Vice President of Treasury

First Student; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

First Student, Inc. is seeking a globally focused Vice President of Treasury to lead liquidity, capital structure, and financial risk management aligned with corporate strategy.

The role acts as the primary interface with banks, rating agencies, and debt investors, advising the CFO and Board on capital allocation and financing decisions. The candidate will direct capital markets activities, ensure robust cash management, and drive enhancements in treasury systems and internal controls, reporting

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in corporate treasury, corporate finance, or investment banking, with at least 5 years in a senior treasury leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience executing capital markets transactions (investment-grade or high-yield debt, syndicated loans).
• Deep knowledge of cash management, liquidity planning, and financial risk management.
• Experience presenting to senior executives and Boards of Directors.
• Experience with public company reporting, SOX controls, and rating agency interactions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the company's capital structure strategy, including debt issuance, refinancing, credit facility management, and commercial paper programs.
• Lead execution of bond offerings, term loans, revolving credit facilities, and other financing transactions in partnership with legal, tax, and investment bank advisors.
• Support capital allocation decisions, including share repurchases, dividend policy, and M&A financing.
• Maintain relationships with rating agencies and lead annual rating reviews to protect or improve credit ratings.
• Oversee global cash management, including cash positioning, forecasting, pooling, and repatriation strategies.
• Develop and maintain liquidity forecasts to ensure the company can meet obligations.
• Manage the investment portfolio of excess cash per policy.
• Oversee hedging programs for FX, rates, and commodities; ensure hedge accounting compliance.
• Oversee bank relationships, treasury systems, and controls over payments and fraud prevention.
• Maintain treasury policies and report to Audit/Finance Committee; ensure SOX compliance and regulatory disclosures.
• Lead treasury team and collaborate with Tax, Accounting, FP&A, Legal, IR, and business units.

Skills

Capital markets

Liquidity planning

Financial risk management

Executive presentation

Strategic leadership

Education

MBA

CFA

CPA

CTP

Tools

Kyriba

SAP

FIS

Job description

The Vice President of Treasury leads the company's global treasury function, ensuring the organization has the liquidity, capital structure, and financial risk management needed to execute its strategy. This role is the company's primary relationship owner with banks, rating agencies, and debt investors, and serves as a key advisor to the CFO, executive leadership, and the Board on capital allocation, financing, and financial risk.

Key Responsibilities

Capital Markets and Corporate Finance

• Develop and execute the company's capital structure strategy, including debt issuance, refinancing, credit facility management, and commercial paper programs.
• Lead execution of bond offerings, term loans, revolving credit facilities, and other financing transactions in partnership with legal, tax, and investment bank advisors.
• Support capital allocation decisions, including share repurchases, dividend policy, and M&A financing.
• Maintain relationships with rating agencies (S&P, Moody's, Fitch) and lead annual rating reviews to protect or improve the company's credit ratings.

Liquidity and Cash Management

• Oversee global cash management, including cash positioning, forecasting, pooling, and repatriation strategies.
• Develop and maintain short- and long-term liquidity forecasts to ensure the company can meet operating, investment, and debt obligations.
• Manage the investment portfolio of excess cash in accordance with Board-approved investment policies.
• Optimize working capital in partnership with FP&A, accounts payable, and accounts receivable teams.

Financial Risk Management

• Design and execute hedging programs for foreign exchange, interest rate, and commodity exposures (e.g., fuel, metals).
• Ensure compliance with hedge accounting requirements (ASC 815) in coordination with the Controller's organization.
• Oversee counterparty risk management and exposure limits.
• Where applicable, oversee enterprise insurance and risk transfer programs.

Banking Relationships and Operations

• Manage the global bank group, including wallet allocation, bank fee analysis, and relationship strategy.
• Oversee bank account structure, signatory authority, and treasury management systems (e.g., Kyriba, SAP, FIS).
• Ensure robust controls over payments, fraud prevention, and cyber-related treasury risks.

Governance, Compliance, and Reporting

• Maintain treasury policies (investment, hedging, debt, cash management) and present updates to the Audit or Finance Committee of the Board.
• Ensure compliance with debt covenants and reporting obligations.
• Maintain SOX-compliant controls over treasury processes.
• Contribute to SEC disclosures (10-K, 10-Q) related to liquidity, capital resources, debt, and market risk.

Pension and Benefit Plan Oversight

• Oversee investment management of defined benefit and defined contribution plans, often as a member of the company's investment committee.
• Manage relationships with plan trustees, investment consultants, and asset managers.

Leadership

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing treasury team.
• Partner closely with Tax, Accounting, FP&A, Legal, Investor Relations, and business unit finance leaders.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in corporate treasury, corporate finance, or investment banking, with at least 5 years in a senior treasury leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience executing capital markets transactions (investment-grade or high-yield debt, syndicated loans).
• Deep knowledge of cash management, liquidity planning, and financial risk management.
• Experience presenting to senior executives and Boards of Directors.
• Experience with public company reporting, SOX controls, and rating agency interactions.

Preferred

• MBA and/or CFA, CTP (Certified Treasury Professional), or CPA.
• Experience in a multinational environment with global cash and FX exposure.
• Experience with M&A financing, divestitures, or spin-offs.
• Hands-on experience implementing or upgrading treasury management systems.

Language Requirement

This role requires English proficiency. Federal, state, and local requirements, including U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, require training, safety communications, company policies, employment documents, and other job-related communications be conducted in English.

First for a reason:

At First Student, we are a family of 60,000+ employees who take pride in safely transporting more than 5 million students and passengers to and from their destinations each day! Our family of brands include Transco, Total Transportation, Maggies Paratransit, and GVC II. Our employees are at the forefront of safety and innovation; they create and implement the most advanced training and technology the transportation industry has to offer.

In the state of Washington, all technician and driving positions, including but not limited to van drivers and any other position requiring employees to drive a company-owned vehicle, are considered safety-sensitive and are therefore subject to drug and alcohol testing, including cannabis.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. First is also committed to providing a drug-free workplace. First will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance, and any other fair chance law. Philadelphia's Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Ordinance Poster is at this link or upon request https://www.phila.gov/media/20210423160847/Fair-Chance-Hiring-law-poster.pdf.