Chief Financial Officer

Job Description: INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE A Global Leader in Music and Performing Arts Education Berklee is the world's leading institution for the study of music, dance, and theater, offering transformative educational programs ranging from performance, production, and composition to business, education, music therapy, Black music and culture, and other disciplines. Its innovative curriculum blends contemporary and classical training with emerging technology and creative entrepreneurship, providing students with unparalleled resources to excel in their creative pursuits. Since its founding in Boston, Berklee has evolved into a global community, now home to over 8,000 students from more than 100 countries and connected by a network of 84,000+ alumni. Berklee offers undergraduate, graduate, pre-college, summer, and continuing education programs across its campuses in Boston, New York City, and Valencia, Spain, and through its award-winning online platform, Berklee Online. Berklee Global provides educational opportunities worldwide via the Berklee Abu Dhabi Center and an extensive network of partner schools located in 20 countries across five continents. Its youth outreach initiative, Berklee City Music, provides tuition-free music education to 4th-12th graders in underserved communities, partnering with organizations in more than 45 communities across America and abroad to serve 53,000+ students each year. Berklee's campuses serve as cultural centers, enriching their communities through thousands of performances, clinics, master classes, and other events each year. Across Boston campus venues such as the Berklee Performance Center, Red Room at Cafe 939, and the Boston Conservatory Theater, and at its institutional hubs in Valencia and Abu Dhabi, Berklee creates opportunities to experience just about any genre or style of performance imaginable, produced by exciting emerging artists and world-class talents"”the students, faculty, alumni, neighbors, and distinguished visiting artists who step onto Berklee stages every night. The institution's dedication to empowering the world's most inspired artists and creative entrepreneurs through arts education is reflected in the work of Berklee's students, faculty, and alumni"”who have earned more than 3,000 award nominations, received more than 300 Grammys and 100 Latin Grammys, and won numerous Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys. Berklee is proud to have cultivated one of the most accomplished and extensively connected alumni networks in the creative industries. Berklee graduates lead, innovate, and inspire across every corner of the global arts and entertainment landscape. Notable Berklee College of Music alumni include Quincy Jones, Gary Burton, Esperanza Spalding, Juan Luis Guerra, Terri Lyne Carrington, Charlie Puth, and Danilo Pérez. Prominent Boston Conservatory at Berklee alumni include Gabriella Reyes, Ebony Williams, Jonathon Heyward, and Mike Mosallam, to name only a few. Berklee is celebrated as the unrivaled global leader in music and performing arts education, consistently earning top honors from the Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Newsweek, and Playbill. From its world-renowned campuses to its innovative online programs, Berklee sets the standard for excellence, creativity, and influence in the industry. Berklee's YouTube channel is the most viewed college/university channel in the world, with more than 430 million views and over 1.65 million subscribers. Berklee has experienced significant growth over the past decade. The institution currently serves 7,608 undergraduate and 840 graduate students, as well as roughly 5,000 í  la carte, certificate, and pre-college students. This community is guided by 386 full-time and 769 part-time faculty members, supported by a staff of 899. As Berklee embarks on its next chapter, President Jim Lucchese, the institution's fifth leader, draws on his rich history of championing artists to drive student growth and foster innovation. In this transformative era, he is committed to realizing Berklee's strategic vision and reinforcing its status as a global leader in music education. Berklee is deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical disability, mental disability, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic which may be specified by law or institutional policy. For more on Berklee's commitment to diversity and inclusion, please see the Diversity Values Statement and visit Human Resources or the Office for Diversity and Inclusion . THE OPPORTUNITY Berklee invites applications and nominations for the Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"). Located in Boston, this senior leadership role will report directly to the President. Collaborating with academic and administrative colleagues across Berklee, the CFO will provide vision, strategic and operational finance leadership, and oversight of the Finance, Accounting, Budget, Real Estate, Facilities, Risk Management, and Business Services areas. To help realize its goals, Berklee seeks an innovative financial leader. Through a collaborative approach, clear and accessible communication, and strategic leadership, the CFO will work closely with diverse constituents across Berklee to extend and amplify Berklee's academic mission. The CFO will serve as a strong partner to