The Associate Provost for Finance and Planning (AP) is the senior finance and operations executive for the Penn Provost with direct responsibility for finance, budget, human resources, capital projects, facilities, and academic technology for approximately 40 administrative units with approximately 1,500 staff and annual operating budgets totaling $500 million. Reporting to the newly selected Provost, John Jackson, Jr., the AP provides advice and counsel to the Provost on a broad array of academic initiatives and opportunities. The AP serves as primary budget liaison to the university's 12 schools and 10 resource and administrative centers and provides leadership to variety of ongoing and ad hoc University committees. In addition, the AP is the point person for the Provost Office on centrally funded faculty hiring initiatives such as Penn Integrates Knowledge Professors and Presidential Professors, including facilitating resolution of complex, sometimes multi-school issues related to recruitment of the most highly distinguished faculty members.
As an important partner to the Office of the Senior Executive Vice President, the AP works collaboratively with Facilities and Real Estate Services and School leaders to define priority space needs as well as to identify and negotiate for new space solutions for academic units and serves as the Provost’s representative on the Capital Advisory Group (CAG) which reviews all facilities projects over $500,000, as well as participates on the executive committees for new school building projects. The AP serves on the Penn Technology Investment Committee and typically acts as a co-sponsor of academic enterprise technology projects, including Workday Human Capital Management and the Next Generation Student System. The AP also serves as member of Provost's Senior Management Group and provides strategic advice and guidance to University HR on employee benefits programs and their impact on recruiting and retention.
The AP will bring the administrative, financial, planning, and communication skills appropriate to someone who is serving in an executive role. The AP will be an inclusive and innovative leader who weighs decisions thoughtfully and involves others in the decision-making process as appropriate. They must work with the highest levels of integrity, honesty, and openness and must create strong and enduring collaborative relationships with leaders across the University. The AP should possess senior-level operational and administrative experience in a comparably complex setting and a significant period of progressively responsible leadership and administrative experience in several of the functional areas that fall within the position’s scope of responsibility; while expertise in finance and budget is valuable, the ability to lead broadly and synergistically across the portfolio areas will be crucial to the AP’s success and impact.
As important as functional expertise are certain core principles and competencies. These include the ability to lead through influence independent of positional authority; a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion that is lived, visible, and actualized; the ability to develop trust relationships so as to work effectively in a decentralized environment with matrixed lines of authority and accountability; and the confidence and credibility to represent Penn to advisory and governance entities.
Required qualifications include a master’s degree preferably in business/finance/accounting, plus 10 or more years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience and demonstrated leadership experience in budget modeling and the budgetary process. Preferred qualifications include experience in higher education; an understanding of human resources principles and practices; experience in working with unionized employees; and experience with capital planning, strategic planning, and developing strategic plans. Experience with grant/gift administration is strongly preferred.
The University of Pennsylvania has retained Opus Partners to assist with this search. Please direct all inquiries, nominations, and applications (resumes and letters of interest) electronically and in confidence to Katie Dean, Associate Partner katie.dean@opuspartners.net and Thomas Lapierre, Senior Associate thomas.lapierre@opuspartners.net.
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.
Penn’s academics are boosted by its inherent culture and ecosystem of innovation. You name it, if it’s cutting-edge, the University’s faculty—and students—have their hands in it. Grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and enriched by the integrated resources of four undergraduate and 12 graduate schools, Penn offers students an unparalleled education informed by inclusivity, intellectual rigor, research, and the impetus to create new knowledge to the benefit of individuals and communities around the world.
