Controller

Background

Wagner College is a private liberal arts institution with professional programs in New York City. The College’s beautiful 105-acre campus on Staten Island is home to a close-knit community of 2,200 bright undergraduate and graduate students. Manhattan, with access to high-profile internships and urban adventures, is just a ferry ride away. The College’s nationally recognized academic program, the Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts, combines learning communities with experiential learning, internships, and research. Students graduate with the skills valued by employers. More information on the Wagner College Difference can be found here.

Summary

Wagner College invites nominations and applications for the position of Controller, the principal accounting, tax, and financial reporting officer of the College. The next Controller will serve as a strategic partner to the campus community and to Wagner’s Vice President for Finance and Administration/CFO during an exciting period of growth, system renewal, and process reinvention for the College.

Reporting to the Vice President for Finance and Administration/CFO, the Controller serves as Wagner’s principal accounting officer, overseeing financial and accounting functions to meet filing deadlines, reporting requirements, and budgeting goals. The Controller functions as a strategic partner to the VPFA, recognizing improvement opportunities and identifying and implementing best practices in order to benefit the College’s needs and improve daily operations.

The Controller will be a thought partner to the VPFA, responsive to the needs of faculty, staff, and trustees, and will identify opportunities and challenges and craft solutions to advance the College and its systems over the short and long term. The Controller will help to stimulate the very best thinking among the teams that report in, recognizing the primacy of the educational mission in all decisions. The Controller will lead efforts in the preparation and management of financial forms and statements, audits, compliance, risk management, fanatical forecasting, and the daily accounting functions of the institution. The next Controller will also be responsible for leading and mentoring talented staff members.

Responsibilities

Wagner seeks a Controller with a track record of successful accounting and financial operations leadership. The successful candidate will be an experienced accounting professional with a deep knowledge of accounting, tax, and financial reporting. In addition, the successful candidate will be an effective, communicative, and collaborative leader who can lead and develop a diverse team and who deeply values education.

Requirements

In addition, the successful candidate will possess many of the following experiences, capabilities, and personal attributes:

• At least five years of experience as an accounting professional; preference for experience in higher education or a public accounting firm with a higher education/nonprofit client base, or the equivalent.
• Ability to work collaboratively and to effectively lead and develop staff.
• Commitment to the value of diversity in the workplace.
• Strong organizational, analytic, interpersonal, problem-solving, project management, and customer service skills.
• Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing complex financial information to constituencies with varied levels of financial expertise.
• High level of professionalism, initiative, the ability to manage numerous deadlines simultaneously with an appropriate sense of urgency.
• Strong problem solving and creative thinking skills.
• Sound judgment and decision-making skills based on accurate and timely analyses.
• Strong presentation skills and the capacity to organize information.
• Demonstrated reputation for integrity and ethical standards, including the ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Strong understanding of tax codes and laws.
• Demonstrated experience performing functions and in the oversight of general ledger, fund accounting, accounts receivable, accounts payable, purchasing, payroll, plant/capital accounting, and tax preparation.
• Experience with accounting information and modern financial systems required (Jenzabar CX and Oracle experience preferred); experience with ERP implementation desired.

A bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five years of professional experience is required; an MBA or other advanced degree in accounting, finance, business, or a related field is advantageous, along with CPA certification. Experience from other sectors in addition to higher education is welcomed.

Compensation and Benefits

Commensurate with experience, the salary range for this role is $100,000-140,000. Wagner offers a generous benefits package.

How to Apply

Please send all inquiries, nominations, and expressions of interest, electronically and in confidence, to:

Ruth Shoemaker Wood, Managing Director
Brian Bustin, Senior Associate
Storbeck Search
WagnerController@storbecksearch.com

Wagner College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age or disability in the administration of its admission, employment, and educational policies.