Senior Financial Analyst, Financial Planning and Analysis

Department

F&A FIN - Treasury Operations

About the Department

The primary goal of Financial Services is to support the core mission of the University through exemplary fiscal stewardship. Our services and programs are geared toward providing our customers outstanding response and service while fulfilling compliance and fiduciary obligations. Among many duties, Financial Services has responsibility for accounting and financial reporting; cash, endowment, and debt management; payroll; sponsored award accounting; and purchasing and paying for goods and services.

Job Summary

The University of Chicago is looking for a Senior Financial Analyst who will serve as a member of the finance team and will assist University-wide decision support through financial planning and analysis and on-going review of benefit management. The position will be engaged with internal constituents across the University, as well as external constituents including auditors, investment banks and benefits brokers. The position will provide critical support for the University’s finance leadership and impact short-term and long-term strategic decisions.

In consultation with the Office of Human Resources, the Senior Financial Analyst develops the annual budget for the approximately $430 million employee benefit pool, prepares analyses for benefit issue resolution, and co-leads quarterly budget reviews with University senior leadership. The Senior Financial Analyst will also coordinate the development of the Finance and Administration budget.

The ideal candidate will have experience in higher education finance working with finance, accounting and or legal teams, proficiently use financial models to guide strategic decision making, be adept at managing data, and efficient partnering across an organization to complete high priority assignments. Degrees or experience in a quantitative or finance-related field are preferred.

Responsibilities

• Supports the development of various financial reporting tools and analysis for evaluating the University’s financial performance, financial plan, strategic projects and financing transactions.
• Maintains or skillfully uses external databases including Oracle.
• Assists the Treasury Director in preparing materials for Board meetings, including Financial Planning Committee.
• Partners with Treasury Director to complete audit responsibilities related to the University’s employee benefits program and works with the auditor to resolve any inquiries.
• Identifies and addresses areas for process improvement within finance and treasury operations, including the enterprise resource planning (financial system transformation in Oracle) and the treasury management system.
• Delivers ad-hoc reporting and analysis as needed to support finance and treasury.
• Effectively communicates and collaborates with stakeholders across the University to drive forward execution and tracking of strategic initiatives.
• Serves as primary liaison between Finance and the Office of Human Resources (HR) to develop the annual budget for University-wide staff benefit expenses.
• Leads on-going review of the accounting associated with the staff benefit expenses.
• Designs and delivers quarterly actual and forecasted performance for the staff benefit expenses and recoverable charges.
• Prepares trend analyses for all staff benefit components, elevates observations, and partners with HR to communicate recommended benefit adjustments.
• As new opportunities and challenges are presented to the University leaders, this position will be expected to be a key member of the FP&A team who conducts analyses and makes recommendations that support decisions beneficial to the University. These recommendations will often be presented to the Board of Trustees for information sharing and/or formal approvals.
• Responsible for the year-end close out of the staff benefit pool and related analyses.
• Leads the analysis of the benefit rate approved by the federal government and prepares the annual calculation for federal approval.
• Establishes and coordinates the overall budget for Finance and Administration.
• Reviews and reports on Finance and Administration budget, expenses and actual performance in accordance with overall budget. 
• Develops, monitors, and analyzes a consolidated annual and intermediate, typically three to five year, budget plan and budget process.  Reviews estimated expenditures. Develops expenditure projections and periodic budget variance reports. Prepares forecasts as well as analyses.
• Works mostly independently and serves as a financial strategy and modeling contributor. Acts as a trusted advisor and recommends improvements on financial strategy and situation.
• Collaborates to create the long-term financ