Director of Finance

OVERVIEW 

To view the position description in its entirety, please visit: https://nbss.edu/

America's first trade school, NBSS is a welcoming institution recognized both nationally and
internationally for learning excellence. Its spacious, 64,000-square-foot facility is located in Boston’s
historic North End neighborhood, the community in which it was originally founded 140 years ago.
Today, the school continues to bridge opportunity and demand by training the next generation of
traditional tradespeople using time-honored methods and skills while also creating rewarding, life-long
careers. NBSS offers a range of accredited and non-accredited courses including professional career
training programs, skill-building classes and experiences, public programs, exhibitions, community
partnerships, and more.

NBSS recognizes that its success has been built on the strength of its faculty and staff: committed
professionals achieving great results in teaching, student support, administration, and fundraising. A
vital opportunity to support their efforts has emerged as the School looks to meaningfully invest in its
people and bolster its systems. The new Director of Finance (Director) will be responsible for building
up the infrastructure necessary to promote a thriving, highly engaged, and productive environment at
NBSS, reinforce collaboration and integration, and ensure that the School’s resources make it
possible for faculty, staff and students to do their best work.

Reporting to the Senior Director of People and Operations, the Director will oversee finance,
accounting, and reporting activities for an $8M budget as well as reporting on its $29M endowment.
They will serve as the senior advisor and partner to the President, Provost, and Board of Directors in
all financial activity including annual planning and budgeting; and ensure that NBSS has the systems
and workflows in place to support outstanding program implementation and mission attainment.

The Director will also be charged with identifying new opportunities to improve efficiencies and
respond proactively to department needs. This includes partnering with the Development team as
they report out to corporate and foundation funders, and with the Provost’s office particularly during
financial aid cycles each semester to ensure that payments and reimbursements are administered
properly and efficiently. They will need to analyze the existing processes to ensure compliance and
mitigate risk, work closely with senior administrators to streamline financial operations, leverage new
information technology, and establish standard processes that provide maximum benefit to all parties
involved, including students.

NBSS seeks a seasoned professional with creativity, enthusiasm, self-motivation and energy. They
should be able to quickly contribute in a meaningful way as a highly effective and engaged partner to
senior leadership; use the utmost discretion in all presentations, correspondence, and communication
with staff, faculty, Board of Directors, and President; and be able to thrive in a small team
environment, where members “roll up their sleeves”, to deliver practical internal support to
colleagues and students.

The desired candidate will bring finance and accounting experience in a mission-driven, growth
environment along with a quick-thinking, flexible, and inclusive approach that appreciates the need for
consensus while driving progress against stated goals. They will embody systems thinking, able to
shift between strategy and execution - translating ideas to tactics that affect targeted outcomes. They
must also bring the cultural fluency, kindness, customer-service orientation, and authenticity
necessary to represent the institution and serve as a key liaison to its audiences.

RESPONSIBILITIES

FINANCE MANAGEMENT
● Manage all aspects of finance and accounting: financial statements, general ledger, cost
accounting, AP/AR, invoices, budgeting, tax compliance, inventory accounting, and revenue
recognition.
● Comply with all local, state, and federal laws regarding finances, tax filings, and reporting.
● Maintain internal controls and safeguards for receipt of revenue, costs, and program budgets
and actual expenditures.
● Build and maintain a documented system of finance, accounting, and administrative policies to
support program operations.
● Prepare quarterly/annual financial reports and manage fiscally responsible quarterly/annual
budgets and forecasts.
● Advise on financial analyses and strategic decision-making regarding forecasting, contract
negotiations, significant costs, benchmarks, and similar strategic matters.
● Consistently analyze financial data and present financial reports in an accurate and timely
manner; clearly communicate monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements.
● Define, benchmark, and implement financial best practices.
● Monitor progress and changes and keep senior leadership informed of NBSS financial status.
● Partner with the Senior Director to staff the Audit Committee.
● Prepare and organize financial statements for record and review and coordinate all audit
activity including the annual 990 process.
● Ensure compliance and reporting for grants, collaborating with the Director of Development
and supporting program audits and grant writing activities.
● Manage organizational cash flow, forecasting by working in partnership with the administrative
and program directors.
● Manage and track the performance of invested assets in keeping with policies and investment
guidelines.
● Stay informed about changes in accounting standards for nonprofit organizations.

FINANCIAL AID
● Manage all full-time student accounts, collections, including payment plans and disbursement
of financial aid, with support from the Academic Administrator.
● Reconcile Title IV disbursements to student accounts with COD data from the Financial Aid
Office on a monthly basis.
● Manage Federal G6 system as the primary user and ensure Federal Funds bank account is
segregated for G6 cash drawdowns only, including return of Title IV funds.
● Interface with counselors at the Department of Veterans Affairs to arrange receipt of veteran
education benefits to appropriate student accounts.
● Manage refunds of payments to third party payers, including the VA and private lenders, and
scholarship provided in accordance with NBSS and organization refund policies.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
● 5+ years of progressively responsible finance and/or accounting experience in an educational
setting or nonprofit with a similar finance structure.
● Exceptional knowledge of finance, accounting, budgeting, cost accounting and cost control
principles, internal controls, and GAAP.
● Prior work with federal funding and reporting, or the willingness to learn and develop a skillset
in Federal Student cycle and compliance and reporting requirements, specifically in the areas
of Title IV cash management and disbursement.

Analytical ability to develop and implement improvements or recommendations including
experience implementing automated accounting systems.
● Detail-oriented with excellent project management skills, including the ability to handle
multiple tasks and deadlines.
● Lives the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion with the ability to express these through
day-to-day work.
● Ability to build sincere relationships with a variety of internal partners with whom no direct line
supervision exists, as well as external individuals from board members to volunteers.
● Impeccable discretion in handling all matters of confidentiality.
● Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or business administration, or equivalent business
experience. CPA or CMA is helpful.
● Experience with QuickBooks, Raiser’s Edge, and Blackbaud is helpful.
● Gravitas paired with kindness and professional integrity to effectively represent and promote
NBSS externally at the highest levels.
● An appreciation for trade and craft and an understanding of the unique nature and mission of
North Bennet Street School.

To express interest in the position, please submit application materials consisting of a resume and
letter of interest to nbss-df@pearlstreetcollective.com.