Vice President for Finance and Administration

Position Overview

Position Purpose

The Vice President for Finance and Administration serves as the chief financial officer of the College, providing strategic leadership, operational excellence, and mission aligned stewardship across core financial and administrative functions. The Vice President is a key member of the President’s leadership team and reports directly to the President. As chief financial officer the incumbent is responsible for developing and articulating the long-range financial vision of the College, financial reporting, investment and debt management.

As the leader of the Finance and Administration Division, the Vice President directs and administers programs, personnel and policy in human resources, accounting, budget, payroll, purchasing, information technology, police services, risk management, auxiliaries, and facilities, including campus master planning, capital construction, and facilities operations. The Vice President must align financial and administrative practices and resources with College objectives and establish systems to advance College priorities.

Dimensions of Finance and Administration Division

• Number of Staff: 165
• Annual Operating Budget: $21,000,000
• Biennial Capital Budget: $37,912,000
• Annual Auxiliary Enterprise Budget: $6,800,000

Nature and Scope

The Vice President works closely and collaboratively with the President and other Vice Presidents (the Executive Vice President, the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, and the Vice President for Advancement) to establish and implement strategies and objectives designed to meet the mission of the College as defined by the College’s strategic plan and mission statement. To accomplish these objectives the Vice President directs the work of the following key positions: the Associate Vice President of Computing and Communications, the Chief Administrative Officer, the Associate Vice President of Human Resource Services, the Controller, the Director of Auxiliary Services, the Director of Financial Planning, the Director of Logistical Services and Purchasing, the Executive Associate to the Vice President, and the Administrative Assistant to the Vice President. The Vice President also serves an ex officio member of the Board of Governors and the Treasurer of The Evergreen State College Foundation.

The Vice President works under the direction of the President and receives general guidance from the Board of Trustees, the College’s adopted policies and procedures and a broad array of state and federal rules, regulations, laws and accepted financial and accounting standards.

Essential Duties

• As a member of the institution’s senior leadership team, provide collegial institutional leadership participating in community-wide major planning and decision-making for the College
• Provide financial leadership and administration for the efficient, effective and strategic operation of the financial and administrative services of the College
  • Responsible for innovation in developing and administering potential alliances, investments, and management strategies that enhance the College’s ability to meet current and future challenges
  • Provide high-level analysis of the financial situation of the organization and craft strategies to improve it
• Direct and administer key units of the College involved in finance and administration with direct responsibility for selection, supervision, evaluation and development of a number of key institutional directors
• Provide guidance, direction and support across the broad spectrum of functions reporting within the division
• Establish goals, budgets, programs, and administrative policies and procedures required to conduct the College's finance and administrative services
• Enhance and/or develop, implement, and enforce policies and procedures of the organization through processes that improve the overall operation and effectiveness of the organization
• Ensure safety and security through oversight of Police Services
• Establish credibility throughout the organization and with the Board of Trustees as an effective developer of solutions to business challenges
• Stewards safe, efficient, sustainable campus environments and advances energy management and operational efficiency
• Leads HR functions and promotes a people centered culture focused on engagement, growth, inclusion, and organizational effectiveness
• Ensures that financial policies, as well as those in Human Resources, Facilities, and Police Services are transparent, equitable, compliant, and mission aligned
• Represents the college to the Finance and Budget Committee of the Evergreen Board of Trustees
• Builds strong partnerships with The Evergreen State College Foundation, serves as Foundation Treasurer and ex-officio board member
• Provide counsel and expertise on issues related to Foundation operations, grants, finances and investments
• Oversee the development of a strategic IT plan for the organization; planning and budgeting of hardware, software, and related equipment; performing as a strategic interface in the technological needs of the organization; ensuring that the goals and responsibilities of IT fully support the organization’s strategic goals and priorities
• Serve as the Contract Officer with authority to sign all operating and capital contracts as provided by the Board of Trustees’ guidelines and delegated by the President
• Serve as the treasurer for the College
• Provide leadership and direction of campus master planning including: space management, land use, renovation, construction, and long-term facilities strategic planning
• Provide coordination and development of the legislative 10-year Capital Budget Plan and biennial Capital Budget Requests
• Represent the College as a member of the Inter-institutional Committee of Business Officers through the Council of Presidents. Provides institutional perspective on statewide policy and planning initiatives
• Direct and administer labor/management relations and contracts
• Manage audit functions including work and relationships with the State Auditor and private auditors on all audits and related corrective actions
• Other duties as assigned by the President

