Deputy Chief Financial Officer

State of Colorado; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 240,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & dental

Paid holidays

Retirement plan

Tuition benefits

RTD Ecopass

Job summary

Colorado School of Mines, located in Golden, CO, seeks a Deputy Chief Financial Officer to drive financial sustainability, strategic planning, and administrative excellence. You will partner with executive leadership to align resources with academic and research priorities and manage risk, reserves, and debt capacity.

The role leads Accounting, Research Administration, Procure to Pay, FP&A, Treasury, and Business Systems, with extensive collaboration across campus to support teaching, research,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or business.
• CPA license OR MBA or related degree.
• 15+ years in financial operations with broad leadership across a multi-portfolio environment.
• Proven track record of building relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and liquidity management.
• Oversee strategic financial leadership and model long‑term financial resilience and growth.
• Drive operational excellence, process improvement, and internal controls across finance and admin.
• Develop analytics, forecasting, and decision support for university leadership.
• Ensure compliance with laws, policies, and sponsor requirements.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder collaboration

Financial planning

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in accounting/finance/business

CPA or MBA/related master’s degree

Tools

Workday

Job description

Reporting to the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer, the Deputy Chief Financial Officer (Deputy CFO) is a strategic leader responsible for advancing the University’s financial sustainability, operational effectiveness, and administration capabilities. The role provides leadership for financial planning, resource stewardship, business process improvement, risk management, and organizational performance, ensuring financial and administrative operations align with institutional priorities and support the University’s academic, research, and growth objectives.

The areas of oversight for the Deputy CFO are Accounting, Research Administration, Procure to Pay, Financial Planning and Analysis, Treasury, and the Business Systems Functional Team. Specific to those areas, the functions are financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management and reserve levels, debt capacity, student accounts, purchasing and payments, and administrative systems.

Strategic Financial Leadership

The Deputy CFO serves as a strategic partner to the CFO and executive leadership team, providing leadership and guidance on matters affecting the University’s financial health, sustainability and growth. The Deputy CFO helps develop and implement financial strategies that align resources with institutional priorities, support academic and research excellence, and ensure the University’s continued ability to achieve its mission. The position also evaluates the financial impact of new initiatives, enrollment trends, legislative changes, and economic conditions, while ensuring compliance with applicable policies and regulations.

The Deputy CFO is responsible for monitoring and assessing the University’s overall financial condition, including operating performance, liquidity, reserves, debt capacity, and long‑term financial forecasts. The position develops recommendations and strategies to maintain fiscal strength, financial resilience, and an appropriate balance between current operational needs and future investment opportunities.

Operational Excellence

The Deputy CFO will lead financial, administrative, and research operations, ensuring that key University business processes are streamlined, effective, efficient, stable, and mature. The position is responsible for advancing a culture of continuous improvement through business process re‑engineering initiatives that simplify workflows, eliminate redundancies, strengthen internal controls, improve service delivery, and optimize the use of technology. The Deputy CFO will ensure that operational processes are scalable, sustainable, and aligned with institutional goals while providing the leadership and resources necessary to support organizational success.

Data Analytics, Financial Modeling, and Decision Support

The Deputy CFO will establish and advance financial analytics, forecasting, and modeling capabilities that support strategic and operational decision‑making across the University. The position ensures leaders have access to timely, accurate, and actionable information to evaluate opportunities, assess risks, allocate resources, and measure performance against institutional objectives.

Risk Management and Compliance

The Deputy CFO partners with university leadership to identify, assess, and mitigate financial and operational risks that may impact the institution’s ability to achieve its strategic objectives. The position ensures compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and sponsor requirements while promoting a strong culture of accountability, transparency, and stewardship.

