Finance Director, Charter Schools, ONPS - 26074

Finance Director, Charter Schools supports the Office of Nonpublic and Charter Schools (ONPCS), which oversees more than 1,100 nonpublic and charter schools serving 370,000 students across all five boroughs. NYC Public Schools (NYCPS) acts as the district for all charter schools in New York City, providing operational, systems, and facilities support to over 282 charter schools. The role also serves as the fiscal pass-through agent for charter per-pupil and New York State charter funding streams.

Responsibilities

• Supports the management of the day-to-day work of the finance team, ensuring transparent and timely disbursement of payments to each charter school based on accurate student enrollment counts.
• Manages the pass-through of New York State Textbook Law (NYSTL) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds to charter schools.
• Supports budget and procurement tasks.
• Contributes to the determination of “big-picture” implementation strategies and corresponding finance strategies; supports clear work process flows.
• Develops and oversees project timelines, milestones, and deliverables with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Contributes to the development of analytical tools and algorithms to support efficiencies.
• Troubleshoots operational problems as they arise at individual schools, identifying early warning signs of financial problems.
• Liaises with the Division of Budget Operations and Review (DBOR) and Division of Contracts and Purchasing (DCP) to ensure appropriate and timely allocation of funds and to respond to inquiries from NYSED.
• Contributes to the preparation of high-level reports and presentations for the Chancellor, NYCPS Cabinet members, and other groups on behalf of the Senior Executive Director.
• Interacts with other NYS charter authorizers regarding fiscal issues and concerns.
• Troubleshoots, problem-solves, and anticipates issues affecting charter schools in development and ongoing operation.
• Manages the communication of best practices, e.g., reference guides, memos, and training manuals.
• Provides ad hoc NYSED and senior leadership requests and projects.
• Prepares and writes correspondence as necessary.
• Manages other sensitive projects as needed.

Requirements

• Minimum: A master’s degree from an accredited college in economics, finance, accounting, business or public administration, human resources management, management science, operations research, organizational behavior, industrial psychology, statistics, personnel administration, labor relations, psychology, sociology, human resources development, political science, urban studies, or a closely related field, or a Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school, and two years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in budget administration, accounting, economic or financial administration, fiscal or economic research, management or methods analysis, operations research, organizational research, program evaluation, educational/personnel/public administration, recruitment, position classification, personnel relations, labor relations, employee benefits, staff development, employment program planning/administration, labor market research, economic planning, fiscal management, or a related area. Eighteen months of this experience must have been in an executive, managerial, administrative, consultative, or supervisory capacity, including supervising staff performing professional work in the areas described above.
• Alternative: A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory full-time professional experience as described above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, consultative, or supervisory experience.
• Education and/or experience equivalent to the above may be considered. Graduate education in areas other than those mentioned may substitute for professional experience (but not for the 18 months of managerial experience) at the rate of 15 graduate semester credits for 6 months, up to a maximum of 1 year. All candidates must possess a baccalaureate degree and 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, consultative, or supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree in business, management, accounting, public policy, economics, education, or related fields.
• Management experience with working knowledge of public education, public charter schools, and/or interest in public education.
• Experience in financial management and governance structures of nonprofit organizations.
• Project management experience and problem-solving skills related to gathering, organizing, analyzing, and presenting data.
• Ability to anticipate, initiate, and prioritize projects in a rapidly-changing environment.
• Deep understanding of all NYCPS systems, including Galaxy, FAMIS, EIS, etc.
• Skilled in group problem-solving and working with complex concepts in a dynamic setting.
• Excellent data analysis and presentation skills; strong statistical and analytical skills.
• Excellent writing, editing, and communication skills; ability to organize facts and present information clearly and concisely.
• Excellent interpersonal skills in dealing with education and non-education personnel internal and external to NYCPS.
• Attentive to detail; extremely well-organized.
• Customer service orientation.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet frequent and changing deadlines; ability to solve organizational roadblocks.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 applications.

Pay

$102,286 - $125,000 (Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not earn less than their current salary.)