Job Announcement: Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) welcomes applications and nominations for the position of Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer (VC/CFO). The VC/CFO provides leadership and direction for strategic financial planning, budget, financial management, capital programs, capital finance and real estate activities that maximize the impact of the University’s fiscal resources, touch every member of its community and advance each dimension of its mission.

The VC/CFO is the senior campus official responsible for leading UCLA’s financial planning and operations. They serve as the principal advisor to the chancellor, executive vice chancellor and provost (EVCP), the Academic Senate, and other senior campus leaders on a broad range of issues including strategic initiatives and programs; academic and budgetary planning; and allocation of campus funding, faculty, staff, space and development resources. The VC/CFO is responsible for ensuring the highest standards of fiscal integrity, transparency, and stewardship of financial resources and capital planning activities across UCLA.

The VC/CFO’s constituent units, each led by a direct report, are: Academic Planning and Budget (budget operations, program analysis, institutional research); Capital Finance; Capital Programs (design, planning, construction); Business and Finance Solutions (accounting, procurement, payables, treasury, payroll, tax, payment systems), Insurance and Risk Management; and Real Estate and Asset Management.

In addition to these operating units, the VC/CFO has functional responsibilities for overall asset and debt strategy and for contributing strategic perspective on campus funding needs to decisions made by the UCLA Foundation and its investment company about the management of endowment and gift assets. The VC/CFO also engages the investment staff at the UC Office of the President with regards to UCLA endowments managed on behalf of the Regents.

The VC/CFO is a co-sponsor of the Ascend 2.0 program, a multi-year initiative to replace legacy administrative applications with contemporary cloud-based solutions. In concert with the Office of the EVCP, the VC/CFO is also directing the implementation of the Bruin Budget Model, a responsibility-centered financial framework that will increase transparency and tie revenues and expenses more effectively together. The VC/CFO serves in an ex-officio role on the board of the UCLA Foundation, is a board member of the UCLA Investment Company and serves on other external boards at the request of the chancellor.

Externally, the VC/CFO interacts regularly with senior officials in the UC Office of the President; the UC Board of Regents; officials at other UC campuses and peer higher education institutions; federal, state and local government officials; and members of business, labor and civic organizations.

Reporting directly to the chancellor and executive vice chancellor and provost, the VC/CFO serves as a member of the Chancellor’s Executive Committee, Council of Vice Chancellors and other key internal committees. The VC/CFO forges key relationships with university leaders, including the provost’s senior team and the deans and their senior staff across UCLA’s schools and colleges, as well as faculty, students, and UCLA supporters and volunteers. Similarly, the VC/CFO engages leadership of the UCLA Health enterprise. Within UCLA’s highly distributed organizational model, the VC/CFO provides broad leadership over all UCLA financial affairs: the VC/CFO and their team work closely with the financial and business leads of the university’s schools and colleges and of central administrative functions such as the Office for Research, which has operational responsibility for research-fund accounting, Athletics, Advancement and Administration. The VC/CFO also actively consults with campus faculty on matters of resource allocation under the principles of shared governance, and seeks input and support from the leaders of the Academic Senate and the Council on Planning and Budget.

UCLA seeks a dynamic and innovative VC/CFO with a unique combination of leadership skills and the ability to plan and direct a complex set of administrative and support services advancing UCLA’s mission. Candidates must demonstrate vision, creativity and collaborative and managerial acumen, along with a strong commitment to UCLA’s public mission. Ideal candidates will have substantial financial leadership experience; strong visibility within the higher education community; knowledge of local, federal, state and university policies and procedures; familiarity with transformative trends in the field; aptitude and creativity to work within complex financial constraints and a changing regulatory environment; a keen ability to make high-impact business decisions with positive long-term consequences for the university; cultural fluency and relationship skills; and the capacity to exercise leadership at local, state and national levels. Preferred qualifications include at least 15 years of increasingly responsible experience with a proven track record in strategic administrative and operational leadership of a large, complex organization; comprehensive and thorough understanding of all elements of financial management, including strategy and business planning; an advanced degree; a record of advancing diversity; proven success in or aptitude for external relations; and a record of success in developing effective relationships with and among internal and external (business, government and community) organizations.

Situated on 419 acres, five miles from the Pacific Ocean, along with the newly acquired 36-arcre South Bay Campus, UCLA is enriched by the cultural diversity of the dynamic greater Los Angeles area, as well as the geographic advantages of Southern California. UCLA is an international leader in breadth and quality of academic, research, health care, wellness, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs, with nearly 47,800 students taught by approximately 5,200 faculty members in the UCLA College of Letters & Science and 12 professional schools. UCLA is consistently ranked among the top institutions nationally for research funding, having generated more than $1 billion in research grants and contracts annually in 11 of the last 14 years. It also features regularly in rankings of the finest universities in the world.

Confidential review of applications, nominations and expressions of interest will begin on July 14 and will continue until an appointment is made. To be ensured full consideration, candidates must provide a CV/resume and a letter of introduction that addresses the specific responsibilities, expectations and qualifications described in the position description, including the university’s commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. Please consult Opus Partners for more information about the application process. Confidential inquiries, applications and nominations should be submitted by email to Thomas Lapierre at Thomas.Lapierre@opuspartners.net or CFOSearch@conet.ucla.edu.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy.