School board authorizes advertising for chief financial officer or director of finance to fill vacancy

The Gloucester County School Board voted unanimously on Oct. 28 to allow district leadership to advertise two alternative job descriptions — a chief financial officer (CFO) and a director of finance — to broaden the candidate pool for the system’s finance vacancy.

Superintendent Doctor Vladeau told the board the dual posting is a recruitment flexibility measure rather than creation of a new, additional position. He said the district faces a tight market for finance leaders (staff noted roughly a dozen to nearly twenty open CFO vacancies among Virginia school divisions) and wants to be able to consider both a candidate who meets a director-level pay band and a candidate who meets a higher CFO description.

Board discussion clarified the difference in expectations: the CFO description includes more executive-level responsibilities such as strategic financial planning, policy involvement and intergovernmental relationships; a director of finance would be aligned with other director-level positions and focus more on operational finance duties. Staff said about 80% of tasks overlap between the two descriptions and both job descriptions already exist in the district’s pay plan. If hired, the district will fill only one role; pay will be set consistent with the level of the appointment.

Board members asked about minimum qualifications and pay differences; staff said the director-level posting would be comparable to existing director pay bands, while a CFO hire would be paid at the higher executive band. The board, without opposition, moved to publish both descriptions and directed staff to proceed with the recruitment process.