St. Bernard’s School
Business Manager (CFO)
DEERFIELD ASSOCIATES has been retained by St. Bernard’s School, located in New York, New York, to conduct a national search for a Business Manager (CFO).
St. Bernard’s School, founded in 1904 by John Card Jenkins, is a top tier, private, all-boys elementary school in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. It has 385 students in grades K-9 with a student-teacher ratio of 7 to 1.
St. Bernard’s Statement of Purpose
St. Bernard’s offers able young boys of diverse backgrounds an exceptionally thorough, rigorous, and enjoyable introduction to learning and community life. We wish to inspire boys to value hard work and fair play, to develop confidence, consideration for others, and a sense of citizenship, and to have fun while doing these things.
- https://www.stbernards.org/about-us/at-a-glance
- https://www.stbernards.org/about-us/purpose
- For more background on St. Bernard’s School please visit: www.stbernards.org.
Overview of the Opportunity
St. Bernard’s School seeks a Business Manager (CFO) who will serve as a strategic and operational leader, providing counsel to the Head of School and the Board of Trustees. The Business Manager will ensure the efficient and effective stewardship of the School’s physical and financial resources, including operation of support services, oversight of risk management, and project management for any future capital project initiatives. The Business Manager will report to the Head of School and serve as a member of the administrative leadership team. This opportunity is available July 1, 2027, though the School is interested in learning about candidates who may want to start sooner.
The Business Manager will ensure the continued excellence of the School’s financial and business operations. The new hire will also serve as a resource to the administrative leadership team and other campus groups. In these capacities, the Business Manager will enable the School to realize its educational mission and ambitions. St. Bernard’s has a current endowment of $177M, an annual operating budget of $25M, and no debt.
The new hire will be responsible for managing, leading, and overseeing all business practices and operations including finance and facilities-related activities and all other functions as necessary. The Business Manager works in close collaboration with the Head of School and Board of Trustees in carrying out fiduciary duties and responsibilities, which include establishing, monitoring, and tracking financials and providing strategic support for the goals of the organization. As the financial administrator for the school, the incumbent ensures the preservation of assets and prudent deployment of resources relative to all business office matters. The Business Manager directly manage a Controller, Facilities Director, and Security Director, leads additional staff, serves as the primary liaison with the school’s catering/dining provider, and also works closely with the Director of Human Resources.
Responsibilities
- Manages all finance, accounting, compliance, and reporting functions.
- Oversees non-academic aspects of school operations, including facilities and security.
- Evaluates major capital projects, equipment, and building plans.
- Oversees and administers the school’s endowment ($177M).
- Prepares and monitors the annual operating budget ($25M).
- Administers the school’s financial aid program, including distribution of awards.
- Reviews insurance requirements and coordinates the annual review.
- Supports the Finance, Investment, and Audit committees of the Board of Trustees.
- Coordinates annual financial statement and pension plan audits and related tax filings.
- Maintains relationships with bankers, attorneys, auditors, and insurance professionals.
- Reviews and analyzes contractual obligations.
- Liaises with third-party food service and security providers.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree in finance and/or accounting strongly preferred. Professional certification preferred.
- 10+ years of experience in a financial and business leadership position.
- Nonprofit experience, preferably with an independent school.
- An accomplished and deep background in accounting, financial management, and modeling.
- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Demonstrated experience working effectively with multiple constituencies.
- A high level of integrity and ethical standards, and a strong work ethic.
- Collaborative spirit, optimism, patience, and maturity.
- Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work graciously with the school’s community while maintaining discretion and confidentiality.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills; strong data analysis skills and public speaking ability.
- Practical experience working with faculty and motivating staff members.
- Experience working with, and ability to connect to, a sophisticated and diverse community.
- Excellent listening skills, a growth mindset, warmth, and good humor.
- An interest in embracing and leveraging technology to support business office goals and objectives.
