Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Leadership Profile

The Opportunity

Manhattan School of Music (MSM), internationally renowned for the excellence and breadth of its conservatory programs, seeks a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer to join a vibrant leadership team at one of the world’s preeminent, independent conservatories. The Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer will be a proactive and collaborative leader, a superb communicator with a commitment to transparency, have a substantial record of strategic financial leadership., and will be dedicated to moving MSM forward as a center of excellence in classical music, jazz, and musical theatre.

Leonard Slatkin conducting Gala Centennial Concert, Carnegie Hall, April 2019

Manhattan School of Music: An Overview

Manhattan School of Music is a remarkable institution with a century-long history of extraordinary success. From its beginnings as a small settlement music school, MSM has become an internationally recognized conservatory and leading force in professional music education. The largest independent conservatory in the nation offering degrees in classical music, jazz, and musical theatre, MSM has upheld its tradition of excellence in music education throughout its history. MSM is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Founded as a community music school by Janet Daniels Schenck in 1918, today MSM is recognized for its 970 superbly talented undergraduate and graduate students who come from more than 50 countries and nearly all 50 states; its innovative curricula and world-renowned artist-teacher faculty that includes musicians from the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and the top ranks of soloists and chamber musicians as well as the jazz and Broadway communities; and a distinguished community of accomplished, award-winning alumni working at the highest levels of the musical, educational, cultural, and professional worlds.

The School is dedicated to the personal, artistic, and intellectual development of aspiring musicians, from its Precollege students through those pursuing doctoral studies. Offering classical, jazz, and musical theatre training, MSM grants a range of undergraduate and graduate degrees. True to MSM’s origins as a music school for children, the Precollege program continues to offer superior music instruction to 475 young musicians between the ages of 5 and 18. The School also serves some 2,000 New York City schoolchildren through its Arts-in-Education Program, and another 2,000 students through its critically acclaimed Distance Learning Program.

The School celebrated its milestone centennial year during the 2018/19 academic year with a diverse, season-long program of performances and events, including a special performance by students, faculty, and distinguished alumni that hailed the opening of a grand new campus entrance and the reopening of MSM’s renovated principal performance space, Neidorff-Karpati Hall, and a climactic Gala Centennial Performance at Carnegie Hall (led by Distinguished Visiting Artist and Trustee Maestro Leonard Slatkin and hosted by actor Alec Baldwin). One hundred years prior to these celebrations, what would become Manhattan School of Music was founded by pianist, social worker, and philanthropist Janet D. Schenck. Originally called the Neighborhood Music School, it was located on East 105th Street and tasked with bringing high-quality musical training to the immigrant communities of the surrounding neighborhoods. By re-establishing the musical communities that had existed in these immigrants’ home countries, Schenck hoped to further the nascent cause of music education in America.

MSM fosters a supportive atmosphere, valuing individuals and welcoming creative exploration, and provides the training to attain the highest standards of performance. MSM’s rigorous curriculum and superb artist-faculty, who continue their own creative explorations at some of this country’s most prestigious institutions, give students the artistic experience and the technical foundation to succeed in the highly competitive world of the arts. Exchange programs, distance learning, and entrepreneurial opportunities further expand the School’s breadth, depth, and reach. Offering more than 800 concerts, recitals, master classes, and community events each year, MSM is a vigorous contributor to the cultural fabric of New York City.

Mission Statement Manhattan School of Music is deeply committed to excellence in education, performance, and creative activity; to the humanity of the School’s environment; to preparing all our students to find their success; and to the cultural enrichment of the larger community. A premier international conservatory, MSM inspires and empowers highly talented individuals to realize their potential. We take full advantage of New York’s abundant learning and performance opportunities, preparing our students to be accomplished and passionate performers, composers and teachers, and imaginative, effective contributors to the arts and society.