the President, the Provost, the Executive Vice President, Board, and relevant committees. The CFO will lead all near- and long-term financial decision making. The CFO will have a global entrepreneurial mindset, serving as a key strategic leader in growing the sustainable impact and scale of Berklee's global network. They will be a systems thinker, overseeing complex financial units and implementing best practices and innovative uses of technology to strengthen and future-proof essential college financial functions. The CFO will have strong experience in facilities, space, and real estate planning with a demonstrated track record of executing on creative dealmaking and capital structuring that achieve the institution's long-term strategic objectives. The CFO will be a vital member of the Berklee community and will possess the communication and interpersonal skills to successfully connect and collaborate with a wide range of highly engaged stakeholders. They will bring a deep appreciation of the academic mission and uphold Berklee's culture of integrity. The successful candidate will bring an inclusive and facilitative leadership style that inspires and empowers staff, encourages open communication and collaboration throughout Berklee, and fosters innovation. Working with talented and dedicated staff within Finance, as well as faculty, staff, and administrative leaders across the organization, this leader will create and develop forecasts and long-term financial planning processes and analyses. The CFO will be an innovative and creative change agent who can navigate ambiguities and lead with a growth mindset in a complex environment, exercising a level of risk tolerance, particularly as they engage with leadership to steward Berklee's resources. The CFO will also be responsible for ensuring that all systems, processes, policies and procedures are technology-enabled, state-of-the-industry, and market-leading to support Berklee's ambitious goals. This is an exceptional opportunity for a proven financial leader to make a lasting impact on one of the world's leading arts institutions. POSITION SUMMARY Reporting to the President, the Chief Financial Officer will have overall responsibility for all financial aspects of the institution, including: accounting and finance; investments; budgeting and forecasting; facilities and real estate; risk management; and business services. The CFO provides direct support to the following committees of the Board of Trustees: Audit and Risk; Finance and Budget; Campus Planning; and Investment; and serves as a member of the Berklee Online Committee. The CFO serves as the Treasurer of the institution as provided in the Berklee bylaws. The position serves as a senior advisor to the president as a member of all relevant leadership bodies, including advising on strategic initiatives that will define the future of the institution. PRIORITIES Under the direction of the President, the Chief Financial Officer has responsibility for the near- and long-term financial health and sustainability of Berklee and each of its major offerings, playing a key role in new strategic initiatives, and managing revenues, expenses, assets, and liabilities. Cross-Institutional Leadership The CFO is part of a senior executive leadership team that directly advises the President and works closely with the Provost and Executive Vice President in strategically guiding Berklee's finances toward alignment with the strategic plan and other priorities of the institution. The CFO is a trusted advisor to the President on all business and financial matters; they are able to represent Berklee externally in business-related consortia or otherwise as needed by the President. They will also work collaboratively with various areas of Berklee to achieve goals, including the President's Cabinet, Council, and Academic Leadership. Strategic Financial Planning and Budgeting The CFO works closely with the President to lead financial planning with strategic planning and in alignment with the overall academic mission at Berklee. As part of long-term financial planning and the annual budget process, they review business plans, budgets, and new strategic initiatives. Considering the key drivers of Berklee's finances (i.e., enrollment, tuition, human resources, capital spending, and investment policies), the CFO develops a long-term financial plan and forecast that balances routine and strategic needs and ensures long-term financial sustainability. This plan informs the development of annual operating and capital budgets, in close coordination with the President and the Finance and Budget Committee of the Board. The operating budget for FY 2025 is $364 million. Ratings The CFO leads the development of pricing strategies and the effort to improve operating efficiencies and manage relationships with governmental bonding authorities, rating agencies, banks, and other agencies or institutions. In 2024, Moody's gave Berklee a rating of A2 with a stable outlook and the Standard & Poor's rating was A with a stable outlook. Real Estate and Facilities The CFO has responsibility for the strategic and operational oversight of all campus facilities, planning, and real estate. This includes approximately 1.2 million square feet of owned and leased property, all capital renewal projects, major renovation and construction projects, and a comprehensive maintenance plan. The