History
We spring from a distinctive heritage. In 1904 John C. Jenkins, a young Englishman and graduate of Cambridge University, founded St. Bernard’s with his friend Francis Tabor and served as headmaster until 1949. His successor, R.I.W. Westgate (M.A. Oxford, Ph.D. Harvard), was headmaster until 1971. These men established the pattern of a strong, stable, well-qualified faculty, deeply committed both to learning and to the boys in their charge. That pattern continued with Stuart H. Johnson, III, who was headmaster from 1985 to 2020. Evan Moraitis, who has been with St. Bernard’s for more than forty years, served as interim head of school from 2020 to 2022 and now serves as assistant head of school. Joy S. Hurd IV, a former St. B’s faculty member, became the head of school in July of 2022.
Welcome
Among all the schools I have known, as a student or as a teacher, there is no school I love more–indeed, none has had a greater impact on my education or my life–than St. Bernard’s.
During my early years teaching at 4 East 98th Street, I learned more than I ever could have anticipated, both from my impressive colleagues and from my unusually enthusiastic and industrious students. In 2022, after ten years away, I was fortunate to be invited to come back and to lead St. Bernard’s, and I feel every day as though I have come back home.
When people ask me what one thing makes St. Bernard’s singularly excellent, I reply that no other school I know fosters in its students such sincere curiosity–the belief that there is always more worth learning. As anyone who knows St. Bernard’s can attest, our students and faculty revel in the asking of great questions and the discovery of new knowledge in a way that is truly exceptional. Just as it has for generations of alumni (our Old Boys), the school has inspired me to keep learning and developing my intellectual life ever since I first passed through its doors. I will always be grateful for the gift of being invited to teach here, and I am humbled and honored to lead such an extraordinary school community.
As you learn more about our school, you will discover that we are a school dedicated to both the life of the mind and the cultivation of the heart, a place of camaraderie and belonging, of sportsmanship, service, and song. St. Bernard’s is a community where the students, faculty, staff, families, and Old Boys care deeply about each other and the values and traditions that the school holds dear. We have always had high expectations, not only for the boys’ achievement but also for their character, because we have always believed so strongly in them. We want our boys to become the best versions of themselves, just as we want St. Bernard’s always to be the best version of its inimitable self.
Welcome, and thank you for your interest in our beloved school, where for nearly 125 years boys have learned fundamental knowledge and skills as well as the value of friendship, hard work, good humor, character, and community.
Joy S. Hurd IV
Head of School
Mr. Joy S. Hurd IV
Joy S. Hurd IV studied the classics at Harvard College, where he graduated in 2006 magna cum laude with high honors in Greek and Latin, winning both the David Taggart Clark Prize for delivering the Commencement Latin Oration and the William Richardson King Prize for excellence in Greek and Latin language. He later studied at the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College, where he earned an M.A. in Private School Leadership. He also holds an M.A. in English literature from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College.
Mr. Hurd first joined the St. Bernard’s faculty in 2008 as a seventh-grade homeroom teacher. He taught Latin, English, and history in the Upper School and also served as a secondary school placement advisor. After completing his degree at Teachers College, Mr. Hurd taught Latin at Riverdale Country School and served as assistant director of Middle and Upper School admissions there. Later, he was the director of the Upper School at Buckley. Mr. Hurd served most recently as head of school at Lake Forest Country Day School, a PreK-8th grade school in the suburbs of Chicago.
St. Bernard’s School Benefits
St. Bernard’s School offers a dynamic and supportive work environment, competitive salaries, and a comprehensive benefits package including a retirement plan with a generous employer contribution, comprehensive insurance benefits and support for professional growth.
St. Bernard’s School is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and seeks candidates who will add to the diversity of the school community.
Employment Background Check
For the candidate of choice, a thorough background check including a criminal and financial background check is required as a condition of employment.
Target Hiring Salary Range
This position is expected to pay an annual salary in the range of $375,000 – $425,000. The final compensation offered to the candidate of choice will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and budgetary considerations.
Contact Information
To explore this superb career opportunity on a highly confidential basis, send your résumé and a letter of interest along with a list of five (5) references (who will be contacted only if mutual interest is determined), to:
Doug Cooney, Executive Search Consultant, DEERFIELD ASSOCIATES Executive Search, Inc.
572 Washington Street, Suite 15, Wellesley, MA 02482 Telephone: 781-237-2800.
Email: jobs@deerfieldassociates.com
