Associate Director for Finance and Operations - Walsh School of Foreign Service

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Requirements

The Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS), founded in 1919, is a premier school of international affairs. SFS provides a rigorous education grounded in both theory and practice while instilling the Jesuit value of service. Father Edmund A. Walsh, S.J.’s vision was a school that would prepare students for all major forms of foreign representation — official and unofficial, governmental and private sector, whether commercial, financial, consular or diplomatic.

The Associate Director for Finance and Operations is responsible for managing the School of Foreign Service budget and working with partners in the Office of the CFO to manage the financial operations. This position is a key position on the School of Foreign Service Finance Team, reporting directly to the Senior Finance Director. S/he has several dotted line reports from the OCFO that help with financial operations (accounting, grants, and procurement). The Associate Director for Finance & Operations will lead and ensure the timely and efficient execution of all financial aspects of their school's daily operations. They will work directly with procurement and expense analysts (or accountants), serving as a liaison between the Office of the CFO and their school. Additional duties, include, but are not limited to:

Engagement and Customer Service

• Act the main point of contact on financial operations processes and issues for the centers/program directors and administrators of SFS centers/programs for which they are responsible for.

• Serve as a subject matter expert on financial policies and procedures while emphasizing and maintaining a high level of customer service.

• Serve as one of the primary resources for the school/unit regarding school, campus, and university policy interpretation and enforcement, particularly focusing on situations that require escalation.

• Participate in routine meetings and forums managed by Main Campus Finance, reviewing and ensuring compliance and understanding of University and Main Campus policies and procedures across assigned school or areas.

• Support onboarding, training, and development of financial management professionals, overseeing the acclimation and structural understanding of campus and school business models as well as general university and campus policies/procedures.

• Liaise with Main Campus Director, Financial Accounting & Compliance and OCFO for any policy, compliance, process improvement, or other finance matters as needed.

Budget Development and Financial Analysis

• Manage all matters of budget, financial analysis, and financial planning for a portfolio of centers and programs within SFS.

• Work with center and program leadership on an annual basis to determine budget needs and requests for the upcoming fiscal year, and in consultation with the SFS finance leadership, develop comprehensive annual operating budgets designed to meet the needs of centers and programs. 

• Aid in the creation of subsequent budget amendments throughout the fiscal year, assisting finance leadership in maintaining the SFS Position Budget and costing allocations.

• Create financial models and budgeting tools that consider the nuances of the unique program/center in this position’s portfolio, in order to increase accuracy and efficiency in the budgeting process.

• Monitor center and program budgets throughout the year, providing guidance on spending decisions in order to ensure consistency with budget, compliance with policy, and overall alignment with school and center/program strategy.

• Use in-depth involvement with, and understanding of, department budgets to effectively escalate potential issues or flag important trends for further review by SFS finance leadership.

Financial Operations Management and Monitoring

• Manage the financial operations management of school/unit for all funds and expenditures, including faculty professional development, start-up funds, and internal research funds for a portfolio of departments and programs.

• Handle periodic data analytics to monitor financial activities across all funds for budget variances and to ensure actual expenditures match resource availa