Director, Finance Service Delivery Unit Basic Sciences

University of Chicago•Chicago, IL

13d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Finance Service Delivery Unit (Director) leads and manages a team of finance professionals and provides strategic direction, supports professional development, and ensures high standards of accuracy, efficiency, and accountability. The Director fosters a collaborative and inclusive team culture, sets clear expectations, and aligns team efforts with institutional goals and priorities. The Director will work with supported units to manage budget development, financial projections, proformas for business plan development, compensation and productivity analysis, general ledger, fund management, monthly and annual close processes, in addition to working with BSD Finance on accounts payable/receivable, ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting. This role has accountability to the departments it supports, while being administratively enabled by BSD Finance. The Director will create a culture where the SDU staff identify as extensions of the departments. The Director is the strategic partner for the departments, chairs and executive administrators whose role is to support the advancement of financial planning initiatives. The Director would also partner with BSD Finance on accounting system modernization and process improvements to help ensure we centrally continue to develop the most meaningful tools, reports and processes to support excellence across our three missions.

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 CPA strongly preferred.
Proven experience leading teams and managing complex financial operations in a large decentralized organization strongly preferred.
7+ years of work experience in Higher Education or Academic Medical Center strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience presenting strategic insights and recommendations to senior academic and administrative leadership, with the ability to influence decision-making at the executive level strongly preferred.
Proven track record of leading and overseeing complex, cross-functional projects from concept through execution, including managing teams and ensuring alignment with institutional priorities strongly preferred.
Experience interpreting and leveraging research and educational data to measure performance, inform strategy, improve operations, and support decision-making across diverse stakeholder groups strongly preferred.
Advanced experience in financial analysis and modeling to support planning, resource allocation, and long-term forecasting; ability to guide team members in conducting and presenting financial assessments strongly preferred.
Prior leadership experience in system implementations strongly preferred, including stakeholder engagement, change management, and integration of new tools or platforms into business operations strongly preferred.
Familiarity with Project Management methodologies.
Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Adobe Acrobat.
Familiarity with Oracle cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
Extensive knowledge of GAAP and financial reporting.
Ability to lead a team in a collaborative approach through all points of project development.
High level of independent analysis.
Advanced skills in financial and statistical analysis.
Ability to represent the mission, values, and strategic priorities of the organization and leadership through strategic planning, decision-making, and communications, both personally and through their team.
Demonstrated ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive materials and situations with discretion and sound judgment; ensures direct reports uphold the same standards.
Exceptional oral and written communication skills, with the ability to adapt messaging for a variety of audiences, including senior executives, faculty, staff, and cross-functional teams.
Proven ability to build and maintain productive, collaborative relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders across the BSD, University.
Ability to foster a culture of collaboration, inclusion, and shared accountability within the team and across departments.
Demonstrated reliability, a strong drive for results, and the ability to motivate and guide others to meet individual and team objectives.
Strong leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills, with a focus on team development, performance management, and operational efficiency.
Skilled in managing competing priorities and deadlines while providing structure, guidance, and support to direct reports navigating complex or shifting demands.
Demonstrated dedication to data integrity and ensuring accurate reporting.

Responsibilities

Leads and manages a team of financial professionals providing support to departments or administrative units on budget development, financial forecasting, compensation and productivity analysis, accounting including intra and inter-company transactions, accounts receivable/payable activity, financial variance management, and funds management.
Develop relationships with the unit lead administrators to create a trusted collaborative partnership.
Owns the SDU control framework for financial operations (e.g., approvals, reconciliations, role assignment approver); establishes risk-mitigating practices across units.
Works with units on budget development including use of ratios and trends to project various revenue streams (grants, gifts, endowments, etc.), compensation expense, Individual Award and Discretionary Funds (IADFs), services & supplies expense.
Enters budget information into Oracle UCPlan as appropriate.
Works with units to provide forecasting projections with explanations where forecasts are materially different than budget.
Monitors use of funds (grants, gifts, endowment, operating, IADFs) for appropriate application, including labor and non-labor costing allocations, initiate corrective action when needed.
Oversee monthly and annual close for units, including reconciliations and supporting schedules.
Generate monthly variance analysis.
Provide business planning development support.
Generate proformas for initiatives and new recruits.
Meet quarterly with each chair and EA to review financial performance and trends.
Coaches team members on accounting treatments, policies, and procedures to develop cross training and coverage.
Enforces accounting policies and procedures that enable compliance, and internal consistency across all missions.
Reviews accounting transactions, collecting and analyzing accounting data, analyzing business results, and/or developing management reports.
Manages accounting and financial records and reports, including general ledger, financial statements, regulatory and management reports.
Advises and monitors accounting policies and controls, fiscal controls, preparing financial reports and safeguarding assets.
Performs other related work as needed.