CFO oversees the Facilities Division and the planning, programming, design, permitting, and construction of capital projects. Board Liaison The CFO serves as the primary liaison to Board committees on Audit and Risk, Finance, Campus Planning, and Investment, and other committees as directed by the President. Accounting and Controls Working in tandem with the Finance and Audit and Risk Committees of the Board and Berklee's external auditors, the CFO ensures the development and maintenance of a robust set of internal controls to support Berklee's long-term financial viability as well as the development of annual financial statements that accurately reflect the financial condition of the institution in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Investment Management Working with the President, the Investment Committee, and other consultants as may be determined by the Committee and the President, the CFO plays a key role in the effective investment of the Berklee endowment and pension plan. The endowment has grown over ten years at a 5.8% percent annualized rate of return to over $450 million in FY 2025, through a sound investment strategy, prudent operational management, and successful fundraising. Risk Management The CFO has responsibility for setting strategic priorities and providing oversight for risk management. They provide direct supervision of the Risk Manager, who develops, implements, and delivers risk management programs to provide consistent direction, policy, and procedures for a broad range of risk exposures. Supervision The CFO will foster a collaborative work environment that promotes inclusion, professional development, and performance excellence. Reporting directly to the CFO are the Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Real Estate, Facilities and Planning, Chief of Police, Director, Emergency Management and Business Continuity, Risk Manager, Project Manager, and an Executive Assistant. In addition, the CFO oversees a division of 60 full-time staff members. QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor's degree required; if it has been earned in a discipline unrelated to business, an MBA or other advanced degree in business is preferred. Strong candidates would excel in the following: Proven track record of strategic and operational financial executive management (i.e., finance, controls, systems, budget, accounting, audit, FP&A) in a comparable operation (higher education or other organization with comparable complexity, global perspective, and culture of creativity/innovation). Excellent at assessing, building and motivating a relatively new, talented team that has matured substantially while still requiring development and growth. Proven successes in process improvement and change management, particularly the intersection of technology + people + culture + process. Demonstrated and referenceable skill in applying a forward-looking, pragmatic view to sustainable changes. Mindful of technology lifecycles, market trends, and human-centered design principles of any tech-driven process changes. An architect of "this is how we can pull it off," with the proven ability to create innovative deal structures, likely applied to campus planning, student affordability, real estate, higher education innovation, application of technology, and asset-light global diversification of Berklee's footprint. This entrepreneurial mindset must extend to embracing and fostering an entrepreneurial, innovative spirit across the organization. Must be comfortable building new approaches, investing in new ventures and empowering leaders across the organization to do the same, while always holding themselves and others accountable to measurable goals as is central to every successful entrepreneurial culture. An executive-level representative of Berklee's values with the vision, communication skills, and empathy to serve as a trusted leader among a diverse community of faculty, staff, supporters, and trustees. Relationship-driven, culturally aware, celebratory of differences, and able to connect deeply with Berklee's mission and culture. Able to initiate and manage change with urgency while building consensus through trust. Can push hard enough to make an organization a little uncomfortable, but always with clarity in our goals and trust in the commonly desired outcome. Embraces relationship-building as the foundation of getting things done at Berklee. Ability to amplify our role as a cultural leader in Boston, while also maintaining an ambitious global mindset, with a track record of growing a global operation. In addition, candidates would be expected to demonstrate the following: Minimum of 10 to 15 years of progressive leadership responsibilities with a combination of experience in finance, accounting, budgeting and operations as well as significant experience in strategic, business, and financial planning. Ability and success in strategic and business planning, delivering operating results while ensuring funding for key strategic priorities. Solid foundation in accounting and controls; financial reporting, planning and analysis, and forecasting; legal/compliance; and in working with local-state-federal government agencies and rating agents. Playing a leading role in development, execution, and ongoing financial support of global strategies, ideally in higher education. #J-18808-Ljbffr

Created: 2025-02-05