Sr. Financial Manager

Reporting to the Director of Finance and Administration, we are seeking a Sr. Financial Manager who will be responsible for performing and overseeing key financial functions of the University Student Services Finance Office. This position will perform and provide back-up to the Director with respect to accounting transactions, the preparation of the annual budget of over $400M for ‘non-aid’ and aid functions, quarterly projections, and periodic reporting. This position will manage one Senior Financial Analyst and one Financial Analyst who have responsibility for oversight of daily fiscal operations of student services related to the undergraduate population on the Homewood Campus. Oversight includes both sponsored and non-sponsored funds.

University Student Services encompasses a breadth of student services including admissions, financial aid, student affairs, integrative learning and life design, student health and wellbeing, athletics, and administrative student services. Some services span the entire university, and some services, are specific to the Homewood campus.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

Lead Budget Development

• Oversees direct reports in the development of the annual operating budget for assigned departments.
• Develop assigned departmental budgets and 5-year plans for the operational activities that support the undergraduate student population on the Homewood Campus.
• Monitors divisional and interdivisional activity to ensure proper recording.
• Performs trending and forecasting to aid in generating projections, identifying potential risks to the budget, and ensuring sufficient funding for strategic initiatives.
• Budget, monitor, in conjunction with Sr. Financial Analyst, and provide variance analysis for general operating and sponsored functions.
• Partner with the Associate Director for Business Strategy to maintain financial and personnel databases that assist in budget development, financial projections, and trend analysis.
• Identify potential risks to the budget and partner with the Director of Finance to ensure sufficient funding for strategic initiatives.
• Perform research, investigation, and financial review of new proposals for expansion or enhancement of student services.
• Ensure that the annual budget is properly loaded into ERP and Oracle EPM at the start of the fiscal year.

Manage & Approve Personnel Transactions

• Develop personnel budgets and trends and monitor vacancy rates for staff members in assigned departments.
• Coordinate with Sr. Financial Analyst to ensure changes are properly loaded into personnel tracking database(s).
• Work closely with the USS Human Resources Office on annual merit increases, approvals for new positions, maintenance of staff headcount numbers, and maintenance of master Human Resources data file.
• Communicate with departments on personnel transactions and ensure that funding plans are in place for all personnel changes.

Management/Personnel Liaison with Departments

• Establish regular meeting schedules with assigned VPs and departments to address issues that arise from either party.
• Serve as primary contact for departments for management and personnel issues.
• Lead variance narrative development.
• In close coordination with Sr Financial Analyst, develop detailed and summary level variance analysis.
• This analysis will be used to develop variance narratives that will be used for VP/Department level reporting as well as USS roll-up variance reporting.

• This reporting needs to tell the story of the numbers.

Lead Variance Narrative Development

• In close coordination with Sr Financial Analyst, develop detailed and summary level variance analysis.
• This analysis will be used to develop variance narratives that will be used for VP/Department level reporting as well as USS roll-up variance reporting.
• This reporting needs to tell the story of the numbers.

Lead YE Closing Processes

• Coordinate with USS Finance staff to ensure that the closing plan is followed and that all entries for assigned departments are made and documented.
• Work with department administrators and directors to ensure that the closing plan for departments is followed and that all departmental entries and processes are complete.
• Work with department administrators and directors to resolve deficit balances and other financial reporting/compliance/audit issues.

Conduct Analysis

• Conduct special projects at the direction of the Director of Finance and Administration,