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The School District of Philadelphia · 15 hours ago

Director, Charter Schools - Finance

Charter, Partner & New Schools (9JV0), United States

Full-time

Onsite

Lead/Staff, Director/Executive

$86K/yr - $111K/yr

5+ years exp

The School District of Philadelphia is committed to transforming educational opportunities for its students. The Director, Charter School Finance leads the financial assessment and management of charter schools, ensuring fiscal health and compliance with state regulations.

Career PlanningEducationTraining

Responsibilities

Informs the ongoing development and refinement of the Charter Schools Office’s (CSO) Financial Health and Sustainability Domain for assessing and evaluating the financial health and sustainability, and fiscal management of charter schools

Evaluates the financial health and sustainability of charter schools, calculating standard ratios and metrics as well as charter sector averages

Conducts ongoing research and regulatory reviews to ensure that established financial measures of performance and standards for performance are consistent with authorizing best practices, public finance requirements and non-profit generally accepted financial practices; makes recommendations to senior leadership minimally on an annual basis regarding industry trends

Assesses adherence of individual District-authorized charter schools to generally accepted standards of fiscal management, including internal controls, conflict of interest, and the appropriate exercise of fiduciary duties

Develops written, publicly available reports detailing financial outcomes of charter schools based on the Charter School Performance Framework

Evaluates critical areas of charter school organizational compliance, including food, health, and safety, through assessment of various charter school reports, data and policies

Communicates regularly with charter leaders, auditors and business managers regarding financial and organizational outcomes and areas of concern; reviews, evaluates and calculates sector-level performance based on annual audited financial statements of individual charter schools and leads follow-up with charter schools regarding audit findings

Develops recommendations on charter school outcomes and compliance

Briefs senior leadership on charter school financial performance and areas of concern regarding financial or organizational performance

Supports implementation and ongoing development of an intervention system including notices of concern, probationary status, et cetera; identifies charter schools warranting escalation and develops preliminary Notices of Concern or Deficiency based on financial performance or certain aspects of organizational compliance

Tracks and reports on unmet PSERS obligations and works directly with Special Finance to ensure appropriate withholding from charter schools to support the District’s financial health and ensure timely recoupment of funds

Serves as the primary CSO liaison to the District’s Finance Office

Helps develop and disseminate best practices to educate internal and external stakeholders

Participates in efforts to promote equity and transparency in charter school operations

Provides key supports for general authorizing functions, including new charter applications, annual monitoring, renewal evaluation, and charter amendments

Assumes the lead responsibility for financial and budget review and evaluation of all new charter applications and charter amendments, as necessary

Participates as a team member in charter school renewal and monitoring visits primarily to assess and evaluate organizational compliance and financial health and sustainability performance of a charter school

Serves as the CSO’s subject matter expert in charter school financial monitoring and keeps abreast of related current research, trends, methods and practices; when appropriate, provides internal training for authorizing staff related to financial performance metrics or the CSO performance framework and generally accepted standards of fiscal management

Performs other responsibilities within charter monitoring and oversight as required

Qualification

Financial analysisBudget formulationFiscal managementPublic school fundingExcel proficiencyReport writingStakeholder communicationProblem-solvingProject managementInterpersonal skills

Required

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major concentration in education, education leadership or policy, public or urban policy, finance, accounting, or business

Seven years of full-time, paid, professional experience, three of which have included working with or in schools and has involved at least one year of supervisory responsibilities

OR Master's degree from an accredited college or university with a major concentration in education, education leadership or policy, public or urban policy, finance, accounting, or business

Five years of full-time, paid, professional experience, three of which have included working with or in schools and has involved at least one year of supervisory responsibilities

OR Any equivalent combination of training and experience determined to be acceptable by the Office of Talent

Demonstrated knowledge of public school funding and the PA charter school funding formula

Demonstrated knowledge of the principles of fiscal and business practices

Demonstrated knowledge of the principles and practices of budget formulation, evaluation and administration

Demonstrated knowledge of office management methods and record keeping practices and procedures

Demonstrated knowledge of standard indicators of financial health

Demonstrated knowledge of generally accepted standards of fiscal management/GAAP

Demonstrated knowledge of Excel and/or other software applications to create financial spreadsheets

Demonstrated ability to prepare accurate, succinct and complete narrative and statistical reports

Demonstrated ability to work on multiple projects and issues concurrently

Demonstrated ability to support administrators in the attainment of District goals and objectives

Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage competing assignments

Demonstrated ability to write technical/analytical documents as well as translate these documents for layperson audiences

Demonstrated ability to analyze financial statements, including CAFRs

Demonstrated ability to develop solutions to complex problems

Demonstrated ability to create new systems and processes with or without technology

Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment and discretion in applying and interpreting policies and procedures

Demonstrated ability to meaningfully interact with a variety of stakeholders, internal and external, with a range of knowledge regarding financial and organizational school performance

Demonstrated ability to communicate and display data sets through multiple avenues and formats

Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing

Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships