Description

Southwest Christian School (SCS) is a Christ-centered, college-preparatory school in Fort Worth, TX. Founded in 1969, SCS has served approximately 1,000 students in grades Pre-K through 12 in a vibrant, faith-focused community. The mission of Southwest Christian School is to provide a Christ-centered, college-preparatory education that graduates young adults equipped as Christian leaders in the world—an enduring purpose that informs every decision the school makes and undergirds its academics, spiritual life, and community life. With a nationally recognized curriculum taught from a biblical worldview and enriched by weekly chapel, global learning opportunities, and strong extracurricular programs, SCS prepares students not just for college but for meaningful leadership and service in a rapidly changing world.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) reports directly to the Head of School and is a member of the senior leadership team.  This position works in close and regular collaboration with the Head, Board of Trustees, and senior administrators to ensure adequate financial and operational resources are available to support program excellence, provide strategic direction, and oversee matters related to the financial integrity of the School. Significant areas under the purview of the CFO include finance and accounting, annual budget, facilities and operations, capital renewal and project planning, life/safety, legal affairs, risk management, and related policies and procedures. The CFO must be an effective leader who can manage information, people, and processes. As such, she/he must be skillful in dealing effectively with a wide variety of issues, situations, and problems in collaboration with leadership, the Board, employees, and parents. The CFO must be able to produce consistently high-quality work, inspire, and motivate others to work toward School goals.

Essential Functions:

• Work closely with the Head of School and other senior staff in short- and long-term strategic planning; establish and maintain strong relationships with staff to identify their needs and seek a full range of business solutions.
• Partner with the Head of School and Board of Trustees to develop strategic plan, financial strategy and scenarios and long-range financial models.
• Oversee the development and management of the operating budget, including recommending tuition and fee schedules and salary increases.
• Lead the financial relationship with Board committees (Finance and Campus Master Plan) and Investment Subcommittee. Work closely with the committees and provide them with independent perspective on the organization’s finances, facility needs, budgeting, and strategic planning.
• Present financial reports at Finance Committee and Board meetings.
• Evaluate long-range economic trends and develop projections for future enrollment; research and provide analysis of opportunities for best use of campus, possible campus expansion, and alternative revenue strategies to strategically enhance financial performance.
• Supervise all business and financial operations of the school, ensuring efficient and effective processes are in place for tracking and managing the school’s finances.
• Develop, plan, and recommend necessary changes to current practices and procedures for proper financial and operational controls, prioritizing clear and ongoing communication from the business office.
• Directly manage cash flow and banking relationships including negotiation and utilization of credit facilities and cash management processes.
• Operate and/or supervise the business office, information technology, building and grounds, food services, and auxiliary programs.  Serve a key role in the employee and vendor contract processes as well as in legal matters and insurance.
• Oversee school-wide risk management, working with leaders across the organization to identify and mitigate risk, and ensuring proper controls and insurance coverage are in place.
• Work closely with Enrollment Management to develop a financial aid strategy and funding; including, but not limited to, shaping the financial aid program.
• Manage the preparation of monthly and annual financial reports, including the annual audit.
• Oversee collection of tuition revenue, purchasing, ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.
• Coordinate annual submission of data to DASL and other organizations as applicable.
• Represent the school at various regional and state associations relative to the role of CFO (TXCPA, NBOA, ACSI, NAIS).
• Assist with the development of roadmap for information technology to support the School’s Education Technology plan and programs.
• Serve as a liaison in connection with construction projects in process; assist in planning and managing all future capital improvement projects.
• Serve as liaison to public agencies, city, county, and state for issues of institutional concern.
• Lead the school through evaluation, selection and implementation of a new accounting platform in anticipation of a required change for the 2026-27 School Year.
• Assume other assignments as determined by the Head of School.

Requirements

• Dedicated Christian with an active membership in church who models Christian values, integrity, and spiritual leadership.
• BBA in Accounting or Finance from an accredited four-year institution.
• CPA or MBA is required.
• Mature servant-leader with at least 8 years of broad finance and operations related experience; background in an educational institution or not-for-profit is preferred.
• Creative, strategic, and forward thinker with experience in major institutional capital improvement projects highly desirable; ability to provide sound financial expertise to position the school for continued growth.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; strong organizational ability. Assured public presence and comfort level with faculty, staff, Board of Trustees, parents, and high-level donors.  Ability to communicate the case for support in lay terms to trustees and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated leadership ability, team management, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical/problem solving skills and the ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions based on accurate and timely analyses.
• Demonstrated ability to deal with unexpected events, uncertainty, and change management.  Ability to manage multiple projects across functions and timely resolution of issues.
• Excellent budgeting and financial reporting background; knowledge of not-for-profit accounting and regulatory reporting.
• Strong management skills and the ability to work closely with diverse groups of people, including employees at all levels, vendors, suppliers, and other outside professionals with whom the organization deals on a regular basis.
• High level of integrity, dependability, and sound judgement.