Vice President, Administration & Chief Financial Officer

Humber Polytechnic is seeking a strategic and entrepreneurial leader who views financial leadership as a platform for value creation, institutional transformation, and long-term public impact to serve as the next Vice President, Administration & Chief Financial Officer.

Humber Polytechnic

Located in Toronto, one of the most diverse cities in the world, Humber Polytechnic is a leading Canadian postsecondary institution recognized for its innovative, polytechnic approach to education. As an Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and a founding member of Polytechnics Canada, Humber serves more than 76,000 full-time and part-time learners across six Faculties and four campuses. The institution offers an extensive range of credentials, from apprenticeships and diplomas to bachelor’s and master’s degrees, all grounded in experiential, career-focused learning that prepares graduates to thrive in a rapidly evolving workforce.

For over 50 years, Humber has delivered a rich academic and student experience rooted in teaching excellence, applied research, and strong industry connections. Its award-winning faculty bring deep academic expertise and real-world experience into state-of-the-art labs and classrooms that mirror professional environments. Through robust partnerships with industry, community organizations, and global institutions, Humber ensures students gain meaningful work-integrated learning opportunities and access to influential networks.

Humber is also a national leader in research, sustainability, and institutional culture. Ranked among Canada’s top research colleges, it is a top performer in industry research income and partnerships, and leads the country in private sector investment. The institution has been recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for a decade and is on track to become the first postsecondary institution in Canada to achieve net-zero emissions by 2029. With a strong commitment to student success and a focus on well-being, innovation, and inclusion, Humber offers a dynamic and forward-looking environment for both learners and employees.

The Role

The Vice-President, Administration & Chief Financial Officer (VP, Administration & CFO) is a core member of Humber Polytechnic’s executive leadership team and a principal strategic advisor to the President. The role provides enterprise-wide leadership to ensure the institution’s long-term financial sustainability, operational resilience, and capacity to invest strategically in academic excellence, innovation, and growth.

Guided by Humber’s Building Brilliance strategy, the VP, Administration & CFO stewards Humber’s financial and physical assets while advancing an agile, future-ready business model. The role integrates disciplined financial management with strategic investment, revenue diversification, infrastructure optimization, and prudent financial risk leadership, enabling Humber to navigate a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) operating environment.

This position moves beyond traditional administrative oversight to actively shape institutional strategy, unlock new sources of value, optimize enterprise performance, and ensure Humber’s resources are aligned with its academic mission, public accountability, and long-term aspirations.

At Humber, the Vice President, Administration is not only a steward, but a strategic architect of the future.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Humber Polytechnic is seeking a Vice President, Administration & Chief Financial Officer who views financial leadership as a platform for value creation, institutional transformation, and long-term public impact.

This role is designed for a senior executive who moves confidently beyond traditional stewardship, someone who brings strategic imagination, disciplined execution, and sound judgment to complex environments where scale, assets, and public accountability intersect. As a core member of the executive leadership team and a trusted advisor to the President and Board, the VP, Administration & CFO will help shape Humber’s next chapter by stewarding not only its financial and physical resources, but its capacity to innovate, invest, and lead.

With multiple campuses, a diverse real estate portfolio, and a national reputation for applied learning, sustainability, and industry partnership, Humber offers a rare opportunity: to apply modern CFO leadership. business model evolution, capital strategy, data-driven decision-making, and thoughtful risk-taking in service of a bold academic mission and a public good.

Experience & Qualifications

While the Search Committee recognizes that no one candidate is likely to meet all the following qualifications in equal measure, they are desirable and will be used in the assessment of candidates for the position:

• Senior executive leadership experience in complex, publicly accountable organizations; post-secondary or broader public-sector experience is an asset.
• Enterprise-level financial leadership in complex public or post-secondary environments, with expertise in planning, forecasting, and core financial operations, and the ability to align resources to strategy, inform executive and Board decisions, and navigate funding constraints while supporting long-term sustainability and innovation.
• Strong strategic business acumen in public or quasi-public settings, with the ability to evolve business models, assess and enable revenue opportunities and partnerships, and evaluate ROI and risk while balancing mission, market, and financial sustainability.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a highly strategic institutional leader, bringing an enterprise-wide perspective to financial stewardship by rethinking how resources are allocated, how the institution operates, and how value is created; combines strong financial insight with an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset, challenging conventional approaches, identifying new opportunities, and driving transformative change to enhance long-term sustainability and impact.
• Deep expertise in capital planning, infrastructure investment, and asset lifecycle management in complex environments, with the ability to align academic, enrolment, sustainability, and financial priorities into longterm strategies that optimize assets and enhance institutional resilience.
• Advanced expertise in organizational design, operating model optimization, and enterprise efficiency within Advertisement Content Vice President, Administration & Chief Financial Officer – Humber Polytechnic complex institutions, with the ability to lead diagnostics and translate insights into structural improvements that enhance accountability, streamline decision-making, and reduce duplication.
• Proven ability to partner with digital leadership to align technology, data, and AI investments with strategy and operating models, applying strong value governance (business cases, prioritization, total cost of ownership, and benefits realization) to drive efficiency, risk mitigation, and measurable outcomes through effective adoption and change management.
• Strong expertise in enterprise risk management across financial, operational, regulatory, reputational, and strategic domains, with the ability to balance risk and opportunity in complex, VUCA environments, support effective Board governance through clear and insightful reporting, and exercise sound judgment to advise, challenge, and influence executive and Board decision-making.
• Strong systems-thinking leadership with proven ability to lead large, diverse teams through complex change, build accountability and trust, and navigate complex stakeholder environments with political acuity and emotional intelligence, while communicating complex financial and operational issues clearly and persuasively to varied audiences.

To learn more about this opportunity or to request a copy of the Executive Brief, contact Katherine Frank (kfrank@kbrs.ca) or Beth McLennan (bmclennan@kbrs.ca). Completed applications can be submitted online at https://www.kbrs.ca/Career/17769518939090000008ofc.

Please note that this posting is for an existing position at Humber Polytechnic.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Humber Polytechnic is committed to a workforce that reflects the diversity of our students and our city. We actively seek Indigenous Peoples and individuals from equity-deserving groups with demonstrated skills and knowledge to deal with all aspects of equity, diversity and inclusion in a post-secondary environment.

Humber Polytechnic is committed to an environment of open access to employment opportunities. KBRS and Humber will provide support in the recruitment processes to applicants with disabilities, including accommodation that takes into account an applicant’s accessibility needs. If you require accommodation in order to participate as a candidate in the recruitment process, please contact accommodate@kbrs.ca.