Vice President for Business, Finance and Technology

Elon University seeks an accomplished, experienced, and nimble leader to serve as its vice president for business, finance and technology. The vice president for business, finance and technology will oversee and continue to strengthen the university’s financial and operational units to support its strong student-focused and learning-centered mission, commitment to excellent teaching, and spirit of innovation. Reporting to the university president, the vice president is a key member of senior leadership and supports senior staff and the board of trustees in financial and operational strategic planning and real-time decision-making.

Founded in 1889, Elon University has held its core values constant throughout its history: close working relationships between faculty and students, a culture that supports constant innovation, and a strong sense of community. Elon is a selective, mid-sized private university renowned as a national model for engaged and experiential learning. Students work closely with faculty who are dedicated to excellent teaching and scholarship. The curriculum is grounded in the traditional liberal arts and sciences and complemented by nationally accredited professional and graduate programs. Elon University’s success can be attributed to a stable team of strong leaders working within a collaborative, entrepreneurial culture in which new ideas are welcomed and frequently realized. Change is a constant, rooted in the university’s core commitments to excellence, student success through engaged learning, the teacher-scholar model, wise use of resources, and rigorous, flexible planning.

Today, Elon has just over 7,100 students – 6,291 undergraduates and 826 graduate students – from 46 states, the District of Columbia and 3 U.S. territories, and 49 countries. Global engagement is central to Elon’s experience and the Institute of International Education has ranked Elon #1 in the nation for study abroad for 15 straight years. Elon is ranked among the top-100 National Universities by U.S. News & World Report, with a #2 ranking for excellence in undergraduate teaching and #10 for innovation. In addition, Elon is the leader in the “Focus on Student Success” feature – the only college or university ranked in the top-20 in all eight categories of high-impact academic programs. Included are #1 rankings for study abroad and learning communities and #2 rankings for first-year experiences, senior capstone and service learning. Elon employs more than 560 full- and part-time faculty and 1,000 full- and-part-time staff. Elon sponsors 17 NCAA Division I varsity sports and is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association.

Elon University seeks an experienced vice president with broad knowledge of strategic financial and administrative operations in an organization of similar size, complexity, and creativity. The vice president has eight direct reports and oversight of many major operational units in the business, finance, and technology area, including: facilities management; information technology; auxiliary services; human resources, campus safety and police; architecture, design, and construction; finance (including controller and bursar functions); and internal audit. Elon’s division of business, finance, and technology has 425 staff across this diverse set of administrative units. The vice president works in partnership with the university provost on budget modeling, forecasting, and approval. In addition, the vice president has staff responsibilities for the board of trustees by providing support to the finance, audit, and investment committees, and serves as corporate treasurer to the board.

The ideal candidate will be an effective leader, natural collaborator and communicator, a steward of relationships, and gifted manager of people, processes, projects, and systems. An inventive and experienced leader, this candidate is well versed in trends in higher education financial management and associated operational areas, and is considered a trendsetter by peers. The new leader will possess knowledge of best practices in the areas of finance, accounting, information technology, facilities, planning, and campus safety. The vice president will have keen strategic and operational planning skills, strong financial acumen, superb staff and project management skills, a natural bias towards action and doing, and a highly communicative and collegial working style. An advanced degree in business, finance, management, or relevant field is required. At least ten years of experience in senior leadership is required; 15 years is preferred. Experience in a higher education environment of similar size, complexity, and creativity is highly desirable.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received in time for credential review, November 1. Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer’s candidate portal. Nominations and inquiries can be directed to Elon University's consultants Lucy Leske, Ann Yates, and Kim Brettschneider at: ElonVP@wittkieffer.com.

Elon University is an equal employment opportunity employer committed to a diverse faculty, staff and student body and welcomes all applicants.