Service Excellence and Stakeholder Partnership

The Deputy CFO partners closely with academic and administrative departments to understand their needs and provide responsive, value‑added financial, administrative, and research administration services. The position fosters a culture of customer service excellence, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement, ensuring that financial and operational processes effectively support the University’s teaching, research, and public service missions.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited university in accounting, finance, or business
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license OR a Master’s Degree in Accounting, Master’s Degree in Business Administration or related degree
• At least 15 years experience in financial operations and progressive leadership across a complex and broad portfolio that must have included at least:
• 12 years of experience leading multi-portfolio teams
• 10 years accounting, financial planning and analysis, treasury management experience and financial systems
• Documented experience managing complex financial positions, $500 million or greater
• Demonstrated track record of success building relationships and collaborating broad range of stakeholders both internally and externally

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience higher education
• Experience in an R1 research setting is highly preferred
• CPA license and Master’s Degree in Accounting, or MBA preferred
• Prior experience working in Workday, or similar complex enterprise level system
• Previous experience collaborating with state, local and Federal partners highly desired

Competencies

• Visionary leadership with the ability to drive institutional change
• Deep understanding of higher education operations and governance
• Strong financial, analytical, decision‑making, and problem‑solving skills
• Ability to balance strategic priorities with day‑to‑day operational demands
• Demonstrated experience effectively communicating mission, vision and strategy at all organizational levels

Total Rewards

Salary: Rate of $240,000.00 - $280,000 annually

Mines takes into consideration a combination of candidate’s education, training and experience as well as the position's scope and complexity, the discretion and latitude required in the role, work location, and external market and internal value when determining a salary level for potential new employees.

Benefits

Colorado School of Mines offers a robust portfolio of benefits for all employees. For this role, that includes:

• Flexible health and dental care options
• Generous sick/vacation time: 13 paid holidays per year - including a week-long winter break for the entire campus.
• Fully vested retirement plan on first day of employment, with generous employer contribution
• Tuition benefits (6 credits per year for employees, 50 percent discount for dependents)
• Free RTD Ecopass

All Mines employees also have access to discount programs through the State of Colorado and free tickets for Mines Athletics home games, as well as access to the state-of-the-art Recreation Center (fitness classes and training, swimming pool and more) and equipment rentals through the Outdoor Rec Center. We are proud to have recently opened an on-campus daycare center. For more details about benefits at Mines, visit mines.edu/human-resources/benefits.

Conditions of Employment

Successful completion of a background investigation, including a credit check is required for this position.

Additional Information and Reasonable Accommodation Requests

It is the intent of Mines to comply with the applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, and their implementation rules and regulations, in support of equal opportunities for qualified applicants with disabilities. To meet this goal, Mines will make reasonable accommodations during the employment selection process and within our working environment.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to access job openings or apply for a job on our site as a result of your disability. You can request a reasonable accommodation by contacting our Human Resources team at [e-mail] or 303.273.3250 for assistance.

Successful completion of a background investigation is required for this position.

About Mines & Golden, CO

When the world looks for answers, the world looks to Mines.

Colorado School of Mines is a top-ranked public university solving the grand challenges facing our society, particularly those related to the Earth, energy and the environment. Founded in 1874 with specialties in mining and metallurgy, Mines’ scope and mission have continually expanded to meet the needs of industry and society. Today, we are the No. 40 public university in the nation, recognized for our innovation and undergraduate teaching in science, technology engineering and math (U.S. News and World Report, 2026).

Mines graduates are change makers, boundary breakers and problem solvers. Since our earliest days, a Mines education has been and continues to be a transformational opportunity, with one of the strongest returns on investment out there for talented STEM students of all backgrounds.

At the same time, Mines faculty members are pushing their fields in new directions, whether that’s manufacturing, space resources, quantum engineering, carbon capture or more. Mines was recently classified as a R1 “Very High Activity” research institution by Carnegie, a notable feat for any university but particularly one of our size.

That size – roughly 8,200 undergraduate and graduate students – also translates to a close-knit campus community, where employees have opportunities to get involved in multiple ways, continued professional learning is valued and everyone can make an impact.

Community Alliance groups bring together employees for professional development, networking, and community involvement, and all Mines employees also have access to the wealth of activities happening every day on campus – nationally-renowned speakers, special events and Mines traditions like Engineering Days, just to name a few.

And don’t get us started on our hometown. We are located in the heart of Golden, Colorado --with its charming historic downtown and nearby hiking trails – and in close proximity to all that Denver and the Rocky Mountains have to offer. That includes the sunny, high‑altitude climate and outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities that make the Denver area an ideal place to live, work and play.

Are you looking for an inspiring, mission-driven workplace where you can contribute to solving the world’s problems and educating the next generation of change makers? Are you an individual who values a community where our individual perspectives and experiences enrich the educational and work experience?

Look to Mines.

Colorado's premier engineering and applied science university for 150 years and counting