Associate Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Key Responsibilities

• Direct and oversee financial activities and controls, protecting and facilitating the growth of the University’s financial and capital assets.
• Collaborate with the President and executive leadership team to develop and monitor the University’s strategic net tuition growth plans and annual budget.
• Maintain and update financial models that analyze and track enrollment and net tuition revenue, non-tuition revenue, and expenses to update budgets and forecasts.
• Partner with academic and enrollment leadership to recommend annual tuition, fees, financial aid targets and pricing for residential contracts and meal plans.
• Collaborate with Institutional Advancement to help set fundraising priorities.
• Develop and monitor the University’s multi-year financial model and benchmarking reports to measure financial position and support the University’s ongoing financial health and sustainability.
• Foster a culture of budget management leadership, guide investment strategy, and oversee compliance with financial reporting requirements.
• Prepare and present financial updates and financial policy recommendations to the Board of Regents and the Board’s Finance Committee; collaborate with committee chairs to lead and facilitate Finance, Investment, and Audit committee meetings, including developing agendas, preparing minutes and materials.
• Manage the University’s debt portfolio and banking relationships; ensure timely debt service payments and compliance reporting. Prepare and present materials for annual surveillance and rating calls with rating agencies.
• Oversee and analyze monthly cash inflow and outflow results and project and manage future liquidity and line-of-credit borrowing needs.

Luther Seminary Services

• Provide regular financial reports for the Seminary’s executive leadership team, including risk and opportunity analyses related to initiatives or issued being addressed by the leadership team.
• Prepare and present financial updates to the Luther Seminary Finance Committee and to the Board of Regents/Board of Directors as a whole; lead Finance Committee meetings and distribute minutes and materials to committee members.
• Develop annual budget for review by leadership and formal approval from the board. Maintain a multi-year operational and financial projection that provides clarity about the financial outcomes of strategic decisions and initiatives.
• Manage the relationship with auditors, tax service providers, and banker representatives. Ensure appropriate compliance reporting.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer to guide asset allocation, endowment spending, drawdown analyses, and other strategic matters.

Team Leadership

• Provide strong leadership for the Augsburg finance and accounting team, supporting professional growth and collaboration across the department. Ensure appropriate policies, procedures, and internal controls, as well as timely and accurate month- and year-end close processes.
• Provide leadership, guidance and oversight of management reporting, financial planning and credit card program management tasks performed by Financial Analyst.
• Oversee the Augsburg Student Account team, responsible for student billing, collections, and student debt policies and practices.
• Provide work direction and mentoring for Luther Seminary controller and business office personnel.

Qualification & Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, accounting, finance or related field.
• Ten (10) or more years of progressive financial management responsibility in higher education or similarly complex organization, with at least five (5) of those years in a finance leadership role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or Doctoral degree in business administration, public administration, or related field preferred.
• Certified Public Accountant licensure (active or inactive) strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Demonstrated competence in financial reporting and internal controls, development of financial and budget planning models, and benchmarking tools.
• Proficiency with financial database management systems, reporting tools, ERP systems and Microsoft Office suite.
• Strong written and oral communication skills. Demonstrated analytical skills and the ability to synthesize complex data for a variety of audiences.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and networking skills with a proven track record of building effective relationships across functional areas and with external and community partners.
• Record of integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness; demonstrated ability to lead high-performance teams and to prioritize in a fast-paced environment with superb attention to detail.
• Ability to work effectively in a diverse work environment.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• A generous 403(b) matching program with an employer contributions of up to 8% upon eligibility
• Up to 100% tuition remission for employees, spouses and dependents, and participation in the Tuition Exchange program with colleges and universities throughout the US
• Generous paid time-off, including 14 paid holidays, 12 sick days, 2 community service days, and vacation of up to 22 days per year immediately upon hire
• Employer-paid STD, LTD and life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for all employees