Director, Finance & Administration (Multiple Positions)

Are you looking for a new challenge, to push yourself, and for great career growth opportunities? Then consider joining Finance Strategy & Solutions (FSS) as our next Director, Finance & Administration. FSS is a dedicated finance support unit focused on the financial and business functions of our partners across campus. FSS is a people-first organization driven by core values and norms. Comprised of a cohort of talented finance professionals, we champion the mission and objectives of our university. Guided by an empowering organizational framework characterized by trust and agility, we foster an environment conducive to innovation and collaboration. Currently FSS offers financial management partnership to over 25 divisions/units at the university and stewarding over 500M in annual expenditures.

This position will be part of the FSS leadership team and will partner with some of our large auxiliary & operational support units on campus. The incumbent will be responsible for managing a large portfolio of financial activity. They will perform high level financial analysis & forecasting, make recommendations and provide guidance to leaders. They will assume primary oversight of financial reporting and compliance. The Director ensures the University effectively manages, protects, and leverages its financial resources.

This position reports to the Assistant Vice President, Finance & Administration.

https://it.arizona.edu/finance-and-administrative-services

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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Financial Oversight

• Financial responsibility for a large portfolio of funding. This includes ensuring proper spending within budget, following all university policies and procedures, and being a steward of university resources.
• Develops financial plans and annual budgets factoring in long-term financial sustainability and growth strategies. Makes data-driven recommendations to leadership utilizing insights to identify and address emerging challenges or capitalize on opportunities.
• Oversight of cost accounting matters for billing of services.
• Develop cashflow schedules for long term institutional projects
• Ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, financial health, and internal controls.
• Manages multiple revenue sources and complex expenditures.
• Delivers financial reporting to the unit and institutional leadership accurately and timely
• Ensures expenses are within expectations, and takes action when there are variances
• Ensures financial processes within our team are efficient
• Work with FSS functional teams in Accounting, Payments, Labor, and Analysis to ensure all financial matters are handled for our partner units

Financial Analysis

• Works closely with partner unit leadership to provide financial expertise and advice.
• Provide financial reporting to partner unit leadership, including needed ad-hoc analysis
• Works closely with FSS analysis team to produce necessary reporting for our partner unit(s)
• Identifies root causes of deviations and guides corrective actions.
• Works with leaders in our partner units to fine tune budgets to meet the unit needs
• Provides proactive advice and analysis to leadership to drive down costs and increase revenues. This may include analysis on pricing, inventory, and other factors.
• Monitors financial activity against budgetary targets.
• Prepares, collects, and interprets budgets and financial data, continuously refining financial plans in response to changing business conditions.

Financial Reporting

• Prepares all required financial reporting to unit and university leadership. Provides reports to operational managers.
• Manages the annual All Funds budgeting process.
• Coordinates internal or external audits of the partner units
• Provides financial reporting to operational areas to support business continuity.

Leadership & Supervision

• Leads, develops, mentors, and supervises finance staff and students.
• Fosters the FSS culture and sets management expectations.
• Other management responsibilities include coaching, performance management/consultation, organizational design, policy construction, and process design.
• Provide sensitive advice to leaders and staff.
• Member of Finance Strategy & Solutions leadership team.

Service

• Active member of university financial community.
• Attends university meetings (UBO, UFO, etc.) and serves on committees.
• Communicates information to department and the team.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Highly developed management skills include the ability to effectively measure performance outcomes, create a culture built on values and relationships, reinforce connections for staff to the relevance and importance of their work in meeting the university's varied missions.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to establish rapport and gain the trust of others and to establish cooperative working relationships with a diverse team and campus community.
• Excellent analytical and quantitative skills, with practical application experience within higher education finance.
• Demonstrated examples of strategic thinking, serving both micro and macro aspects of systems. i.e. systems perspective, thinking in time, hypothesis-drive, and intelligent opportunism.
• Ability to be creative, supportive, and thoughtful in problem-solving, considering the diverse and occasionally conflicting needs and perspectives.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment, emphasizing prioritizing tasks and responsibilities and responding positively to unanticipated changes.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience.
• Minimum of 7 years of related work experience, including 3 years of managerial experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

• Master's Degree in Finance or related field
• University of Arizona experience