Position: Director of Finance 
Start Date: April 1, 2025 

Urban Academy is a rapidly growing independent school in New Westminster located in a beautiful facility across the street from Braid Street Skytrain Station. At Urban Academy our staff, students and families are connected through learning, inspired by community and empowered to contribute as we work toward our vision of truly educating for tomorrow. We value creativity, collaboration, global citizenship, technology, the outdoors and the arts as means through which we can offer excellence in education.

Urban Academy is seeking a skilled financial professional with experience as a Controller or Finance Director to lead and support the school’s financial operations and contribute to the execution of its long-term strategy.

Position Overview: 

The Director of Finance will play a critical role in overseeing the school’s financial health, ensuring sustainability, and driving strategic growth. This role involves managing the school’s financial planning, budgeting, accounting, and reporting processes on a day-to-day basis. The Director of Finance works closely with the Head of School, the Board of Directors, and other key stakeholders to align financial goals with the School’s Mission, Vision and strategic objectives.

The Director of Finance is responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of accounting, treasury management, debt financing, donations, financial reporting, audit, budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, internal controls, and risk management. 

The ideal candidate will possess strong analytical skills, a collaborative mindset, and the ability to roll up their sleeves while supporting senior leadership in making informed, strategic decisions.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership

– Collaborates closely with the Head of School and the Board of Directors, providing the necessary resources to allow Leadership and the Board to fulfill their mandates.
– Engages the Finance Committee of the Board to develop short, medium, and long-term financial plans and projections.  
– Advises the Head of School and the Board on all financial matters, providing recommendations on financial sustainability and growth.
– Collaborates with the Senior Leadership Team, Team Leaders, and the Board to ensure financial reports are understood and acted upon appropriately while considering the financial implications of decisions.
– Represent the School with financial institutions, auditors, public officials, and other key stakeholders, etc.
– Liaises with partner schools locally and nationally, to better understand the wider educational landscape, including members of ISABC and CAIS to develop best practices and promote Urban Academy.
– Champions diversity, equity and inclusion at the school by reviewing the allocation of resources, and contributing to policies that enable all students and staff members to have equitable opportunities to thrive.  

Financial Reporting and Accounting

– Ensures timely month-end close.
– Ensures timely and accurate financial reporting in accordance with GAAP, school policies, and best practices.  
– Ensures the preparation of all financial reports, including income statements, balance sheets, reports to the Board of Directors, information returns, and reports for government regulatory agencies and school associations on a timely basis.
– Tracks actual results to budget and investigates any significant variances.
– Provides oversight and management of the annual audit process.
– Remains up to date on accounting and audit standards legislation. 
– Implement and maintain financial systems.

Budgeting and Forecasting

– Works with the Senior Leadership Team, and the Head of School to develop the 5-year financial strategic plan and presents the plan, with others, to the Finance Committee and Board of Directors.
– Studies long-range economic trends and projects school prospects for future growth in enrollment, other business opportunities, or expansion into new areas.
– Develops and utilizes forward-looking, financial models and financial analyses to provide insight with regard to major capital projects and renovations. 
– Manages annual budgeting and periodic re-forecasting as required by the Head of School and the Board. 
– Recommends annual tuition increases based on long-range strategic financial plans and benchmarking.
– Prepares financial portion of CAIS (Canadian Association of Independent Schools) benchmarking information.

Capital Management

– Works with the operations team to develop a long-range capital plan for facilities and IT.
– Oversees the management of capital reserves, monitors capital deployment, and reports deviations against the plan back to the Head of School.
– Works with banks to ensure sufficient credit facilities and maintains relationships with the School’s banker.
– Recommends, plans, and coordinates negotiations for the purchasing, selling, leasing, renting, and disposing of capital assets.
– Responsible for treasury/cash management.
– Creates cash flow projections.
– Oversees the short and long-term investment strategy.
– Responsible for debt financing.

Compliance

– Ensures compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
– Develops and maintains financial policies and procedures.
– Participates in school policy development as a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
– Ensures School assets are safeguarded implementing internal controls and monitoring effectiveness thereof.

