Vice President, Finance and Operations

General Summary:

The Vice President of Finance & Operations oversees all aspects of YoungArts finances and operations. Operations includes IT and facilities management (engineering, custodial, landscaping, security, and general property management). Reporting to the President & CEO and serving as a key member of senior leadership, the Vice President will be responsible for advancing YoungArts approach to financial and operational management and executing on YoungArts strategic direction during a period of high growth and national expansion. The Vice President will manage a team of ten staff and oversee relationships with a number of external vendors and consultants. This is a great opportunity for a proven leader with strong analytic, finance, and operational skills to contribute to a mission-driven organization in the arts.

Essential and Other Responsibilities: (performs other duties as assigned)

Strategy, Vision and Leadership

• Advise the President & CEO and other key members of the executive leadership team on financial planning, budgeting, cash flow, investment priorities, and policy matters.
• Serve as the management liaison to the board, real estate task force, finance & investment and audit committees; effectively communicate and present critical financial matters at select board of trustees and committee meetings.
• Contribute to the development and execution of strategic goals, objectives and KPIs as well as the overall management of the organization.
• Maintain continuous lines of communication, keeping the President & CEO informed of all critical financial and operational issues.
• Represent the organization externally, as appropriate, particularly in banking and negotiations.
• Play a strong strategic role in designing and implementing processes, frameworks, systems and reporting that allow us to capture and utilize timely and accurate data across the business to make better decisions.
• Contribute to key strategic decisions, including how and whether to pursue opportunities to extend YoungArts work, helping to chart and model out potential economic models for different options.
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in interactions internally and in approaches to processes such as vendor selection.

Team Development/Leadership

• Provide leadership and direction to the Finance, IT, and Operations teams, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality.
• Ensure staff members receive timely and appropriate training and development as it relates to finance and operations practices.
• Establish and monitor staff performance and development goals and KPIs, assign accountabilities, set objectives, establish priorities, conduct annual performance appraisals, and administer salary adjustments.
• Mentor and develop staff using a supportive and collaborative approach: monitor and evaluate results.

Operations

• Work to continually assess and upgrade YoungArts approach to internal controls, compliance with accounting standards, and other relevant finance policies and practices.
• Ensure that YoungArts is adhering to the strategic plan, delivering status reports to the President & CEO and board.
• Provide analytical support to the internal management team including development of internal management reporting capabilities.
• Improve administrative and accounting services such as treasury management, grants payment processing and accounts payable.
• Oversee all financial operations including the annual budget process, forecasting, financial reporting, and auditing, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of financial data.
• Oversee the preparation of GAAP compliant quarterly comparative financial statements with variance analyses for review and discussion at quarterly Finance Committee meetings.
• Oversee the completion of the monthly closing of internal financials and the preparation of departmental P&Ls.
• Work closely with the Advancement department to support contract negotiations and revenue.
• Manage relationships with external auditors, tax professionals, corporate tax planning professionals, payments and record keeping vendors.
• Manage corporate liability, property and workers comp insurance policies.
• Direct information technology for the organization, overseeing relationship with IT vendors and implement IT strategies that support the organizations plans for a nationally distributed workforce across multiple U.S. cities.
• Oversee the management of IT infrastructure, ensuring reliability, security, and scalability to facilitate programmatic expansion, in-person and virtually.
• Collaborate with the Senior Director, Organizational Growth and Development to:
  • Strategically plan for and identify locations for future work hubs across multiple U.S cities and allocate required resources.
  • Evaluate and quantify the impact of growth and change initiatives.
  • Mitigate risk by ensuring compliance with all employment laws and regulations.
  • Ensure accurate payroll administration and 401(k) account management.
• Work closely with legal support for contract review and management.
• Ensure the campus and facilities are operational and safe.

Safety Responsibilities

• Adhere to all policies pertaining to physical safety and security.
• Report any potential or actual violations to Security.

Qualifications and Experience Requirements:

To be successful in this role, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as key strategies toward creating and supporting safe spaces that promote empathy, a sense of belonging, and humanity to foster the greatest potential for innovation, creativity and collaboration across all teams.
• Minimum 10 to 15 years experience in a senior management role ideally with both external audit and in-house financial management experience gained in a high-growth organization
• Experience either as an employee or board member of a nonprofit organization preferred; must be familiar with nonprofit finance and accounting regulations
• Proven track record of success facilitating progressive organizational change and development within a growing organization
• Excellent judgment and creative problem-solving skills including negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• Strong mentoring, coaching experience to a diverse team with varying levels of expertise
• Entrepreneurial team player who can multitask
• Superior management skills; ability to influence and engage direct and indirect reports and peers
• Self-reliant, good problem solver, results oriented
• Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills and the ability to effectively interface with senior management, board of trustees, and staff
• Ability to operate as an effective tactical and strategic thinker
• Proficient in Blackbaud systems and Excel
• Passion for the YoungArts mission

Education and/or Credentialing Requirements:

• Business or Accounting degree mandatory; an MBA and/or CPA are required
• Experience beyond requirement will be considered in lieu of education requirement

Working Conditions:

This position is hybrid/remote with the potential to be fully virtual. Some travel will be required.