Senior Director, Strategic Finance

About the role

The Strategic Finance team at College Board is seeking a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) leader to join our dynamic and collaborative team. This is a full-time, remote position with the option to work in a hybrid model.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the subject matter expert on expense management, ensuring accurate tracking, reporting, and forecasting of expenses.
• Analyze expense trends across divisions and fiscal years, and identify opportunities for efficiency improvements and reinvestments that support our mission.
• Collaborate with finance business partners to develop and manage budgets, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and sharp tracking of returns on key investments.
• Forecast personnel expenses in partnership with HR and department leads, incorporating staffing plans and compensation changes.
• Implement a consistent, transparent process for corporate allocation of shared expenses across departments.
• Provide financial modeling and scenario analysis to support strategic decision-making.
• Lead and manage a team of select finance business partners that are expense experts for their portfolios.
• Set vision and priorities for the team; track and manage progress to goals; and provide coaching, thought partnership, and performance feedback to ensure team members deliver excellent work, remain engaged, and contribute meaningfully to our mission.
• Cultivate an inclusive and high achieving culture that enables all team members to live out College Board’s Operating Principles.
• Become a solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement, with a willingness to iterate and adapt; the ability and willingness to both teach others and learn from colleagues.
• Design, test, implement, and maintain financial tools and software to enhance reporting accuracy and efficiency, often in collaboration with the Finance divisions’ Operational Excellence team.
• Provide oversight and ownership of budget structure and reporting setup in AdaptiveDrive, continuous improvement in financial processes and systems, leveraging technology and best practices.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics or related technical field preferred
• 12+ years of relevant and progressive experience in FP&A roles, with a focus on expense management plus finance business partner experience; extensive experience in financial modeling and quantitative analyses
• A strong understanding of corporate finance
• Experience with financial planning systems preferred, especially Workday and Adaptive Planning
• The ability to succinctly summarize complex financial analysis, present key findings to senior management, and influence decisions
• Project management skills and the ability to prioritize and independently manage multiple time-sensitive projects
• A solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement, with a willingness to iterate and adapt; the ability and willingness to both teach others and learn from colleagues
• Advanced MS Excel, PowerPoint, and Word skills. Proficiency in other Microsoft Suite Tools or a willingness to learn.
• Exceptional attention to detail
• A passion for expanding educational and career opportunities and mission-driven work
• Evidence of skills and mindsets required to live out College Board’s Operating Principles
• The ability to travel 4-6 times a year to College Board offices or on behalf of College Board business
• Authorization to work in the United States

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics or related technical field preferred
• 12+ years of relevant and progressive experience in FP&A roles, with a focus on expense management plus finance business partner experience; extensive experience in financial modeling and quantitative analyses
• A strong understanding of corporate finance
• Experience with financial planning systems preferred, especially Workday and Adaptive Planning
• The ability to succinctly summarize complex financial analysis, present key findings to senior management, and influence decisions
• Project management skills and the ability to prioritize and independently manage multiple time-sensitive projects
• A solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement, with a willingness to iterate and adapt; the ability and willingness to both teach others and learn from colleagues
• Advanced MS Excel, PowerPoint, and Word skills. Proficiency in other Microsoft Suite Tools or a willingness to learn.
• Exceptional attention to detail
• A passion for expanding educational and career opportunities and mission-driven work
• Evidence of skills and mindsets required to live out College Board’s Operating Principles
• The ability to travel 4-6 times a year to College Board offices or on behalf of College Board business
• Authorization to work in the United States

Skills

• Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
• Budget Management
• Expense Management
• Financial Modeling
• Financial Reporting
• Team Management
• Consolidated Reporting
• Systems Development

Benefits

At College Board, we offer a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Annual bonuses and opportunities for merit-based raises and promotions
• Mission-driven workplace where your impact matters
• A team that invests in your development and success

Pay

The hiring range for this role is $120,000–$190,000/year. We adjust salaries by location to ensure fairness, no matter where you live. Below, we’ve offered an estimated range for a variety of metro areas throughout the United States:

• New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC and Los Angeles: $155,000-$190,000
• Austin, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Denver: $138,000-$172,000
• Atlanta, Miami, Iowa City and most other locations throughout the Southeast and Midwest: $120,000-$160,000

Schedule

This is a fully remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office).