Director, Controls and Compliance

University of Chicago • Chicago, IL

6d • $110,000 - $150,000

About The Position

The job manages a team of professional staff responsible for the financial management of operating and capital budgets for divisions and/or University-wide administrative units. Develops long and short term plans to achieve financial goals, business strategies/plans, and financial forecasts/models for all major service programs and initiatives. Manages quarterly and year-end reporting for the operating budget. The University recently implemented a new Enterprise Resource Planning system which requires a near-term focus of stabilization in creating processes, standards, and reports. The Director will position the BSD for long-term resilience by continually assessing needs and developing tools, training, and processes to minimize financial and reputational risk, driving efficiency, and safeguard assets. The Director is responsible for managing and reporting on compliance related proceedings for the BSD and provides guidance and training on both BSD and University policies, procedures, and standards. The Director serves as a liaison with University Procurement and Payment Services seeking solutions to challenges, advising on actions to identify variances and promoting good spend management practices with faculty and staff. This position serves as a liaison across BSD and University offices, and with internal or external auditors on financial compliance and internal control issues.

Requirements

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance.
• MBA or advanced degree in finance, public policy, not-for-profit administration, healthcare administration, or a related field.
• CPA or other audit-related certificate holder.
• Internal or external audit experience.
• Grant administration experience.
• Experience in Healthcare, University or a not-for-profit organization.
• Financial analysis and modeling experience.
• Familiarity with Project Management methodologies, e.g. Smartsheet.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Adobe Acrobat.
• Solid skills in organizing information, written communication, and training.
• Demonstrated ability to interact proactively with counterparts in other units.
• Demonstrated ability to manage own time to deliver high-integrity products within established deadlines.
• Knowledge of various financial principles, practices, and applications.
• Intellectual versatility and creativity.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to understand a workflow and visualize it for other users.
• Ability to work closely with senior Division Management.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Ability to establish and maintain relationships at all organizational levels.
• Ability to work non-traditional hours when necessary.

Responsibilities

• Represents BSD with University internal auditors providing insight on risk assessment and responses to inquiries.
• Leads and manages financial administrator(s) in the areas of cost controls and policy compliance.
• Designs and delivers advanced training materials and tools to enable adherence to policies, procedures and standards ensuring compliance.
• Leads the review and preparation of compliance reporting, translating insights into risk profiles and development of management mitigation strategies for senior leadership.
• Coaches and develops managers and leaders on compliance practices, ensuring audit preparedness, regulatory responsiveness, and policy interpretation.
• Develops and governs BSD compliance and controls training curriculum; champions learning pathways and competency development to address regulatory, strategic, and operational priorities.
• Designs, enforces, and continuously improves BSD financial policies, procedures, and controls that support scalable compliance, risk management, and internal consistency across all missions.
• Maintains all policies and procedures on the BSD landing page, enabling easy access to information for all members of the BSD community.
• Positions the Controls and Compliance function as strategic anchor of institutional integrity, leading transformation in risk management, efficient spending practices, and long-term control framework development.
• Engages with and leverages AI tools to optimize financial work flows, analysis, and decision making.
• Manages staff. Establishes performance goals, allocates resources and assesses policies for direct subordinates.
• In partnership with the Financial Planning and Analysis team, develops a data warehouse for contracts, capturing key information needed for business processing and maintaining documentation for existing and new contracts.
• Working across the BSD and UCM when appropriate, formalize contract routing workflows for managing agreements.
• Manages the preparation of financial statements, activity reports, financial position forecasts, and/or reports required by regulatory agencies.
• Manages the preparation of audits and value-add financial analysis.
• Advises senior management on financial reporting requirements.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Benefits

• The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees