Director of Finance

Company Description

About Covista

Covista (NYSE: CVSA) is America's largest healthcare educator, serving 100,000 students and supported by a community of 400,000 alumni across five accredited institutions. Through personalized, tech-enabled education powered by 10,000 faculty and colleagues, Covista expands access to healthcare careers and addresses the U.S. healthcare workforce shortage at scale. Covista is the parent company of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and Walden University.

Our colleagues come from a wide range of backgrounds, business, academia, healthcare, government and nonprofits, and are part of a culture where doing exceptional work and making a meaningful difference for students and society aren't separate goals—they're one and the same. This means creating an environment where colleagues can develop new skills, build careers that match their ambitions and see the tangible impact of their work on healthcare education and workforce development. Colleagues who deliver results and embrace new tools to work smarter are valued for their contributions. But what makes working at Covista distinctive is our impact. Our faculty and colleagues don't just support healthcare education—they shape it. This isn't abstract purpose work. It's solving real problems for real people in real communities while advancing careers.

We operate on a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week (Monday–Thursday). This approach enhances creativity, innovation, communication, and relationship-building, fostering a dynamic and collaborative work environment.

For more information, visit covista.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

Job Description

Opportunity at a Glance

Chamberlain University is seeking a highly strategic Director of Finance to lead financial planning, investment analysis, performance management, and executive decision support for two of the institution's most important growth platforms: Campus Expansion and Strategic Partnerships.

Reporting directly to the CFO, this leader will serve as the primary finance partner supporting Chamberlain's Expansion and Partnerships organizations, helping evaluate growth investments, expansion opportunities, healthcare employer partnerships, and workforce pipeline initiatives that advance Chamberlain's long-term growth strategy.

 This leader will work directly with the Vice President of Expansion and Vice President of Partnerships, serving as the primary finance advisor supporting growth decisions, investment prioritization, business case development, and long-range strategic planning. The role requires a trusted business partner who can influence executive decision-making and help translate growth opportunities into disciplined, financially sound investment decisions.

 This role sits at the center of Covista’ s Purpose at Scale strategy, the company's multi-year growth plan focused on addressing America's healthcare workforce shortage through Operational Excellence, Platform Extension, Employer Integration, and Technology Focus. As the finance lead supporting both Campus Expansion and Partnerships, this individual will provide the financial rigor behind two of Covista’ s most significant growth drivers and strategic priorities.

 The Director of Finance will help determine where Chamberlain invests, expands, and partners by developing sophisticated financial models, business cases, ROI analyses, and strategic recommendations. This is a highly visible opportunity that combines analytical rigor with executive-level influence and business partnership.

 The successful candidate will be equally comfortable building complex financial models, evaluating strategic growth investments, and presenting actionable recommendations to senior leadership. They will operate as a trusted advisor, helping guide decisions that shape the future growth of Chamberlain University and Covista’ s healthcare workforce mission.

Responsibilities

Strategic Growth Finance Leadership

• Serve as the dedicated finance partner to Chamberlain's Vice President of Expansion and Vice President of Partnerships, supporting two of Covista’ s most important growth platforms.
• Evaluate new market opportunities, campus expansion initiatives, healthcare employer partnerships, workforce development investments, and strategic growth opportunities.
• Develop financial models, business cases, investment recommendations, and executive presentations that support growth-related decision-making.
• Assess partnership economics, expansion opportunities, capital deployment decisions, and long-term value creation initiatives.
• Provide financial leadership and analytical support for strategic initiatives aligned to Covista's Platform Extension and Employer Integration growth strategies.
• Translate complex financial analysis into actionable recommendations for executive leadership, helping determine where Chamberlain invests, expands, and partners.

Planning Cycles

• Lead the annual budget, monthly forecast, and long-range planning processes, ensuring financial plans are grounded in key business drivers and aligned with strategic objectives.

Forecasting Infrastructure

• Design and build scalable forecasting tools that leverage large datasets, including enrollment, tuition, revenue, and expense data, utilizing modern finance technologies and AI-enabled tools where appropriate.

Executive Deliverables

• Develop monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting packages and presentations for executive leadership, board audiences, and enterprise stakeholders that are accurate, concise, and actionable.

Performance Reporting

• Deliver meaningful P&L, KPI, and management reporting that highlights trends, risks, and opportunities while enabling informed decision-making.

Decision Support

• Lead variance analysis, scenario modeling, sensitivity analysis, and strategic financial evaluations across revenue, operating expenses, enrollment, and profitability drivers.

Business Cases & Investment Analysis

• Develop financial models supporting new campuses, strategic partnerships, capital investments, workforce development initiatives, operational improvements, and resource allocation decisions.
• Establish post-investment measurement frameworks to evaluate performance against assumptions and improve future investment decisions.

Expansion & Partnership Analytics

• Partner closely with Expansion and Partnerships leadership to evaluate the financial viability of growth initiatives.
• Develop ROI analyses, market-entry assessments, break-even analyses, and investment recommendations for executive decision-making.
• Support strategic healthcare employer partnerships through financial evaluation and business case development.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate with leaders across academic affairs, enrollment, operations, marketing, strategy, accounting, and institutional leadership to improve business performance and support organizational growth.

Multi-Year Strategic Planning

• Provide enrollment, cost, tuition, profitability, and capacity analyses that inform long-term growth strategies and future expansion decisions.

Process & Technology Enablement

• Drive greater standardization, automation, and data quality across planning, forecasting, reporting, and analytics processes.
• Leverage modern finance tools, advanced analytics, and AI-enabled capabilities to improve financial decision-making and forecasting effectiveness.

Additional Responsibilities

• Completes other duties as assigned.
• Complies with all policies and standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field. MBA, CPA, or CMA preferred.   
• 8+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, corporate finance, strategic finance, consulting, transaction advisory, corporate development, or related fields.
• Deep expertise in financial modeling, forecasting, budgeting, business case development, and performance analysis.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating growth investments, strategic initiatives, expansion opportunities, partnerships, or capital allocation decisions.
• Proven ability to build sophisticated analytical models leveraging large data sets and modern finance technologies, including AI-enabled tools.
• Track record of developing executive-level deliverables for senior leadership and board audiences that combine analytical rigor with clear storytelling.
• Experience supporting strategic growth initiatives, expansion planning, partnerships, corporate strategy, consulting, transaction advisory, or M&A-related analysis strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success influencing executive decision-making through financial insights and recommendations.
• Strong executive presence with exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Ability to translate complex financial concepts into actionable business recommendations.
• Proven ability to build relationships, influence stakeholders, and operate effectively in a highly collaborative environment.
• Experience leading multiple priorities simultaneously while delivering high-quality work in a fast-paced setting.

Additional Information

In support of the pay transparency laws enacted across the country, the expected salary range for this position is between $150,171.61 and $181,034.70. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; geographic location; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility. Our Talent Acquisition Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and we look forward to learning more about your salary requirements. The position qualifies for the below benefits.

Covista offers a robust suite of benefits including:

• Health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
• 401k Retirement Program + 6% employer match
• Participation in Covista’s Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy
• 12 Paid Holidays

For more information related to our benefits please visit:  https://careers.covista.com/benefits

You are also eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends on various factors, including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.

Equal Opportunity – Minority / Female / Disability / V / Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation