Director of Finance

Ballinger | Leafblad is pleased to conduct the search for the Director of Finance at Twin Cities PBS in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
Twin Cities PBS (“TPT”) is one of the most innovative public media organizations in the country. Operating for nearly seven decades, its flagship television station, KTCA, was Minnesota's first non-commercial station. When the national Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was founded in 1969, KTCA joined as a member (affiliate) station in 1970. For decades, TPT has produced original, award-winning programs for the national PBS system, as well as high quality local and regional content for broadcast audiences and beyond. Today, TPT is a prolific digital publisher delivering multi-media content that engages, informs and entertains Minnesota's diverse communities throughout the state. 

TPT believes that media is profoundly powerful - shaping how people and communities understand themselves, each other and the world in which they live. In addition to presenting high quality national PBS programs, TPT focuses on producing original content that advances STEM education, connects history with the present, profiles Minnesota's creative arts, and engages citizens in public affairs.

TPT is an independent 501c3 public media organization whose revenue comes from its members, philanthropic funding, earned income and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) which funds public media programming that is free from commercial interests and serves to make education and the arts accessible to all Americans.

FUNDING 
TPT is over 50% member-supported. In addition to member support, TPT receives funding from a variety of public and private organizations as well as through grants and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). TPT is the Twin Cities PBS member station – the critical link that brings national PBS (and other) content to the local community. TPT is an independently funded and operated 501(c)3 non-profit that is part of a membership network of public television stations who make up the PBS system. PBS is a private, nonprofit national corporation whose members are America’s public TV stations (like TPT) — noncommercial, educational licensees that operate 350 PBS member stations.

MISSION
Enrich lives and strengthen the community through the power of media.

VISION
TPT seeks to connect, engage, inform, and reflect its audiences through trusted programming that is accessible to all.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
TPT’s guiding principles serve as the foundation of its work. These principles inform how it operates, creates content, delivers programming, engages its audiences, and grows and evolves to reflect the diversity of the region. 

• Mutual Trust and Respect: Public media is often viewed as one of the most trusted institutions in the country, and TPT is working to strengthen relationships inside and outside of the organization by honoring and valuing the perspectives, experiences, and knowledge of staff and community members.
• Open Communication: Communication is at the heart of everything TPT does. Communicating openly, honestly, and frequently helps us stay connected, and encourages transparency and the exchange of perspectives and ideas. TPT strives to create spaces where everyone feels seen, valued, and heard.
• Learning Through Feedback: TPT's platforms support learning across all stages of life. We believe that to learn, grow, and evolve as an organization, we must seek out and listen to feedback from diverse stakeholders. Communicating openly and encouraging feedback also helps us stay accountable to our communities.
• Collaborative Engagement: TPT aims to work with and in community through collaborative engagement practices that center community experiences and perspectives. We cannot assume that we know what is best or right for communities, instead, we work to create mutually beneficial collaborations built on trust, respect, open communication, and feedback.
• Responsive Leadership: To live up to and enact these guiding principles, TPT's leaders must be culturally and emotionally responsive by practicing self-awareness, empathy, and humility, and by creating welcoming, inclusive, and equitable environments for staff and community members.
• Redefining Risk: Embracing uncertainty is difficult and it can also lead to creativity and innovation. TPT wants to try new things, encourage strategic risk-taking, and create environments that foster joy and excitement about the possibilities of what we can do together.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Twin Cities PBS (TPT) is committed to advancing inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) across all levels of the organization. To do this, TPT is working to increase representational diversity, create welcoming and inclusive environments for staff and community members, ensure content and programming is accessible, and include the voices and experiences of Black communities, Indigenous communities, communities of color, LGBTQIA+ communities, disabled communities, and other historically marginalized groups. The organization is committed to allocating the time, resources, and effort necessary to create a more equitable future for the organization.

STRATEGIC PLAN
Twin Cities PBS (“TPT”) uses television, interactive media and community engagement to advance education, culture and citizenship. Its current three-year strategic plan launched in 2021 with the following board-approved goals:

• Create welcoming and inclusive environments
• Increase representational diversity
• Accelerate operational excellence.
• Grow revenue for strategic priorities
• Engage audiences with valued, trusted, accessible and personalized programming.
• Advance a data-first culture.

Strategies: 

• Establish and activate a shared framework of enterprise excellence.
• Leverage content, events, and collaborative community engagement practices to address systemic inequities and support social change.
• Strengthen investment in people to foster a culture of inclusion and learning.
• Increase investment in technology to expand exploration, relevancy, effectiveness, and accessibility across platforms.
• Collect, analyze, and use data to inform decision-making, grow audiences and revenue, and improve user experiences.

POSITION PROFILE
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Twin Cities PBS (“TPT”) is seeking an experienced Director of Finance to lead its Accounting and Finance functions. TPT is an innovative and dynamic $48M public media organization headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is an independent 501c3 nonprofit with a diversified mix of earned and contributed revenue that includes individual contributions (membership, major gifts, annual and planned giving), institutional giving (grants, sponsorships, special project funding), multi-year fundraising campaigns, endowment/ investments, underwriting and government funding. The ideal candidate will have nonprofit accounting experience and knowledge of complex revenue streams including state and federal government funding. 

The Director of Finance oversees critical activities associated with internal and external reporting, financial audits, cashflow analysis, internal controls, deep financial assessments of operations and the balance sheet, budgeting and forecasting. This key leadership role will also support the Chief Financial Officer in the areas of board and committee reporting, treasury management, managing and interacting with external service providers and other financial activities. TPT currently uses Great Plains and is in the early stages of assessing its needs for new enterprise GL software to be implemented in 2025. The Director of Finance will lead this effort, and is responsible for the continuous development, integration and improvement of accounting and auxiliary systems, and the smooth implementation of finance and accounting policies, procedures and internal controls. 

Qualified candidates must have a CPA (active or inactive). This role requires a highly collaborative and relationship-driven leader who builds trust, demonstrates respect, listens and communicates effectively with all levels of staff and stakeholders. As a leader who works extensively across all departments, the Director of Finance is a culture-bearer who will demonstrate TPT's values and celebrate its legacy, while also championing continuous improvement, innovation and growth. The ideal candidate has a passion for assessing and improving the systems, technology, processes and data capabilities within finance and accounting to maximize accuracy and efficiency, and to facilitate data-informed business decisions. 

This is a role for an experienced and empathetic change leader to build on the success of a legacy media organization and take it to the next level, optimizing its accounting function to further TPT's mission and reach its goals.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
The Director of Finance reports to the Chief Financial Officer and has three direct reports: Division Finance Manager (co-lead with CFO), Accounting Manager (+3 staff), and the Payroll & HRIS Specialist.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

People Leadership

• Attract, hire and retain a diverse, high-performing team of professionals who share TPT’s values and are energized by its mission. 
• Lead, inspire, train and empower team members to excel in their work, fostering a culture of collaboration, adaptability, innovation and open feedback. 
• Clarify team members' roles and responsibilities, leveraging strengths and addressing development needs. 
• Clearly communicate performance expectations and priorities, tying them to TPT's organizational goals, strategies and objectives. 
• Promote an integrated accounting services approach that is positive, proactive and solutions-oriented. 
• Invite feedback from stakeholders and strengthen internal communications with staff at all levels throughout the organization. 
• Assist with preparing and leading presentations to the Finance, Investment and Audit committee, working closely with the senior leadership team.

Financial Planning and Analysis

• Lead departmental budgeting process including design, financial reporting, financial analysis and management oversight.
• Review monthly results and variance analysis with managers, aligning on business adjustments to meet or exceed financial goals.
• Design, update, and oversee the submission and implementation of indirect cost recovery structures used to allocate overhead to projects.
• Lead or assist in value-added analytical projects as assigned by CEO, CFO or other Executive Team members.
• Oversee system upgrades including development and administration tools and processes used for departmental and project budgets.
• Collaborate with CFO to maintain Long Range Financial Plan in support of the strategic plan. •Plan and administer cash flow management to ensure operational cash needs can be met while optimizing investment opportunities according to set policies.
• Monitor financial results to ensure accuracy, assets are safeguarded, and financial services are delivered as expected.
• Monitor investment performance and adherence to governance strategies. 

