Vice President, Financial Planning & Strategy

WQED; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

WQED Multimedia seeks a Vice President of Financial Planning and Strategy to guide financial planning, analysis, forecasting, and strategic decision support. The role is not a traditional Controller role; accounting is managed by an outsourced partner, with QuickBooks and BILL in use for core operations.

The VP will focus on the future, quantifying financial implications of decisions, evaluating revenue diversification, risks, and opportunities, and building realistic plans for the years ahead.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial planning, analysis, forecasting, and decision-support for WQED.
• Establish forward-looking planning discipline connecting strategy, revenue, and cash needs.
• Provide concise, decision-useful financial information to senior leadership and the Board.

Job description

WQED Multimedia is seeking a Vice President of Financial Planning and Strategy to lead financial planning, analysis, forecasting, and strategic decision support for the organization. This is not a traditional Controller role. WQED works with an outsourced accounting partner that manages day-to-day accounting, accounts payable and receivable, monthly and year-end close, audit support, and tax preparation coordination. WQED recently adopted QuickBooks and BILL for its core financial operations.

The Vice President of Financial Planning and Strategy will focus primarily on the future: helping WQED understand the financial implications of its decisions, evaluate the sustainability and diversification of its revenue, anticipate risks and opportunities, and build realistic plans for the years ahead.

As a member of WQED’s executive team, the Vice President will partner closely with the President & CEO and department leaders to translate strategy into financial plans, forecasts, scenarios, and decision-useful analysis.

The successful candidate will be comfortable bringing structure to complexity, working with imperfect information, questioning assumptions constructively, and building useful tools and processes over time.

The Assignment

• Help WQED see around corners financially and make better informed decisions about the future.
• Establish a forward-looking financial planning discipline that connects strategy, revenue sustainability, departmental plans, cash needs, and organizational capacity, giving leaders practical tools to test assumptions, understand tradeoffs, and plan with confidence.

What Success Looks Like

• WQED can see potential financial challenges earlier and has more time to respond to them.
• Leadership understands which revenue streams are growing, declining, concentrated, vulnerable, or capable of expansion, including membership and emerging sources such as e-commerce and merchandise.
• Budgets, rolling forecasts, cash projections, and scenario models are practical and active management tools, rather than annual exercises.
• Senior leadership and the Board of Directors receive concise, decision-oriented financial information that explains what the numbers mean and what may happen next.
• Institutional grant and underwriting/sponsorship opportunities are pursued with stronger visibility into pipeline, probability, financial requirements, and long-term sustainability.

Review the full job description, with responsibilities and qualifications, at wqed.tv/vp-finance.

Location

This is a Pittsburgh-based role with regular on-site presence at WQED’s offices in Oakland. Occasional remote work is possible as assignments permit.

WQED Multimedia is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate the diversity of the communities we serve and are dedicated to fostering an inclusive, supportive workplace for all. Applicants with disabilities or those needing reasonable accommodation may contact [e-mail].