Professional Qualifications and Qualities

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Proven ability as a visionary leader demonstrated by a high level of initiative with a history of creative and “outside the box” thinking
• Ability to understand, interpret and translate complex institutional culture
• Strong management skills with ability to balance multiple and competing priorities
• Demonstrated project management experience with identifiable results
• Strong senior level fiscal management and reporting skills
• Strong operating and capital budget development and management experience
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships in a collaborative, culturally diverse work environment, and across a broad spectrum of constituents including faculty, staff, students, unions, and external constituents
• Proven ability to build effective teams both internal and external to the Finance and Administration division, including working with constituencies outside of the College
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex issues in simple and understandable ways demonstrated through a substantial history of public speaking and authoring of a variety of reports, memorandums, management studies, newsletters or other similar work
• Strong formal and informal negotiation and mediation skills with a positive labor relations record
• Demonstrated understanding of a broad array of rules, regulations, and laws relevant to the range of functions within this division
• Understanding of legislative relationships and processes
• Demonstrated solid understanding of:
  • Property and facilities development and management, including campus master planning
  • Construction and renovation of major public buildings and facilities
  • Information technology planning and infrastructure
  • Human resources best practices
  • Contract development and management
  • Land use management
  • Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Financial Accounting Standards Board and National Association of College and University Business Officers pronouncements
  • Risk management practices

Minimum Qualifications

• Five years of progressively responsible senior level administrative and management experience in finance and administration, in an organization with multiple departments and functions that must include direct supervision of upper-level managers in at least three major areas
• A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, Public Administration, Accounting, Financial Management or related field, or equivalent additional years of senior level management and administration experience

Desired Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Business Administration, Management, Public Administration, Accounting, Financial Management or related field
• Certified Public Accountant
• Extra consideration will be given to candidates with the following additional qualifications:
  • Senior level higher education administrative/management experience
  • Public sector management experience
  • Experience with the construction and operation of green buildings and sustainable building practices

Conditions of Employment

• Must provide proof of identity and employment eligibility within three days of beginning work
• Prior to a new hire, a background check including criminal record history will be conducted. Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the applicant’s suitability and competence to perform in the position
• Prior to an official offer of employment, a Declaration Regarding Sexual Misconduct form must be submitted to the college per RCW 28B.112.080. The College will contact current and past employers to verify this information. Applicants who provide inaccurate information in their declaration will be disqualified and, if the inaccuracies are discovered after the applicant has been hired, it shall be grounds for termination

Finance and Administration Division

The Finance and Administration Division serves as the operational backbone of Evergreen. Facilities Services maintains the instructional spaces, physical infrastructure and associated buildings, offices and outdoor facilities needed to facilitate teaching and learning and conduct the business operations that support it. Computing and Communications provides the campus information network, instructional technology, and business information systems. Police Services patrols the campus and works with the intersecting jurisdictions in the Olympia area to create and maintain a safe campus for faculty, staff, students and visitors. Business Services provides support to students through offices like Student Financial Services, and supports the College’s needs for resources and accountability through Accounting Services, Purchasing and Procurement and Auxiliary Services. Human Resource Services supports the personnel infrastructure of the College and provides services related to labor relations for a college that currently has five staff bargaining units. Every area of the College relies on the staff in Finance and Administration successfully providing what’s needed to allow the college to succeed.

The division contains such diverse functions as the college budget office, emergency management, the office of information technology, conference services, environmental health and safety, building services, network services and data security, payroll and benefits, parking and motor pool services, and construction and maintenance. The division includes employees who hail from all walks of life and who serve the college as computer programmers and custodians, groundskeepers and fiscal technicians, police officers and project managers.

The new Vice President will join Evergreen at a pivotal point in its history as public higher education institutions are experiencing significant increases in costs while financial support becomes more constrained. The College’s leadership will look to the Vice President for Finance and Administration for business acumen and sound analysis of new initiatives that are being developed with the intention of increasing enrollment and net revenue. The new Vice President will also need to guide the investment strategies for the College and advise the Foundation in a way that recognizes the social justice priorities of the community while maximizing the returns that are critical to supporting the financial needs of our students.

Students

Not surprisingly, given Evergreen’s uniqueness, the majority of enrolling students describe Evergreen as their first choice. Evergreen’s commitment to interdisciplinary academic programs accounts for one part of the attraction. Another appeal is the College’s location in the Pacific Northwest. The institution uses these assets to strengthen academic programs.

A large percentage of new students transfer to Evergreen from other institutions, primarily from the state’s community colleges, making this constituency the largest among the many cohorts that comprise The Evergreen State College student body. Some additional Fall 2025 demographics on its student body include:

Leadership

Evergreen’s eight-member Board of Trustees is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate and includes one student trustee. The board delegates authority for the operation of the College to the president and, through the president, to the college’s faculty and staff.

The Vice President joins the President, Executive Vice President, Academic Vice President and Provost, and Vice President for Advancement in a closely collaborative institutional leadership team. They are joined in executive leadership by the Associate Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing and Communications, Chief Administrative Officer, Dean of Students, Director of Government Relations, and Vice Provost.

President John Carmichael

John Carmichael, Ph.D. was appointed as Evergreen’s seventh president in July 2022, following a year as the college’s interim president. John has deep ties to the college. He earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Administration degrees from Evergreen. He joined Evergreen’s staff in 1998 as a secretary and served in a variety of roles over more than 25 years, including chief of staff and secretary to the board of trustees and as vice president for finance and operations. He earned a Ph.D. in Education and Human Resource Studies from Colorado State University and attended Harvard’s Finance for Senior Executives program. With two other commissioners, he represents Washington state on the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.