Vice President, Program Finance - American Institutes for Research

Established in 1946, with headquarters in Arlington, VA, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance and capacity building services in the U.S. and internationally in health, education, workforce development, and social and community development. AIR’s mission is to generate and apply evidence to contribute to a better, more equitable world. In alignment with our mission, AIR provides services to and works in partnership with a growing roster of clients and stakeholders, including federal, state, regional, and local organizations, foundations, and AIR’s own Equity Initiative.

AIR is seeking an experienced Vice President, Program Finance to join our dynamic team. The Vice President, Program Finance position plays a key role in steering and optimizing all client-facing financial functions and is at the forefront of AIR's financial strategy, ensuring robust compliance, operational efficiency, and alignment with the goals of AIR. This Vice President position offers a unique opportunity for a seasoned financial leader to make a substantial impact on the financial health and strategic direction of AIR, contributing to our institution’s mission of advancing evidence and improving lives.

This position can work hybrid from any of AIR’s U.S. office locations and must be able to travel as needed.

As a key member of the leadership team, the incumbent will be responsible for financial oversight of a diverse portfolio of approximately 700+ Federal, State/Local, Foundation, Commercial, and International contracts and grants as well as operating division indirect cost management. Responsibilities of the Vice President position include:

Client-Facing Financial Leadership:

• Oversee and lead all aspects of financial support to AIR’s client- and internally-funded projects, including client-directed audits, financial reviews and negotiations with clients regarding key institutional financial policies and practices.
• Ensure compliance with applicable funder, U.S. and international governmental and institutional financial regulations, policies, requirements and goals.
• Manage approximately 40 domestic and international finance team members responsible for financial management and accounting, project billing, cash receipts, financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting and cost control for international and domestic projects including fixed price and cost reimbursable contracts and federal and commercial grants.

Project Management:

• Ensure the effective execution of financial processes over the project portfolio life cycle including compliant setup in AIR’s financial systems, project data and reporting quality control and project closeout activities.
• Manage and advance the institution’s project budgeting and forecasting system and related processes including pulsation of changing industry best practices and institutional information needs.

Business Development Support:

• Develop and promulgate institutional financial pricing policy and guidelines to the proposal development team.
• Collaborate with business development and pricing teams to provide financial insights, strategies and support to the proposal development effort.
• Lead a cross-functional team to develop, execute and maintain various forms of operational  presence in various foreign countries.  Develop a risk-informed strategy to meet requirements related to taxation, compliance reporting, audit, and mandatory filings. 

Strategic Financial Planning:

• Provide business and risk management advice to senior executives and operations staff, contributing to strategic decision-making.
• Play a key role in financial planning and analysis for all components of the organizational financial plan including revenue, direct cost components, gross margin, divisional indirect costs, contribution margin and cash flow.
• Provide solutions to unique market cost and pricing idiosyncrasies while maintaining compliance with funder and applicable regulatory requirements.

Leadership in Mergers, Acquisitions, and Business Combinations:

• Advise and support the leadership team regarding mergers, acquisitions, and business combinations.
• Lead major due diligence efforts, ensuring comprehensive financial assessments, report results, assessments and recommendations to the executive leadership team.
• Oversee post-close program finance-related integration efforts to ensure a seamless transition and realization of synergies.

Team Development and Management:

• Lead, mentor, and develop the program finance team to enhance their skills and capabilities, fostering a collaborative and high-performing yet nimble team with a ‘can do’ mindset.

Regulatory Compliance:

• Ensure compliance with all relevant financial regulations, program accounting principles, and government requirements. This includes remaining current on changes in regulations that may impact financial operations. Financial Risk Management:
• Develop and implement strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate financial and project execution risks associated with the institution's projects and operations.

Benchmarking and Continuous Process Improvement:

• Periodically benchmark AIR’s program finance-related processes, policies and systems against industry and peer best practices
• Identify and implement process improvement initiatives to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of financial operations.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Considerations:

• Stay informed about emerging ESG trends and integrate relevant considerations into financial decision-making processes.

Education, Knowledge, Skills, and Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, or a related field with relevant professional certification (CPA, CMA) or a master's degree (MBA). 
• Substantial experience in financial leadership roles at a senior level, with a demonstrated track record of success in financial management and strategic decision-making at a growing global organization.
• Strong understanding of the nonprofit sector, and experience with federal, state/local, foundation, commercial, and international funding mechanisms, and regulations; in depth knowledge of FAR, AIDAR, GAAP, and Uniform Guidance for Federal Awards is critical.
• Proven experience managing financial aspects of a diverse portfolio of contracts and grants, including expertise in project budgeting, forecasting, all aspects of the cash cycle and financial analysis.
• Experience providing financial insights and support in the development of project proposals.
• Recent experience in mergers, acquisitions, and business combinations, including due diligence efforts and post-close integration.
• Strong leadership and team management skills with the ability to mentor and develop a high-performance finance team.
• Experience in identifying, assessing, and mitigating financial risks associated with government and foundation-funded projects and operations.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively communicate financial information to diverse stakeholders, including senior executives and non-finance staff.
• Proven ability to contribute to strategic decision-making through financial planning and analysis, providing business and risk management advice to senior executives.
• Relevant, recent body of knowledge regarding financial systems and technology, and the ability to leverage advancing technology for process improvement and efficiency gains.
• A commitment to continuous process improvement and a proactive approach to identifying and implementing best practices in financial operations.
• High ethical standards and a commitment to upholding the institution’s values and governance policies.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic and changing environment, adapting to new challenges and opportunities.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate efficiently in a virtual work environment.

Disclosures:

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis. Employment-based visa sponsorship (including H-1B sponsorship) is not available for this position. Depending on project work, qualified candidates may need to meet certain residency requirements.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability.

AIR adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo reference and background checks.

AIR’s Total Rewards Program, is designed to reward our staff competitively and motivate them to achieve our critical mission. This position offers an anticipated annual salary of $240,000 - $260,000. Salary offers are made based on internal equity within the institution and external equity with competitive markets. Please note this is the annual salary range for candidates that are based in the United States.

AIR maintains a drug-free work environment.

Fraudulent Job Scams Warning & Disclaimer:

AIR is aware of individuals falsely presenting themselves as AIR representatives. Fraudulent job scams seek to extract sensitive information or money from victims. To protect yourself, please be aware that AIR recruitment will only email you from an “@air.org” domain. Please take extra caution while examining the email address, for example jdoe@air.org is correct and jdoe@aircareers.org is not a legitimate AIR email address. If you are unsure of the legitimacy of a communication you have received, please reach out to recruitment@air.org.

If you see a job scam, or lose money to one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also report it to your state attorney general. Find out more about how to avoid scams at ftc.gov/scams.

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