Strategic Plan 2019–24 MSM’s centennial year also encompassed a broad-based strategic planning process in anticipation of the completion of the 2014–19 Strategic Plan, the planning for which had been one of President Gandre’s first initiatives upon joining the institution in 2013. The new Strategic Plan which was approved by the Board of Trustees in spring 2019, involved all sectors of the MSM community: students, faculty, staff, and trustees. Rooted in the institution’s history and its singular role in music education in this city and beyond, the plan was intended to articulate a vision, identify MSM’s goals, and set a clear course for the next five years. The resulting plan identified four strategic priorities and concurrent specific initiatives that would lay the foundation for the School’s second 100 years.

FOUR STRATEGIC GOALS

Goal 1: Ensure artistic and academic excellence.

• Create time and space for academic and artistic curiosity. • Develop and recruit faculty to support our students. • Design and strengthen pathways to enhance students’ training and experiences.

Goal 2: Optimize our human, financial, and physical resources to improve student experience. • Optimize MSM’s resources to enhance efficiency and increase the academic and performance opportunities available to students. • Develop and invest in our faculty and staff to improve the quality of the education and services MSM offers. • Ensure that our costs by function are aligned to the opportunities and responsibilities of our students, faculty, and staff.

Goal 3: Enhance our long-term fiscal well-being. • Grow earned revenue from partnerships, strategic alliances, and other opportunities, including degree and non- degree offerings. • Strengthen connections to alumni, parents, artists, audiences, and the many other friends and benefactors of the institution. • Source and execute initiatives that reduce and mitigate costs.

Goal 4: Increase our visibility and recognition. • Leverage the communications potential of the wider MSM Community, including alumni, current students, faculty, and staff. • Ensure a powerful integrated vision for MSM communications across all media. • Expand off-site performance and presentation opportunities.

FULFILLING THE MISSION Manhattan School of Music has been at the forefront of innovation and creativity in its degree offerings for 50 years. In the 1970s it was one of only several colleges in the nation to have an Office of Career Planning targeted at music students. In the 1980s MSM was the first independent conservatory to offer a jazz degree. In the 1990s the School founded two renowned programs: the graduate Orchestral Performance Program and the Distance Learning Program. In this century, MSM launched the Center for Music Entrepreneurship, expanding the reach of its offerings to prepare students professionally; created the graduate Contemporary Performance Program; and in 2016 launched a Bachelor’s program in musical theatre, the only such program at an American independent conservatory. Future plans include a fully online degree-completion program designed for professionals who never earned a Bachelor’s degree, which will be launched in 2022.

Throughout the year, MSM brings nearly 100 acclaimed artists and conductors to campus — both in person and via distance learning — for master classes and to work with the School’s student ensembles. Past and current master class artists include Thomas Hampson, Denyce Graves, Stephanie Blythe, Sir Thomas Allen (voice); Robert McDonald and Richard Goode (piano); members of the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Boston Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony; Barry Harris, Joe Lovano, Christian Scott, Maria Schneider, and Sean Jones (jazz); performers Bebe Neuwirth, Joanna Gleason, Victoria Clark, and Joan Lader (musical theatre); and Koichiro Harada and Anton Nel (chamber music), among many others.

Among the School’s other unique offerings, MSM’s Study Abroad program gives upperclassmen and first-year graduate students the opportunity to spend one or two semesters abroad earning credits at any of the School’s nine partner conservatories in Amsterdam, Beijing, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo, Paris, Shanghai, and Stuttgart.

MSM has developed a variety of strategic alliances with educational agencies and has created model music education partnerships not only with New York City public schools, but in communities nationwide. The School’s extensive outreach activities prepare students to be effective artist-educators through pedagogical instruction and practical teaching experience. Students are also given the opportunity to present inspirational and interactive performances to underserved communities.

The School has in recent years forged new alliances with other arts and educational institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harlem Stage, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, National Sawdust, American Ballet Theater, other peer independent American conservatories, and its neighbors in Morningside Heights.

