Assistant Director of Academic Budget & Financial Operations

Wellesley College•Wellesley, MA

18d•$110,000 - $115,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Director of Academic Budget and Financial Operations plays a critical role in managing the $124M budget of the college’s academic division and assisting and advising the Provost and Deans by providing information and analysis to facilitate decision-making. The Assistant Director is primarily responsible for budget development and oversight of all Provost’s Office funds and works closely and collaboratively with department chairs and administrators in doing the same. The Assistant Director also acts as a trusted and critical liaison between the Provost’s Office, academic departments and the Office of Finance and Administration. This position is also responsible, along with other members of the Provost’s Office team, for ensuring optimal and appropriate use of over 200 gift funds supporting the academic mission of the college.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required
Minimum of five years’ experience in a role working directly with budgets and financial data.
Accounting or finance background in a higher education environment with restricted gift funding strongly preferred.
Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer’s sponsorship now or in the future
Ability to navigate, communicate and develop complex budgets
Ability to problem solve and develop new ideas and procedures
Proficiency in Excel and ability to learn new software/systems
Knowledge of Workday or other similar financial systems
Strong interpersonal and communication skills; collaborative working style
Willingness to engage in transactional work
Attention to detail

Nice To Haves

Accounting or finance background in a higher education environment with restricted gift funding

Responsibilities

Informs and supports the work of the Provost’s Office on all budgetary and financial matters. Conducts financial and data analysis to inform data-driven recommendations driving policy and programming decisions. Assists academic cost center managers with budget questions via a portfolio-based model and advises on college and Provost’s Office policies, procedures, and deadlines. Supports faculty through service on internal faculty award committees and training of new department chairs on the budgeting processes.
Collaborates with the Office of Finance and Administration in budget development and year end close processes. Submits the Provost’s Office budget and capital requests, and represents the academic division during the capital budget process as a member of the Capital Budget Committee.
Budgets and oversees use of all endowments and gifts under the control of the Provost’s Office to advance the academic priorities of the College; acts as primary contact for new gifts in Provost’s area. Tracks gift and endowment balances across the academic division, and reviews with Provost and Deans gifts and endowments with accumulated balances. Develops proposals for use of new gifts upon request from the Development Office, consulting on areas of need for fundraising goals.
Manages the annual administrative salary increase and bonus processes for the academic division administrative staff members.
Supervises and mentors Academic Budget and Financial Operations Analyst .
Serves as back up in responding to individual tickets in the Provost Finance ticketing system as needed, supporting Academic Budget and Financial Operations Analyst.