Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer

Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia invites applications and nominations for the position of vice president for finance and administration and treasurer.  Located on a picturesque 100-acre campus, it is a nationally recognized, private, residential, liberal arts and sciences institution that is number 16 among the top 50 green colleges named by the Princeton Review and is on Money magazine’s list of best colleges. It has 684 students, most of whom are full-time residential undergraduates, 361 employees including 71 full-time faculty and 163 full-time staff, an operating budget of $32 million and invested assets of $161 million of which $153.3 million is the endowment and only $19 million of debt.

The next vice president must understand and be supportive of the mission of liberal arts colleges and be comfortable working transparently in partnership with the senior administration and the faculty in an environment which respects shared governance. The vice president reports directly to the president and is a key member of the senior staff.  The position is responsible for ensuring the College’s fiscal integrity and operational efficiency through effective administration and direction of its financial and physical resources and activities.  The vice president supports four key Board committees: finance, investments, audit, and buildings and grounds. Reporting directly to the vice president are the director of finance and budget, director of buildings and grounds, chief technology officer, campus store manager, Aramark director of food service and the director of the nursery school.

With a population of nearly 80,000 people, Lynchburg, is bordered by the Blue Ridge Mountains. A growing college town, Lynchburg is home to Randolph College, Lynchburg College, Liberty University, Central Virginia Community College, and the Virginia University of Lynchburg. The University of Virginia in Charlottesville is only an hour away. Lynchburg was recently ranked 24th out of 200 major metro areas in Forbes magazine’s 13th annual “Best Places for Business and Careers.” The city was also featured among National Geographic’s top 21 Editor’s Picks as a standout “adventure town.” The city and the surrounding localities offer excellent public educational systems; many major cities are within driving distance, including Washington, D.C., Richmond, and Roanoke. Lynchburg has commercial air service at the Lynchburg Regional Airport and also an Amtrak station.

Randolph College is gearing up to begin a new strategic planning effort. The new vice president will be a key player in the development of the plan. The vice president must have the ability to leverage the resources available to balance the needs of administration, faculty, staff, and students as well as those of the operating and capital budgets. The new vice president must be strategic and be able to think outside the box.

Randolph College must right size its budget for its current undergraduate enrollment and provide resources to support new programs primarily at the graduate level. The vice president for finance and administration and treasurer must develop a business plan that leads to a long-term healthy financial equilibrium where resources are appropriately aligned with student needs and demands.

Be Entrepreneurial

The new vice president will need to leverage all college assets including auxiliaries and summer use of the campus. The new vice president needs to be entrepreneurial and work to develop new revenue sources to support the core mission of the College.

Help Increase Undergraduate Net Tuition Revenue

The College needs to increase net revenues from undergraduate enrollment. The new vice president must be a partner with the vice president for enrollment management in developing strategies to accomplish this goal over the long-term. The vice president must be well versed on various pricing and discounting strategies to add value to this critical area of the College.

Fundraising and Endowment

As the College continues to reengage with its alumnae and alumni and ramp up its fundraising activities, the vice president for finance and administration and treasurer must partner with the vice president for institutional advancement to promote giving to the College. The vice president also must promote the strategic use of the endowment.

Efficient, Cost Effective Operation of the College

The new vice president must review the operations of the College to ensure that they are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible. S/he should review all processes to see if there are areas that can be reengineered in ways that will allow for greater economies of operation.

Develop a Proactive Plan to Promote Continuing Campus Development

The vice president for finance and administration and treasurer will need to ensure effective long-term planning and financing for campus development. 

Provide Leadership to the Finance Division

The vice president must have excellent management skills to lead the high performing finance and administrative division of the College.

Gain Trust and Communicate Effectively with the Campus about Financial Issues

The vice president for finance and administration and treasurer must be able to gain the trust of the campus and communicate clearly and effectively with all constituencies about the financial situation.

Provide Exceptional Customer Service to the Campus

The new vice president must insure that all areas of the division are customer focused in its dealings with students, faculty, staff and others.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS

The next vice president for finance and administration and treasurer should be an exceptional financial and administrative leader with superior analytical, management, communication, and interpersonal skills, and knowledge of the higher education landscape. S/he will be a key partner in the College’s enrollment strategy and will be expected to have an understanding of how to most effectively use the endowment and tuition pricing and discounting to support increased revenue. The vice president should enjoy working collegially with all constituencies at the College and be comfortable working with a diverse staff.  The next vice president should be courageous, honest, patient, calm, decisive and have a sense of humor.

The next vice president must have at least ten years of leadership accomplishments in progressively more senior financial management roles, with at least some of it at a college or university.  A bachelor’s degree is required and a CPA, MBA or other advanced degree is preferred.  For additional information about the position, please download the position profile.

Procedure for Candidacy

Applications (including a cover letter, resume and the names and contact information of four references) should be uploaded to: http://lapovsky.hiringthing.com. Nominations, confidential inquiries and questions concerning this search may be directed to Lucie Lapovsky at randolph@lapovsky.com or 917-690-1958. Review of applications will begin immediately and candidate material received by March 24th will be assured full consideration although recruitment will continue until an appointment is announced. Randolph College is being assisted by Lapovsky Consulting in this search.

Randolph College is an equal opportunity employer.