Manhattan School of Music’s summer offerings include “MSM Summer,” a program with 125 students ranging in age from 8 to 17, and a Summer English Study program that has enabled MSM to help international students strengthen acquisition of written and verbal communication skills before they begin their formal degree study during the fall semester.

Finally, in 2019–20, as part of the institution’s commitment to a second century full of promise, MSM formally launched a Cultural Inclusion Initiative Cultural Inclusion Initiative (CII). The mission of the CII is to foster diversity, equity, and inclusive practices throughout the School by auditing current practices, identifying areas where additional attention is needed to achieve change, and creating regular discussion forums for students, faculty, and staff.

MSM Jazz Orchestra at Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center

LEADERSHIP Dr. James Gandre, an educator and musician with a deep commitment to students and the development of American conservatory learning, returned to Manhattan School of Music to assume the presidency in May 2013. He had served the School for fifteen years (1985–2000), most recently as Dean of Enrollment and Alumni. In 2000, Dr. Gandre became Dean of Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where he went on to serve concurrently as the Interim Dean of the College of Education, and ultimately as the University’s Provost and Executive Vice President. As a performer, James Gandre has appeared as a tenor soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, London Classical Players, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and members of the San Francisco Symphony. His professional choral engagements include more than 175 performances with the New York Philharmonic, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Warsaw Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, American Symphony, Opera Orchestra of New York, and Voices of Ascension, and more than 20 commercial recordings and television appearances on EMI/Angel, EMI/Capital, Teldec, Delos, MusicMaster, Warner Records, and on NBC’s The Today Show, PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center, ABC, and CBS. In these performances, he has worked under such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Sir Colin Davis, James Levine, Mstislav Rostropovich, Riccardo Chailly, Robert Shaw, Edo de Waart, Christopher Hogwood, Roger Norrington, John Nelson, Carlos Kalmar, Giuseppe Patane, Dennis Russell Davies, and Eduardo Mata. President Gandre earned his BM degree from Lawrence University, an MM degree from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and his EdD from the University of Nebraska– Lincoln, and attended the Blossom Festival School of Music.

Dr. Joyce Griggs serves Manhattan School of Music as the Executive Vice President and Provost. Dr. Griggs came to MSM from Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), where she recently conceived and launched the Center for Innovative Musicianship, currently serving as Vice President and Director. She has also held the role of CIM’s Interim Chief Academic Officer and Dean as well as its Associate Dean and faculty member. Prior to her work at Cleveland, Ms. Griggs held several leadership positions during her decade- and-a-half tenure at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Music that culminated in a four-year appointment as the school’s Associate Director. As a saxophonist, Griggs has performed throughout the United States, Great Britain, Spain, and Mexico. An avid chamber musician, she has championed the expansion of saxophone chamber music repertoire with more than a dozen commissions, including Guggenheim Fellow Erin Gee’s 2014 work, Mouthpiece XXI. Awards include the Silver Medal in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the prestigious Grainger Medallion in 2010, one of only 25 Americans to earn this award. She earned her BME from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), her MM from the University of North Texas, and her DMA from the UIUC.

MSM Opera Theater’s production of Suor Angelica PROGRAMS Manhattan School of Music offers the Bachelor of Music (BM) and the Master of Music (MM) degree in Voice, Instrumental Performance, Jazz, Composition, and Musical Theatre (the latter is BM only). A Master of Music degree is also offered in Conducting, Collaborative Piano, Orchestral Performance, and Contemporary Performance.

Beyond the Master’s degree, MSM offers a Professional Studies Certificate and a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Voice, Instrumental Performance, Jazz, Composition, Conducting, and Collaborative Piano. Exceptional students may audition for the highly selective Artist Diploma Program. In the fall of 2016, MSM launched its undergraduate program in Musical Theatre. Now in its fifth year, it is already one of the most selective programs at the School. Bebe Neuwirth serves as the program’s Artistic Advisor.

The Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program accepts a small number of exceptionally talented violin and viola students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The dual degree program in Music Education and Performance offers an MM from Manhattan School of Music and an MA in Music Education with K–12 Music Teacher Certification from Teachers College Columbia University. For undergraduates, a partnership with Barnard College also offers expansive possibilities for elective courses.

Manhattan School of Music’s Precollege Division, providing pre-professional training to musically gifted young people, is considered to be one of the strongest precollege programs in the country. This full-day Saturday program enrolls 475 students ranging in age from 5 to 18.

FACULTY The outstanding 200-member studio faculty includes musicians from New York’s leading performing institutions, including the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, along with internationally acclaimed solo, chamber, jazz, and Broadway artists.

The academic (classroom) faculty members are scholars, writers, and practitioners in music theory, musicology, and the humanities and social sciences. Another 100 artist-faculty members teach in the Precollege Division.

ALUMNI MSM alumni are active in every aspect of contemporary musical life and beyond. Many are among the most acclaimed performers on the great stages of the world, from Lincoln Center to Covent Garden to the Montreux Jazz Festival to Broadway. They include Grammy Award winners and nominees, MacArthur Fellows, Avery Fisher Career Grant recipients, Oscar and Tony winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, and a distinguished list of prizewinners in the Van Cliburn, Naumburg, Tchaikovsky, and Rubinstein international competitions, among many others.

Distinguished alumni include violinists Elmar Oliveira, Viviane Hagner, Guy Braunstein (concert artist and former concertmaster, Berlin Philharmonic), Bing Wang (associate concertmaster, Los Angeles Philharmonic), and Yooshin Song (concertmaster, Houston Symphony); opera singers Liam Bonner, J’Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Lauren Flanigan, Susan Graham, Brandon Jovanovich, Simon O’Neill, Soloman Howard, Dawn Upshaw, Yunpeng Wang, and Dolora Zajick; jazz musicians Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Carter, Stefon Harris, John Lewis, Hugh Masekela, Jane Monheit, Jason Moran, Linda Oh, Max Roach, Christian Sands, Steve Turre, and Miguel Zenón, and; composers Anna Clyne, John Corigliano, Elliot Goldenthal, Aaron Jay Kernis, Jack Perla, Tobias Picker, and Gunther Schuller, and; conductors Christopher Allen, Alondra de la Parra, Kristjan Järvi, and Earl Lee.

Alumni in administration include Jesse Rosen, former President and CEO of the League of American Orchestras; Howard Herring, President and CEO of the New World Symphony; Fred Bronstein, Dean, Peabody Institute/The Johns Hopkins University; David Handler and Justin Kantor, founders of le poisson rouge; Jeff Sharkey, Principal (CEO) of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; and Daniel Andai, Dean of Music, New School of the Arts, Miami- Dade College. Other alumni are in a variety of fields outside of music, including Jared Bernstein, economist, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Cynthia Boxrud, MD, surgeon, and professor at UCLA Medical School; Elizabeth VanArsdel, Senior Vice President/Senior Wealth Advisor at New Mexico Bank & Trust; and David Wolfsohn, JD, Partner, Duane Morris LLP, to name just a few.

ACCOLADES MSM is consistently recognized for its outstanding programs and the accomplishments of students, faculty and alumni. To view recent student, faculty and alumni successes visit https://www.msmnyc.edu/success-stories/.

CAMPUS Since 1969, Manhattan School of Music has been located at Broadway and 122nd Street. As part of New York’s Morningside Heights/ West Harlem academic community, it includes among its neighbors in the “academic acropolis” Columbia University, Barnard College, Columbia Teachers College, Bank Street College, Union and Jewish Theological seminaries, Riverside Church, International House, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Grand Re-Opening of Neidorff-Karpati Hall, November 2018

Manhattan School of Music’s campus consists of three buildings, constructed in 1910, 1931 (by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, the architects who designed the Empire State Building), and 2001 (the 19-story Andersen Residence Hall, which houses approximately 500 students in addition to performance spaces and practice rooms).

