Careers

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), one of the world’s leading art and design colleges, seeks an
experienced, strategic leader to be their next Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration
(SVPF&A). The new SVPF&A will join RISD at a time of tremendous opportunity. RISD’s new president,
Crystal Williams, is building a new leadership team to bring fresh ideas, perspectives, strategies and
solutions, and a renewed commitment to assure that RISD’s students—talented young artists, designers, learners, and innovators—are well prepared for their futures. Core to President Williams’ commitments is social equity and inclusion (SEI) and the integration of these principals in all institutional outcomes.

The Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration serves as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and works closely with senior leadership and the Board of Trustees on financial planning, budget modeling, and major resource allocation matters across all areas of the school. They oversee an annual operating budget in excess of $170 million and the institution’s administrative operations which include: information technology, facilities, risk management, human resources, auxiliary services, and public safety. For this critical position, RISD is seeking a strategic leader who has the vision to anticipate, and respond, to the challenges and opportunities in higher education in general, and art and design education in particular. The new SVPF&A will understand the importance of integrating SEI goals throughout all reporting units and will have a track record of evincing positive SEI outcomes. In this way, the new SVPF&A will be a values-aligned leader who is excited by RISD’s holistic commit and understands how to leverage institutional resources, practices, and policies in service of this key strategic priority. They will be a systems thinker who can assess current policies and processes to ensure RISD is modelling best practices and find innovative uses of resources and technology to strengthen essential college administrative functions, and advance strategies for campus maintenance, improvement, and space utilization. They must have the communications and leadership skills to successfully connect with a wide range of highly engaged stakeholders and cultivate relationships based on mutual trust and respect to help shape RISD’s future through strong fiscal stewardship as the College enters the next exciting phase of its history. As the leader of a large team, the SVPF&A will be a strong and supportive manager, modeling a culture of accountability, openness, high-quality service, and transparency, while establishing processes and structures that best utilize and support the expertise of their strong leadership team. Finally, while student interest in RISD continues to grow, the institution faces significant opportunities and decisions which will impact the current and future health of the organization. In this regard, the new SVPF&A must be a strong collaborator, an educator who can help identify and articulate current challenges and potential solutions to faculty, staff, administrators, and the Board of Trustees. They must have proven experience in advancing SEI goals through leveraging financial and other institutional resources.

The Rhode Island School of Design has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to
assist in conducting this important search and to help identify outstanding candidates. All inquiries,
applications, and nominations for this opportunity will be held in strict confidence and should be
directed to the search firm as indicated at the end of this document.

TO APPLY
RISD is assisted in this recruitment by the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. All inquiries and
nominations should be directed to the search firm. Please send a CV or resume and a letter of interest in strict confidence to the following:

Dan Rodas, Partner,
Gail Gregory, Managing Associate
Isaacson, Miller
http://www.imsearch.com/8899

Inquiries, nominations, and referrals are also welcome, and will be handled in confidence.

About Rhode Island School of Design

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), founded in 1877, is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. Enrolling about 2000 undergraduates and 400 graduate students from across the United States and 55 other countries, RISD offers 16 undergraduate majors and 16 graduate majors, and is ranked annually by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top art and design schools in the United States. RISD’s rigorous education encourages creative experimentation and intellectual risk-taking, challenging students to question their approach to art making through critical thinking. There are over 90,000 works of art in the RISD Museum, which houses a collection of fine and decorative art objects. The first public galleries opened in 1893. The RISD Library is one of the oldest independent art college libraries in the country with more than 150,000 volumes and 380 periodical subscriptions which offer unusual depth and richness in the areas of architecture, art, design, and photography. The RISD campus is contiguous with the campus of Brown University and the two institutions share social, academic, and community resources.RISD recognizes diversity and inclusivity as fundament...al to its learning community and integral to an art and design education.  We welcome candidates whose experience has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.

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