service philosophy and service level agreements
• Design programming directed towards the Finance Team improving the end user experience, focusing on the Finance Team customer service philosophy and service level agreements
• Establish clear reporting mechanisms for all customer service data points, report data and insights during weekly tactical and check-ins
• Ensure Finance Teams are meeting help desk ticket system goals related to timely responses and customer satisfaction by region
• Build strong accountability mechanisms and standard operating procedures better defining the appropriate response in various helpdesk ticket circumstances such as timeline pauses or referral to other functional teams

Measurable Goals: 95% Zendesk Customer service by the end of the fiscal year by region with no more than 5% breached Tickets.

90% of organizational leaders agree they have what they need to stay in financial compliance and meet their goals.

85% Business Clerk Retention.

4. Live Values of IDEA

• Believes and is committed to our mission: that all students are capable of getting to and through college
• Is driven by outcomes and results, and wants to be held accountable for them
• Has a propensity for action, willing to make mistakes by doing in order to learn and improve quickly
• Thrives in an entrepreneurial, high-growth environment; is comfortable with ambiguity and change
• Seeks and responds well to feedback, which is shared often and freely across all levels of the organization
• Works through silos and forges strong cross-departmental relationships in order to achieve outcomes
• Embodies IDEA’s core values 

Competencies:

• Mission Focus – focuses on IDEA’s core purpose of getting all students into college
• Communication – displays exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal skills
• Problem Solving – able to synthesize, analyze, and prioritize information to develop strategies for achieving goals and objectives
• Continuous Improvement – proactively identifies opportunities to improve and consistently reflects on past actions to guide future decisions
• Judgment - prioritizes conflicting needs; handles matters expeditiously and follows through on projects to successful completion, often with deadline pressures

Qualifications:

• Education: (Required) Bachelor's degree in accounting, business administration, or economics

(Preferred) Master’s degree in accounting, business administration, or economics

• Experience:(Required) 3+ years’ experience in finance leadership or treasury

(Preferred) 5-7 years’ experience in the above

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, specifically Excel and Enterprise Resource Planning Software
• Certifications (if applicable): n/a

Knowledge and Skills:

• Ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders of varying degrees of analytical understanding
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills
• Constantly searching for and learning more regarding analysis methods and tools
• Organizing work, coordinating projects, setting priorities, meeting deadlines
• Using initiative and independent judgment within established policy and procedural guidelines
• Hold ethics and values to high standards

Compensation:

Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $82,000 and $100,900, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity. This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on individual and organizational performance and goal attainment.

Additionally, we offer medical, dental, vision, and supplemental benefits, as well as retirement plans and a generous vacation package. You can find more information about our benefits at https://ideapublicschools.org/careers/benefits/.

* IDEA may offer a relocation stipend to defray the cost of moving for this role, if applicable.