In November 2018 as part of the realization of MSM’s ambitious Centennial Project, the School opened a stunning new entrance on Claremont Avenue – the entrance had previously been located on West 122nd Street – with an expanded entryway and two new entry lounges, and re-opened the School’s principal performance space, Neidorff- Karpati Hall, which had undergone a sweeping $15-million, 16-month renovation. The Hall’s lower lounge, an Art Deco gem dating to the original hall’s opening in the early 1930s, just underwent a $1.3-million restoration and re- opened in January 2020. The School has nine performance spaces, ranging from 25 to 650 seats, and a state-of-the- art recording studio. The Peter Jay Sharp Library and the Evelyn Sharp Performance Library contain scores, books, periodicals, audiovisual recordings, on-demand streaming of concerts, and a large range of performance materials.

With the Distance Learning Program, the first of its kind at a major international conservatory, Manhattan School of Music maintains a leadership role in the use of technology for music performance and education. In the nearly two and a half decades since its inception, using state-of-the-art interactive videoconference technology to enhance the curriculum and learning experience for MSM students, the School has developed increasingly effective means of connecting students, educators, and distinguished artists around the globe. Its higher education partnerships span from Austria to Australia and have connected to five continents to exchange artistic resources and provide a truly global music education. The program’s educational exchange distance learning partnerships in 47 states and 23 countries reach 10,000 domestic and international learners outside the MSM Community each year. Additionally, the program provides live-streamed concerts and master classes, featuring MSM student ensembles, acclaimed faculty, and guest artists, which now attract a worldwide audience.

In addition the $16.3-million Centennial Project detailed above, MSM has in recent years invested more than $30 million in campus improvements, including creating 28 new Wenger SoundLok practice rooms; two new acting/dance studios; newly renovated offices for classroom faculty; a new HVAC system and complete LED replacement of all lights in the 1910 and 1931 buildings; and a complete cafeteria renovation.

The Centennial Project itself was made possible by an anchor gift by trustee Noémi Karpati Neidorff (BM ’70; MM ’72) and Michael Neidorff, a grant from the City of New York, and the generous support of members of the Board of Trustees, the International Advisory Board, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Opening night of MSM Musical Theatre’s production of Cabaret, February 2, 2019

The Future Manhattan School of Music is an impressive and highly specialized niche institution. The School is financially sound and stable. As momentum builds and its reputation for excellence deepens, new and exciting opportunities present themselves. The leadership team is talented and committed to the long-term sustainability of MSM as a recognized leader in exceptional artistic training. The artist-faculty and classroom faculty are engaged and dedicated to the students and the work that they do. The Board of Trustees is committed to the institutional enterprise and eager to move ahead, led by a focused, dedicated, and energetic leader, Chair Lorraine Gallard.

The entire campus Community has been revitalized and, as the School enters its second century, there is a palpable sense of optimism about the future. This is an ideal time for a new Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer to join this institution, which is poised to make great strides in the years ahead.

Finances Manhattan School of Music’s 2019-20 annual operating budget was $60 million, including an $18-million College scholarship budget. MSM’s endowment as of August 31 totaled $30 million. During the past three years, the School has averaged nearly $7 million annually in fundraising. MSM’s overall debt currently stands at $32 million at various low, fixed rates.

