Controller

confident, well-managed institution with an ambitious vision for its future. Key features of this vision include continued investment in its students and faculty, thoughtful stewardship of its resources, growth of the endowment, and the purposeful use of emerging technologies, including generative AI.

Choate invites applications, nominations, and inquiries for the position of Controller, a key member of the Financial Office and the CFO’s leadership team. Reporting to Chief Financial Officer Patrick Durbin, the Controller will play an essential role in safeguarding the School’s financial integrity and ensuring that its financial operations are accurate, disciplined, responsive, and forward-looking. The Controller will oversee financial transactions and reporting, maintain appropriate records and controls, develop and manage budgets, and establish policies and procedures that support sound financial stewardship. Direct experience in fund and endowment accounting is required, along with the ability to translate sophisticated financial information into clear, useful guidance for colleagues across the institution.

The Controller will be a highly visible and service-oriented leader of the Finance Office team, setting its tone and culture and modeling Choate’s high standards of responsiveness, integrity, professionalism, and discretion. The successful candidate will bring both technical depth and sound judgment, along with the interpersonal skills to build trust with employees, families, trustees, auditors, and other constituents. Experience leading or significantly contributing to a financial system implementation or migration will be strongly preferred, as will advanced proficiency in Excel and the Microsoft Office Suite within a Mac-based computing environment. Consistent with Choate’s own thoughtful approach to emerging technology, the Controller will also be expected to use generative AI tools in a discerning, informed, and ethical manner (see Choate’s institutional stance on Generative AI at choate.edu/ai/gen), and ideally to bring experience exploring how AI can responsibly improve financial and administrative work.

This is an opportunity for an experienced financial professional to join a high-functioning institution at an important moment in its evolution, contributing not simply to the accuracy and integrity of Choate’s financial operations, but to the School’s ability to steward its resources wisely and advance its mission with confidence.

The strongest candidates will bring substantial financial expertise together with the judgment, interpersonal skill, and service orientation required to be an effective partner within a sophisticated school community. They will be intellectually curious and confident in their technical abilities while remaining collaborative, approachable, and attentive to the needs of colleagues and constituents. They will understand that excellence in a Finance Office depends not only on accuracy and control, but also on trust, communication, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Proven expertise in general accounting, internal and external reporting, budgeting, endowment accounting, and treasury functions.
• Direct experience with fund accounting and endowment accounting in a complex organization is required (nonprofit and/or educational institution preferred) Experience and knowledge with accounting software and systems, including Microsoft Dynamics GP/Great Plains, Management Reporter, and Fundriver.
• Experience leading or significantly contributing to a financial system implementation or migration, such as an ERP/general ledger system conversion, strongly preferred.
• Proficiency in a Mac-based computing environment, with advanced skill in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel, and Adobe Acrobat.
• A discerning, informed, and ethical approach to the use of AI tools, with an interest in exploring how emerging technology can responsibly improve financial and administrative work.
• A strong customer-service orientation and demonstrated ability to build productive relationships with internal and external constituents.
• Proven integrity, sound judgment, discretion, and ability to maintain confidentiality.

A bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field (or equivalent experience) is required. Candidates should have a minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in financial management, preferably in nonprofit organizations, including direct experience with fund accounting and endowment accounting. Experience in an independent school or higher education setting is preferred. CPA and/or MBA credentials are preferred.

This is a full-time, year-round position performed on site at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. Salary is commensurate with experience with a generous benefits package that includes a 15% employer contribution to retirement.

APPLICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS

Evaluation of candidate materials will begin immediately and continue until a new Controller is named. Inquiries, nominations, and letters of interest with a resume may be sent in confidence to:

Ruth Shoemaker Wood, Ph.D., Managing Director

ChoateController@dsgco.com

Choate prohibits in all its programs discrimination against or harassment of any member or group based upon age, gender, race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic predisposition, ancestry or other categories protected by Connecticut or federal law. It does not discriminate on these bases in the administration of its admission process, educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletics, or other school-administered programs.