Director of Finance and Operations

Urban Prairie Waldorf School on Chicago’s Near West side seeks a Director of Finance and Operations.   We seek an innovative thinker who is disciplined in both thought and action, is both collaborative and decisive, and will support our pedagogical goals and priorities. The school is in the second year of a new governance structure, and the Director of Finance and Operations position is core to our leadership team.

We welcome persons of color to apply. We are a diverse community of families, 40% non-white, the largest minority of which are our heritage Spanish-speaking Latinx families. The diversity of our faculty and staff also is growing (~25%) and would like very much for our leadership and administration to reflect the diversity of our city and of our current and future students.  

UPWS offers a solid compensation package, including a competitive salary structure, medical, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401K benefits, and annual professional development.

 Responsibilities

Finance:

•     Maintain current, accurate financial records of operations and the financial position of the school.  Create, provide, and maintain monthly reports.
•     Oversee and lead annual budgeting and planning process in conjunction with the senior leadership team and Board. 
•     Create and execute annual operational plan.  
•     Manage cash flow effectively, monitor and maintain internal control structure.
•     Prepare, implement, and manage operating, capital budgets, and Annual Plans.
•     Oversee financial protocols and contracts for alternate streams of revenue.
•     Serve on the Finance Committee for the Board of Trustees. 
•     Provide expertise in data analysis and informed decision making. 
•     Process payroll.
•     Track and monitor all sources of income. Manage billing and payment processing.  Take necessary action on delinquent accounts as advised by the Finance Committee. 

Operations:

•     Hire, manage, monitor, and assess operations staff.
•     Manage relationships and contracts with key external vendors.  
•     Create and implement campus safety and risk management protocols. 
•     Develop annual budget around facility maintenance and improvements.

Candidate Qualities and Capacities

•       Ability to set priorities, organize, analyze, work independently, meet deadlines, problem solve, initiate business practice innovations and multi-task.
•     Strong interpersonal skills to work effectively with multiple constituencies, such as faculty administrators, volunteers, parents, students, board members and contract workers.
•     Ability to think strategically at the 10,000-foot level allowing the organization to grow and shift to meet industry demands.
•     Commitment to understanding diversity in our school community and our surrounding neighborhood community and bringing this as part of our students’ education.  
•     Ability to work in a collaborative manner in an environment of mutual support.
•     Flexibility and a growth mindset.
•     Commitment to personal and professional growth.
•     Strong verbal and written communication skills