Chief Finance Officer (Wilmington)

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Wilmington Learning Collaborative provided pay range

This range is provided by Wilmington Learning Collaborative. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range

$125,000.00/yr - $140,000.00/yr

Direct message the job poster from Wilmington Learning Collaborative

Educator. Systems Interrogator. Change Architect.

Description

The Wilmington Learning Collaborative (WLC) is a voluntary network of schools in Wilmington, Delaware across multiple school districts. Currently composed of nine unique school communities representing three local public school districts, the WLC serves approximately 3,000 students in PreK through 8th grade. The Collaborative’s goals are to create consistency for students, empower educators, school leaders, and communities, and improve outcomes for students in city of Wilmington schools.

In the summer of 2023, the Council hired the inaugural Executive Director, Dr. Laura Burgos, to actualize the goals of the WLC. Over the past year, Dr. Burgos has led a teaching and learning analysis of WLC schools, identified three Big Shifts , and laid the foundation for collaborative structures across schools and districts. The WLC’s leadership team is equity-focused, future-oriented, and unapologetic in removing barriers to success for students and teachers. Their collective goal is to ensure that WLC schools have the resources, services, and relevant support needed to accelerate student achievement through investing in educator practice.

Summary of the Role

The Chief Finance Officer (CFO) reports directly to the Executive Director and will manage a total FY2026 budget of $18M, with approximately $7.5M in operational funds and $10.8M in programmatic funds disbursed through school district partners. This leader will design and implement an organizational spending plan that supports the WLC executive team in reaching its shared goals. The CFO is a critical member of the executive leadership team and provides strategic leadership in support of ensuring fiscal sustainability for the WLC as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. This leader will manage all financial operations, including invoicing, expense reporting, reimbursements, budget forecasting, and internal/external financial reports. This includes managing all WLC contracts and vendor financial relationships, working in collaboration with school district finance offices, and monitoring the success of WLC as a fiscally responsible nonprofit entity. This includes developing a three to five year budget strategy, and exploring diversified funding streams, i.e. grants, philanthropic support. The CFO serves as a liaison between the WLC and district partners, and serves as the WLC's budget manager, aligning budgetary allocations with WLC goals. As the organization’s main fiscal agent, the person in this role must bring a strong background in education and/or nonprofit finance. Their success will be dependent on their ability to articulate a compelling narrative around WLC spending and outcomes, approaching the work as a self-starter and a creative problem solver, who can help bring understanding to a complex system and bridge gaps when conflict and misunderstanding arises.

Scope of Work and Responsibilities

• Develop and/or update financial operations manuals, presentations, fact sheets, and messages - in various multimedia formats - for the Executive Director and other key officials to use as needed to highlight the work of the WLC.
• Generate and disseminate standard financial reporting to stakeholders.
• Design and implement internal systems, processes, and tracking systems for all operational and programming spending, building upon current BILL and Quickbooks platforms. This includes building out a robust tracking system for school and district use of WLC funds.
• Comply with any audit requests regarding state funds, consulting with the WLC Council to arrange for appropriate auditing contracts of WLC funds using GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Rules).
• Communicate with various governmental agencies to ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency around spending priorities and WLC needs.
• Consult with the Executive Director, Council, and school leaders to develop strategies and recommendations that will ensure responsible stewardship of state funds.
• Under the direction of the Executive, interface extensively with the Council and Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) members to support WLC sustainable funding efforts and provide expertise and recommendations to Council members.

• Comfort with delivering feedback to peers, partners, and other stakeholders, and sharing unpopular opinions.
• Able to read the room, navigating the competing interests and motivations of others, while acting with integrity in a politically complex environment.
• Maintain confidentiality when trusted with sensitive information, data, and background context.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Able to lead complex and difficult tasks transparently and effectively.
• Exhibit deep understanding of the intricacies of an urban school system and the political nature of the work, and the complexities of teaching and the tools/supports necessary to improve student outcomes.
• Analyze complex, nuanced data from multiple angles and exercise judgment in making critical decisions and communicate the implications to diverse audiences.
• Exhibit critical thinking skills with an ability to analyze data, identify trends and diagnose root causes; then establish goals, metrics for success, and track results.

Equity Lens

• Demonstrate belief that each student can achieve at the highest levels; hold self and others accountable for promoting high expectations for the academic achievement of WLC schools.
• Lead courageously and intentionally to seek the voices of marginalized and historically silenced communities to invite diverse input regarding decisions that impact stakeholders directly.
• Engage in transparent decision-making and share with stakeholders how their input informs district decisions.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field, i.e. finance, public policy, education, nonprofit management, accounting , etc.
• MBA or other Master’s level relevant degree or advanced training in project management preferred.
• CPA strongly preferred.
• Deep knowledge of State of Delaware Procurement procedures.
• Experience with school district, government, and/or non-profit finance, including understanding of RFP processes, procurement of purchase orders, accounts receivable, etc.
• Minimum of five (5) years of full-time, paid, professional experience in a broad-reaching operations role with responsibility for internal operations and fiscal management.
• Experience working in a diverse, urban setting is required. Experience in a mid-sized metropolitan school district and/or state education agency is preferred.
• A proven record of success in strategy development and tactical execution of organizational processes, procedures, and initiatives.
• Proven cultural-competence skills with a history of inclusive and relevant equity practices.
• Ability to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity in times of tremendous change, and to prioritize work efforts to achieve WLC mission.

This is a full-time, onsite position located within a shared office space. Our team is colocated with DSU employees and nonprofit staff. At times, WLC employees are afforded the opportunity to work remotely, i.e. when schools and district offices are closed. Generally speaking, the team is expected to be in the office or in the field at least 95% of the time. We are piloting a four-day summer work week, Mondays through Fridays, from July 1 through August 15.

Salary range for this leadership position is $125,000 to $140,000 and commensurate with prior experience. In addition, a comprehensive benefits package will be included in the ultimate offer for the identified sole finalist. We look forward to discussing details with you as the interview process progresses.

Please email a resumé and compelling cover letter to . Your cover letter should detail how your values, aspirations, and experiences make you an ideal candidate for this work. Initial interviews will begin early July.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Executive

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Finance and Sales

• Industries

  Education

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