Position Description: Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer The Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will work in close partnership with the President, the Board of Trustees, and the senior leadership team. The CFO holds primary responsibility for:

• Development, implementation, oversight of the $60 million annual operating budget • Planning and leading financial initiatives • Strategic financial planning • Systems analysis and controls • Creating financial models and forecasts • Enhancing and strengthening the overall effectiveness and efficiency of financial controls and operations • Overseeing investments • Facilities management, maintenance, and construction, including dining services • Campus safety and security • IT • Payroll • Accounts payable and purchasing

The Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer has three direct reports:

• Associate Vice President and Controller • Associate Vice President for Facilities and Campus Safety • Assistant Vice President for IT/Chief Information Officer

The Vice President serves as liaison to the following two Board of Trustees committees:

• Finance and Facilities (including investments) • Audit

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER LEADERSHIP AGENDA The Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer oversees a complex portfolio of responsibilities, including all of the School’s financial activities. An executive summary of the CFO’s short- and long-term responsibilities includes:

• Lead MSM’s financial team. • Work in close collaboration with the President and senior staff as a key member of the leadership team to ensure the School’s ongoing financial success. • Create financial models, forecasts, and multi-year planning processes that include both operating and capital budgets to support the implementation of the Strategic Plan and other institutional priorities. • Serve productively as the principal administrative resource to the Board of Trustees’ Finance and Facilities Committee and Audit Committee, providing high quality, detailed information to ensure the best possible decision-making. • Provide strategic financial information and analysis to the President, Board of Trustees, and senior leadership using activity-based financial analysis and business best practices to provide insight into the School’s operations and business processes, to identify and address needs, and to develop new sources of revenue. • Assess the delivery of services within the division to enhance services to students as well as faculty and staff, improve efficiency and effectiveness, and develop a program of continuous improvement. • Initiate the review or establishment of all relevant policies within the division to ensure that the School is in compliance with all external laws and regulations, and to ensure that the School employs best practices to advance institutional priorities. • Foster a culture of partnership and collaboration, promote a dynamic service orientation, and encourage open and effective communication in decision-making.

Opportunities and Challenges for Leadership: Capitalizing on Momentum: The President is seeking a partner to provide entrepreneurial financial thinking and strategic analysis to support future institutional planning.

The successful candidate joins MSM at an exciting time as the School enters its second century and begins to execute a newly established strategic plan (2019–24), one that focuses on preparing students to engage with the arts and realize a life that contributes to a vibrant society. The CFO will continue to build on the institutions long-term financial future through proactive planning and resource development. The CFO will have the opportunity to be a creative partner with a resourceful and innovative President and a supportive Board of Trustees in the imagining and implementation of forward-thinking initiatives that will have a major impact on the future and allow the School to continue to flourish and grow in the years ahead.

Seizing the Opportunity for Change: The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged many institutions of higher education. It has also created an opportunity for innovation, greater utilization of technology, and the identification of greater efficiencies. The next CFO will use this challenging moment to work with senior colleagues to incorporate change, provide vision, and strengthen MSM to ensure its relevance and financial security in the 21st century.

Passion for the Mission and Focus of MSM: The CFO will join a President with a clear and compelling vision for the future and a Board of Trustees and senior leadership council whose members are committed to working in a collaborative and supportive spirit of partnership. All share a strong commitment to continuously enhance the School’s reputation as a premier international leader in professional music education and its rich history of excellence in the field.

Strategic Financial Leadership: As the School looks to the future amid uncertain times, the institution will face an evolving array of financial challenges that require a sophisticated, innovative, yet disciplined approach to long-range planning. The President, Board, and senior leadership team would welcome the development of comprehensive, multi-year financial models and forecasts that link the allocation of resources to the MSM mission and strategic goals. The new CFO will play an integral role and contribute significant executive leadership to enhance the overall effectiveness and implementation of the School’s strategic and financial planning efforts, including maximizing endowment grown, performance, and flexibility.

Promote Innovative Budget Planning: In today’s higher education environment, colleges and universities can no longer depend solely on annual tuition increases to fund program growth as a viable or sustainable long-term alternative. New revenue sources will need to be identified to maintain and grow the School’s budget going forward. Many potential entrepreneurial opportunities exist but need to be proactively studied and explored. MSM seeks a CFO who understands the resource and growth opportunities in private higher education; is a proponent for the development of a budget model reflecting that external awareness; and will play a central role in promoting new sources of revenue, including public-private partnerships and other external alliances. The CFO will bring a flexible, creative, collaborative style and transparent communication to budget development and management as the School strives to enhance both revenue and cost management.

