Senior Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is seeking an outstanding individual with exceptional strategic, financial, operational, and interpersonal capabilities to join the senior leadership team as Senior Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration.

The Senior Vice Chancellor (SVC) is the senior executive responsible for managing the institution’s financial resources and administrative operations and serves as the University’s chief financial and chief operating officer. The SVC reports to the Chancellor and works closely with members of the Chancellor’s Executive Team, providing strategic counsel and direction in deploying, managing, and stewarding the University’s resources to meet institutional priorities and academic goals. The SVC is responsible for UCSF’s operating budget of approximately $8 billion and for leading a service organization with an annual budget of $300 million and 1,500 FTE.

UCSF’s Financial & Administrative Services (FAS) organization is comprised of eight units, including Finance, Real Estate, Information Technology, Campus Life Services, Human Resources, Police, Audit and Advisory Services and the Program Management Office. In the years ahead, FAS and the SVC who leads it will have a significant impact on UCSF’s success via its role in two highly visible, cross-cutting, University initiatives in which the SVC will be centrally involved. These are UCSF’s role as San Francisco’s highest-impact institution and its commitment to sustainability. The new SVC and their leadership team will advance a broad set of activities and engage an array of expectations across their portfolio and in concert with colleagues in schools, in UCSF Health, and in other areas of UCSF’s central administration.

The SVC will bring the administrative, financial, planning, and communication skills appropriate to someone who is serving in an executive role. The SVC will be an inclusive and innovative leader who weighs decisions thoughtfully and involves others in the decision-making process as appropriate. They must work with the highest levels of integrity, honesty, and openness and must create strong and enduring collaborative relationships with leaders across the University, the faculty, the staff, the UCSF Council, the UCSF Foundations Board of Directors, the University of California Office of the President, and the Board of Regents. They will join and further contribute to a leadership team that is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.

The SVC will possess senior-level operational and administrative experience in a comparably complex setting and a significant period of progressively responsible leadership and administrative experience in several of the functional areas that fall within the position’s scope of responsibility; while expertise in finance and budget is valuable, the ability to lead broadly and synergistically across the portfolio areas will be crucial to the SVC’s success and impact. As important as functional expertise are certain core principles and competencies. These include the ability to lead through influence independent of positional authority; a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion that is lived, visible, and actualized; and the ability to develop trust relationships so as to work effectively in a decentralized environment with matrixed lines of authority and accountability.

The successful candidate will have a history of creativity, innovation, and strategic thinking in overseeing administration, operations, and financial systems and processes in a large, complex mission-oriented institution. They will possess a clear commitment to shared governance and collaboration throughout the institution informed by an appreciation of academic values and standards of excellence as well as communication and relationship skills to engage a variety of stakeholders including advisory and governance boards and to represent UCSF externally with a wide array of constituents in the Bay Area and beyond. Experience leading administrative functions and service lines that include unionized employees and experience with process-improvement methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, etc. is preferred.

The University of California, San Francisco (www.ucsf.edu), which became part of the University of California system in 1873, is the only campus in the 10-campus UC system that is exclusively focused on the health sciences; likewise, it is the only UC campus that dedicates its educational mission to graduate and professional training. An $8-billion enterprise, UCSF has approximately 3,200 enrolled students, 1,180 postdoctoral scholars, 1,650 residents (physicians, dentists, and pharmacists in training), and approximately 26,200 FTEs. Through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care, UCSF is leading revolutions in health worldwide.

UCSF has retained Opus Partners (www.opuspartners.net) to support the recruitment of this position. Jim Hess and Craig Smith, Partners, and Thomas Lapierre, Senior Associate, are leading the search. Confidential inquiries, applications, and nominations should be sent via email to thomas.lapierre@opuspartners.net. In order to interview with the UCSF search committee, candidates must formally apply via Opus Partners and must provide a resume, a cover letter, and a statement of contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please consult Opus Partners for more information about the application process. All possible discretion will be exercised to maintain the privacy of applicants through the search process.

The University of California San Francisco is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information. Candidates whose work experience or community service has prepared them to contribute to the organization’s commitment to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence – also known as UCSF’s PRIDE values – are encouraged to apply.