Management

– Works with Senior Bookkeeper to help provide leadership, guidance, support, motivation and team-building tactics for the Finance office. 
– Manages all accounting functions, including tuition billing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, general ledger management, and regulatory reporting.
– Manages the Senior Bookkeeper and ensures training is adequate; manages staff performance and appraisal process for Senior Bookkeeper.
– Ensures the Finance team maintains a superior customer service focus (towards internal and external customers).

Risk Management

– Working with the Senior Leadership Team and school leaders to manage and enhance our risk management program. 
– Collaborates with the Head of School, Senior Leadership Team and school leaders to mitigate financial risk and ensure resiliency.
– Annually review the school’s insurance program to ensure that it meets the school’s needs, limits exposure, and offers appropriate value.
– Helps develop Strategic Risk priorities in collaboration with the Head of School, SLT and the Board of Directors.

Human Resources

– Oversees the HR portfolio as required, including managing the school’s HR plan, developed by the Head of School, with a focus on recruitment and retention strategies to ensure Urban Academy attracts and develops top talent.
– Oversees payroll and benefit programs and conducts an annual review of salaries and benefits based on benchmarking and other key markers, and makes recommendations to the Head of School.

Qualifications:

The Director of Finance will be a seasoned and mature leader with at least 5+ years of broad finance experience. They will ideally have experience managing finance (accounting, budgeting, control, and reporting) for a complex nonprofit, and have experience developing sophisticated financial models for capital projects, building, expansion, and new system rollouts.

– Minimum of 5+ years of experience in financial management, preferably in an educational or non-profit or related setting.
– Recognized Accounting designation.
– Excellent team leadership skills.
– Excellent knowledge of accounting principles and standards, financial reporting, and budgeting processes.
– Proficiency with accounting software and financial management systems, including Excel and Google Sheets. Familiarity with the Google Suite of applications is a plus.
– Experience working within a database system is an asset.
– Excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
– Strong interpersonal, collaboration, problem solving and communication skills, with the ability to convey complex financial information to non-financial stakeholders.
– Experience working with Boards.
– Experience with investment fund management and debt administration is an asset.
– Experience with purchasing and commodity tax matters.
– Experience with accounting for capital project costs and forecasts.
– Integrity & Confidentiality: Strong ethical standards and the ability to handle sensitive financial data with discretion.
– Attention to Detail: Accuracy in managing financial data, reporting, and ensuring compliance.
– Adaptability: Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic school environment and adapt to changes in the educational and financial landscape.
– Commitment to the school’s Mission and Values, with a passion for supporting educational excellence and an ability to represent the school effectively to parents, donors, and the broader community.
– Excels at driving change within a relatively structured environment.
– Excellent EQ skills and the ability to work collaboratively with all key stakeholders.
– The ability to think outside the box with regard to creating efficiencies as it relates to financial processes and procedures.
– Possesses an entrepreneurial spirit to support a growing organization.

Working Conditions:

– Full-time, on-campus, year-round position. Hybrid options are to be negotiated.
– Expect periodic high-demand deadlines.
– Occasional evening or weekend work may be required for meetings or events.
– Support is available for professional development and continuous learning.

 Urban Academy provides:

– Competitive Compensation at a salary range of $135,000 to $165,000  inclusive of vacation pay and commensurate with years of experience    
– Open and collaborative culture   
– Comprehensive benefits package   
– Matching RRSP program  
– Personalized professional development plans   
– Newly built inspiring campus setting     
– Innovative and progressive approach to teaching   
– Low student/teacher ratios 

At Urban Academy, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce by ensuring a barrier-free work environment. We welcome applications from all qualified job seekers, from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour), persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ (persons of all sexual orientations and genders). If you are an applicant with a disability, we will work with you to make reasonable workplace accommodations you may need for your best work performance.

Application Process:

Please visit our website (www.urbanacademy.ca) to learn more about UA’s wonderful school life and see if this is the type of environment that you feel you could thrive in, and contribute to.

Interested candidates are invited to submit a resume, cover letter, and three references to [email protected] by December 20, 2024. No phone calls please, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. We appreciate your interest in this position and thank all applicants for applying.

We thank all applicants in advance for their interest, but only those candidates who are short-listed will be contacted.  Interviews will take place beginning February 3, 2025, with an earliest starting date of April 1, 2025.