Accounting, Reporting, Audit and Internal Controls

• Lead all day-to-day accounting operations with responsibility over accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, grants administration and fixed assets.
• Oversee the preparation of GAAP financial statements and schedules while providing appropriate commentary on results to management and externally as required. Prepare and review journal entries, reconciliations, and analytics for various complex account balances. 
• Ensure accurate and timely monthly, quarterly, and year end close, for preparation and distribution of financial statements and reports. 
• Provide for the stewardship of all grants and contributions, including annual giving, capital campaigns, special projects, endowment campaigns, state and federal grants, and other related solicitations. 
• Lead Accounting staff through financial audits, serving as primary liaison with external Auditors. 
• Direct the preparation, coordination, and successful completion of the annual financial audit, A-133 audit, 401(k) audit, 990, corporate filings, etc. within the applicable time frame to meet filing requirements and Committee meetings. 
• Lead financial oversight of project proposal and budget approval process, ensuring that approval processes are understood and followed by project leaders and production management.
• Ensure TPT has the systems, policies, and procedures in place to support effective program implementations. 
• Develop, implement and evaluate accounting policies. 
• Regularly assess, assign, and document internal controls to safeguard station assets and support accurate financial statements.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience 

• At least 12 years of accounting experience to include 5+ years of leadership experience at a Director/Controller level
• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or a related field; MBA preferred
• CPA is required (active or inactive)
• At least 3 years of nonprofit finance and accounting experience is strongly preferred
• Experience working with state and federal grants and ensuring all compliance requirements are met is a big plus
• Successful experience coordinating audit activities and overseeing efficient accounting operations
• A successful track record of implementing software and effectively leading systems and process changes which resulted in greater efficiency, better data, cost savings, and increased customer satisfaction
• Experience advancing inclusion and equity along with a background working effectively and responsively with individuals of varying identities and experiences

Knowledge, Skills and Competencies 

• Expert knowledge of GAAP, internal controls, financial reporting and analysis, data privacy, etc
• Successful experience working cross-departmentally to develop and implement integrated business solutions that meet stakeholder needs by leveraging technology, streamlining processes, and seeking input to continually make improvements.
• Technology savvy, with current knowledge of trends in financial tools and systems. Adept using the Microsoft suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Familiarity with Workday Adaptive is a plus.
• Experience assessing, selecting and implementing accounting systems, tools and processes.
• A proven track record of developing and utilizing business intelligence tools to improve accuracy and efficiency of financial and business processes.
• Track record of successfully leading of a large-scale finance-related change initiative, with the ability to communicate the overall business impact and gain buy-in from stakeholders.
• Effective team-building skills with a commitment to hiring, training, mentoring and retaining exceptional talent.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills combined with attention to detail, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to lead a thriving team within a legacy organization which values heritage and seeks to preserve institutional knowledge, while simultaneously championing efforts to further the organization’s evolution.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with tight time commitments. including large cross-organizational projects.
• Ability to interpret data and effectively communicate complex financial concepts to all levels of staff.
• Energized by working in a fast-paced, creative environment, with the ability to balance the sometimes competing priorities of risk management and innovation.
• High emotional intelligence, with an inclusive and approachable demeanor that facilitates collaborative working relationships with all staff across the organization.

LOCATION
TPT's office is located in downtown Saint Paul, MN. Executive leaders are expected to work on-site at least 4 days a week.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The salary range for this position is $200,000 to $220,000 plus annual incentive plan. Compensation includes participation in the comprehensive benefits plan. Go to https://www.tpt.org/careers/benefits/ to learn more.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Twin Cities PBS is proud to be an Affirmative Action, Equal Employment Opportunity, Veteran and Disability employer, and are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation to apply for this position, contact jen@ballingerleafblad.com.

TO APPLY
Please send an email with (1) cover letter and (2) resume to Jen Hanlon Ash: jen@ballingerleafblad.com All inquiries will be held in the strictest confidence.