director, finance
The Sarah McLachlan School of Music (SoM) builds inclusive and barrier-free communities of musical learning where children and youth find their voice. With three locations spanning BC and Alberta, the school operates an inclusive, creative, curiosity-focused environment and a strong sense of community throughout.
The Director of Finance is a member of SoM?s leadership team that reports to the Executive Director. The position is responsible for all financial matters related to the Sarah McLachlan School of Music (SoM), The Sarah McLachlan Foundation (SMF) and The Friends of The Sarah McLachlan School of Music (FoM) including financial planning and forecasting. The main areas of focus include preparing financial statements and budgets; managing cash flow; overseeing payroll; managing employee benefits; insurance and risk management; utilizing forecasting models and conducting analysis.
The Director of Finance performs a critical role in supporting the upcoming endowment campaign, supporting organizational modernization initiatives and advancing a comprehensive approach to data analytics and decision making.
This position requires a hands-on, self-starter who thrives in a busy, self-directed environment and can work well both independently and as a part of the leadership team. The primary objective of this position is to strategically sustain the Sarah McLachlan School of Music (SoM).
Key Responsibilities:
- Working with the Development team to coordinate, accept and process all donations, including gifts in kind
- Supporting Development in the creation of grant budgets and creating grant budget to actual reports
- Overseeing the revenue to tax receipt reconciliation between Sage and Raiser?s Edge
- Providing tax receipting guidance to the Development Team, Board members and donors
- Supporting the Development Team in the follow-up of outstanding pledges
- Managing the accounting for the SMF?s investment accounts and endowment fund
- Leading budget planning and design
- Maintaining budgeting and forecasting models
- Supporting and understanding the ongoing development of Power BI reporting
- Preparing monthly and year-end financial statement dashboards for the Executive Director, SoM Board of Directors, and the SMF Board of Directors
- Reporting and reviewing budget to actual variances with Programming leadership
- Managing annual audits for all three entities
- Establishing finance team priorities; managing workload and capacity; and ensuring work is aligned with SoM?s goals and timelines
The role requires:
- 10+ years of progressive finance and accounting experience with an emphasis on working in non-profit organizations and supporting endowment campaigns
- Chartered Professional Accountant designation or relevant post-secondary degree or combination of relevant training, education, and experience
- Strategic and highly collaborative leader with significant experience, overseeing budgets and endowment campaigns
- Strong financial planning, analytical, and data-informed decision-making capabilities
- Exceptional communicator and relationship builder
- Adept at influencing key partners, leading change, navigating complexity with sound judgement and political acuity
- Skilled at building consensus across diverse groups
- Awareness of federal and provincial legislation affecting charities
This is a hybrid role, and because of this, candidates must have a home office situation comfortable for confidential tasks and must have the ability to commute to the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver, BC.
We recognize that a diversity of human experiences, perspectives, and identities greatly enhances the opportunity to grow, learn, and thrive as a community. We foster a diverse and inclusive staff in all aspects of the organizational structure and service delivery.
More information about the Sarah McLachlan School of Music is available at https://www.sarahschoolofmusic.com/
The salary range for this 35 hour per week position is $111,3