Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (“CESJDS”) seeks a talented Controller to manage the School’s Business Office. The Controller supports the priorities of the Chief Financial and Operations Officer in achieving the general business and financial success of the School and in responding to the requirements set forth by the Board of Directors. The Controller reports directly to, and is supervised and evaluated by, the Chief Financial and Operations Officer and works with a wide variety of stakeholders including school employees, parents/guardians, Board and committee members, service providers and tenants.

Organization History and Mission

Fostering the growth of confident, compassionate thinkers who engage the world through Jewish values, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (CESJDS) is a pluralistic JK-12 Jewish independent school with 865 enrolled students. From its beginnings in the basement of Chevy Chase’s Ohr Kodesh Congregation in 1965, today CESJDS is thriving across two campuses in Rockville, MD and living its mission to deliver an exemplary and inspiring general and Jewish education, anchored in Jewish values and academic rigor that also ensure the social, emotional, and physical well-being of every student.

Governed by a 21-member board of directors, CESJDS has an annual budget of $27+M, a $7+M tuition assistance budget, and engages over 250 talented and diverse faculty and staff. For more information, please visit https://cesjds.org/.

Responsibilities of the Controller

• Maintain the books and records of the school in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
• Direct the work of the Business Office and supervise and manage the Business Office staff; manage payroll, accounts receivable and payable, tuition assistance administration, and general accounting functions.
• Produce timely and accurate financial reports to internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with all regulatory, tax and filing requirements.
• Manage the processes for issuing student enrollment agreements and for tuition assistance applications, correspondence and contracts. Maintain data records for the enrollment and tuition assistance processes. Provide timely and accurate information to support the work of the Admissions Office.
• Maintain accurate student and family financial payment and tuition assistance records, and serve as the contact for providing information to families and resolving problems.
• Maintain accounts receivable and ensure timely collection of accounts. Facilitate the resolution of collection problems in accordance with the sensitivities and mission of the School.
• Participate in the annual budgeting process, ensure monthly reporting to budget managers, and oversee budget adherence by departments.
• Monitor investments, including endowment funds, invested operating funds, and Israel Bonds.
• Oversee the financial aspects of fee generating endeavors such as food service, transportation and camps.
• Manage facility rentals on both campuses: communicate with prospective renters and tenants; prepare and administer facility rental agreements; coordinate and manage recurring events, summer camp rentals, CESJDS community events, and other events; develop prospective relationships for recurring rental activity.
• Identify areas for cost savings, increased productivity and efficiency, and reduced waste and financial risk.
• Support the outside auditors in the conduct of the annual audit.
• Ensure that written policies and procedures are complete and updated regularly to reflect current practices.
• Provide support to the Development Office in the areas of recordkeeping, accounting, reporting, collections, and endowment management.
• Provide support to the Human Resources Department in the areas of payroll, benefits, employee leave, and regulatory compliance.
• Provide support to the Admissions Office in the area of enrollment and tuition assistance statistics.
• Provide information to Principals and Budget Managers to assist in decision making and budgetary compliance.
• Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ)
• Other duties, as assigned by the Chief Financial and Operations Officer.

Qualifications and Skills

The successful applicant will have a Bachelor’s degree and CPA or an equivalent combination of degree plus experience; 5+ years of accounting experience in the non-profit sector, and supervisory experience at an increasingly responsible level.

Candidates must possess outstanding analytical, organizational, and detail-oriented skills. Additional qualifications include excellent written and verbal communication skills, the ability to work collaboratively with a team, as well as being a self-starter capable of working independently. Experience handling multiple projects concurrently is preferred.

Applicants must have strong general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and banking knowledge. Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google products required.

CESJDS uses a variety of tools in its finance and operations: the accounting platform Sage Intacct, BILL, and Paycom for payroll processing. CESJDS will be implementing Nexonia and Martus in the coming months. Additionally, the School uses the donor database Blackbaud RE NXT, FAST for financial aid processing, FACTS for tuition management, SchoolAdmin for student admission and enrollment, Zoom, Teams, Google Drive, and Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel, Power Point, and Outlook. Proficiency with these systems will be advantageous.

To apply, please visit https://www.cesjds.org/about/work-at-cesjds

Work Environment

The Controller is expected to work onsite at our Lower School campus in Rockville, MD. Employees may be asked to perform some of their work responsibilities on campus and/or at home. In both settings, employees are required to maintain a professional environment.

In accordance with the School’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards, the School has adopted a mandatory Vaccination Policy to safeguard the health of employees and their families and the community at large from infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and the flu, which may be reduced by annual vaccinations. This policy complies with all applicable laws and is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health authorities, as applicable.

Equal Opportunity Employer

CESJDS is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate all applicants without unlawful consideration of race, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. The School encourages candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply.

About Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School

Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (CESJDS), the country’s premier Jewish day school, ) is nationally renowned for the quality of education in general, Judaics and co-curricular studies; for the community that has been created for students, families and staff; innovation in preparing students to be successful in the 21st Century; and for outstanding facilities and resources. CESJDS is home to an educational program that combines learning with experiencing our rich traditions and with the acquisition of skills that enable our students to become successful and effective community members, leaders and workers.

Connections working at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School