Capital Planning: An essential component of MSM’s long-term strategic and financial planning will be the continued capital renovation, including repurposing of facilities and restoration of historic spaces, and upgrading classroom, studio, and practice spaces. The Vice President will play an integral part in helping the team clearly identify and prioritize facility needs, understand the financial implications for implementation, and develop strategies for containing costs and improving sustainability.

Leadership, Operations, and Efficiency: MSM seeks a leader who will set high standards for professional growth and integrity, and who will be a mentor and encourage staff to pursue professional development opportunities. The CFO should instill a culture of service excellence and provide a supportive, collegial, team-based environment that promotes productivity and continuous improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations.

Leadership Characteristics and Experiences: The Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer will be a confident, self-assured, and innovative financial leader with superb analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills. The ideal candidate will be a seasoned professional of the highest integrity who embraces a team environment, serves as a resource for many individuals and groups within the institution, and works with colleagues in a spirit of partnership, collaboration, and fiscal responsibility.

The next Vice President will demonstrate the ability to lead and mentor a team, build trust, and possess the interpersonal skills to create and maintain effective relationships with a broad range of internal and external constituents.

Additional experience should include:

• Outstanding leadership and strategic planning skills, including the ability to lead change with an inclusive style that fosters team building; • Demonstrated success in planning, managing, and stewarding resources; • Evidence of an entrepreneurial orientation with an eye to new opportunities and emerging challenges; • Proven ability to work productively with a supportive Board of Trustees; • Broad experience in managing finance (accounting, budgeting, control, and reporting) for a complex organization, preferably in higher education; • In-depth understanding of strategic financial analysis and best business practices; • Knowledge and in-depth experience with not-for-profit accounting; • Proven ability to create and develop multi-year financial models and forecasts; • Demonstrated ability and familiarity with not-for-profit debt markets (taxable and exempt) and related debt issues; • Ability to see the big picture without losing sight of the details; • Significant understanding of federal and state compliance and other regulatory issues and enforcement requirements;

• Experience in business process re-engineering, reviewing, and re-aligning systems, policies, and personnel management to improve service delivery and productivity; • Experience managing relationships with external constituents, including auditors, bankers, investment managers, attorneys, and others; • Knowledge and experience planning and supporting capital project development, facilities, maintenance, and purchasing departments; • Ability to incorporate strategic goals into a coherent financial plan; • Knowledge of the current issues and unique financial challenges facing higher education institutions; and • Knowledge of building and technology systems and ability to manage staff effectively and anticipate issues before they become problems.

Highly desirable qualities also sought in the next Vice President include:

• High energy, drive, and work ethic; • Utmost integrity; • Strong team management skills and the ability and experience to mentor, encourage, and inspire staff to outperform their expectations; • Demonstrated ability to set and achieve ambitious goals and objectives; • Minimum of eight to 10 years in senior management that includes broad financial and administrative leadership; • Excellent written and verbal communication skills; • Creativity, flexibility, and an entrepreneurial approach to problem solving; • Sense of humor; and • Bachelor’s degree (required); MBA, CPA, or Master’s degree in finance, accounting, or related field is strongly preferred.

Procedure for Candidacy Review of Applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. For full consideration, please send a cover letter and resume/CV, in confidence, to:

Steve Leo, Partner Vicki Henderson, Senior Associate Storbeck Search [email protected] 610-572-4296

Equal employment and equal educational opportunity have been and will continue to be fundamental principles at Manhattan School of Music, where employment and enrollment are based upon personal capabilities and qualifications without discrimination or harassment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, the status of being transgender, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship or veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. Manhattan School of Music does not permit retaliation against individuals who oppose a discriminatory practice or participate in an investigation.