Interim Controller at Barnard College – New York City, New York

Title: Interim Controller

Location: New York City, NY

Full/Part Time: Full time
Req ID: JR5527

Description:

If you are a current Barnard College employee, please use the internal career site to apply for this position.

Job:

Interim ControllerThe Interim Controller is accountable for the integrity, control, and timely execution of the Finance Division’s accounting, treasury, and compliance responsibilities, including execution of and support for regulatory and compliance reporting performed within Finance and in partnership with other College units. The Controller integrates the work of the Associate Controllers to ensure a coherent, reliable, and institution-wide control environment.

This is an interim position with an anticipated end date of 12/31/26.

Job Description:

Core responsibilities include:

• Accountability for the integrity, control, and timely execution of the Finance Division’s accounting, treasury, and compliance responsibilities

• Execution of, and support for, regulatory and compliance reporting performed within Finance and in partnership with other College units

• Oversight of the full accounting, treasury, and compliance control environment, ensuring appropriate segregation of duties, adherence to internal controls, and alignment with audit and regulatory expectations

• Ensuring timely, accurate execution of all responsibilities assigned to the Controller’s team, including monthly close, reconciliations, audit preparation, and regulatory deliverables

• Direct engagement in complex, high-risk, or non-routine accounting, treasury, and compliance matters, including hands-on review, issue resolution, and judgment calls that require senior expertise

• Quality assurance over the General Ledger, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and consistency so that the Budget & Planning team has a reliable foundation for forecasting, analysis, and decision support

• Reviewing and approving SOPs and RACI charts developed by the Associate Controllers to ensure control sufficiency and clarity of ownership

• Coordinating and prioritizing work across the Associate Controllers to manage capacity, sequencing, and execution discipline

• Escalating material risks, control issues, or execution delays to the CFO, with clear analysis, options, and recommendations.

This role is intentionally designed to ensure disciplined execution, clear escalation, and a sustainable control environment, while enabling Budget & Planning capacity to remain focused on forward-looking analysis rather than manual General Ledger corrections or clean-up activities.

Skills, Qualifications & Requirements:

• 12 to 15+ years of experience working in a management capacity in Accounting/Finance.

• Bachelor’s degree and CPA license required.

• Not for profit industry experience required with higher education industry experience preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to think and plan strategically as well as provide a collaborative management style.

• Extensive experience with the compilation, review and audits of U.S. GAAP, OMB and other financial statements, as well as best practices for procurement and payroll operations.

• Excellent computer skills, including the development of complex spreadsheets and relational databases.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the demonstrated ability to work effectively with all levels of faculty and staff.

• Ability to set priorities and to manage multiple projects and deadlines.

• A commitment to customer service, data-driven approach to decision-making and problem-solving.

• A willingness to function collaboratively as part of the Finance Division on activities and projects which further the Division’s goals.

• Knowledge of best practices and criteria for effective compliance.

• Exceptional work ethic, integrity and ability to work autonomously while effectively managing expectations.

• Ability to demonstrate critical thinking and analysis.

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and organization skills.

• Robust project management and problem-solving skills.

• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Suite (Excel, Word, etc.).

Workplace location: Hybrid (Note: this is primarily an in-person position, with some flexibility for hybrid work as approved and depending on operational needs)

Duration: April 1 – December 31, 2026

|Compensation| $195,000 for the nine-month term (equivalent to an annualized compensation of $260,000). This can be structured as a combination of cash salary and a housing allowance upon employee request

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the College's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Company:

Barnard College

Time Type:

Full time

About Us: Barnard is an intellectually stimulating, diverse college community of approximately 800 full- and part-time faculty and staff dedicated to providing an extraordinary educational environment for our 2,600 students.
Whether you are a current or potential Barnard employee, the Office of Human Resources is here to provide you with clear and accurate information and the best possible service. We hope that you find the site useful and will feel free to email any of the HR staff directly with questions or suggestions. We look forward to working with you.