"Vice President and Chief Financial Officer"

Franklin College seeks an experienced, innovative and dynamic leader to serve as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (VP/CFO). The VP/CFO will serve as the college's chief strategist on matters related to budgeting and finance and will bear primary responsibility for the non-academic operations of the college, managing directors and professional staff within various areas of administrative responsibility across the campus. The VP/CFO is a cabinet-level position reporting to the college president.

Since its founding in 1834, Franklin College has provided students with a quality education in the liberal arts, preparing them for meaningful careers. The Franklin College experience is founded in close, personal relationships between its outstanding teaching faculty and the approximately 1,000 students it traditionally serves. Franklin has strong academic programs in a wide range of disciplines and recently implemented a reimagined curriculum centered around high-impact learning experiences through which students develop a holistic skill set, grow in their professional development and workplace preparation and pursue their academic interest with undergraduate research opportunities. The curriculum builds a support system with faculty and staff, and complements classroom learning with immersive experiences.

The vice president requires expertise and a record of accomplishment in finance, budget and operations. The position offers a broad array of leadership opportunities and challenges in the additional areas of physical plant, human resources, risk management, security, legal affairs, and IT services.

The successful candidate must be committed to the unique mission of the private, liberal arts and sciences experience and capable of approaching with confidence and enthusiasm both the opportunities and challenges of today's higher education landscape. As a member of the senior leadership team, the vice president will contribute to the management of the institution toward the goals of its long-range plan.

The successful candidate will have five or more years of experience in higher education budgeting and finance and be well-versed in the trends and best practices of the industry. The candidate will have:

• a proven record of developing and implementing comprehensive, multi-year capital and operating budgets;
• fluency in the use of a wide variety of financing techniques, financial forecasting, ratio analysis, policy analysis, data analysis, program evaluation and cost-benefit analysis;
• excellent speaking, writing, and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate a vision effectively to all constituencies and to explain complex financial information to diverse stakeholders;
• capacity for overseeing IT services, coordinating legal affairs, human resources, and security, and strong contract negotiation skills for working with outsourced vendors;
• strong decision-making abilities, balanced with empathetic listening skills and a sense of humor; and
• the ability to work with the president in providing inspiring and visionary leadership that can advance the future of Franklin College.

Specific duties and qualifications, along with additional information about the position and the Franklin College, can be found in the leadership profile.

The search committee will accept nominations and applications on a rolling basis. Applications will be received and considered until the position is filled. For best consideration, application materials should be submitted by March 27, 2026.

Applications must include a letter of interest, addressing why the applicant is interested in this position and how the required qualifications are met, a resumé and five professional references with email addresses and telephone numbers (references will not be contacted without prior authorization from the applicant). All applications will be handled in confidence. Applications and nominations should be sent electronically to the AGB Search application portal: bit.ly/4kbO3oO

Nominations and expressions of interest for the position of Vice President and Chief Financial Officer are encouraged. Please direct them to FranklinVPCFO@agbsearch.com or to the AGB Search consultants listed below:

Margaret Plympton, Ed.D.
Principal
AGB Search
margaret.plympton@agbsearch.com
484.554.4542

Rene Stewart O’Neal
Executive Search Consultant
AGB Search
rene.o'neal@agbsearch.com
202.604.0258