Director of Administrative Finance & Strategic Planning

Cornell University • Ithaca, MI

2d • $143,454 - $175,332 • Hybrid

About The Position

This position is located on the Cornell University Campus in Ithaca, New York. You will be expected to work in Ithaca, although you may be permitted to perform a portion of your work remotely. Note: No Visa sponsorship is available for this position. Who we are: Located in Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University is a bold, innovative, inclusive, and dynamic teaching and research university where staff, faculty, and students alike are challenged to make an enduring contribution to the betterment of humanity. Cornell University is one of the largest and most diverse institutions in the Ivy League. We are a community of 22,000 students and more than 10,000 faculty and staff members representing more than 80 countries and hundreds of disciplines—global cultures, backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and ideas. The Division of Budget and Planning supports Cornell University’s academic mission and long‑term sustainability through institutional budgeting, financial and strategic planning, resource allocation, and analysis. The Division is responsible for developing planning assumptions; preparing and consolidating operating and capital budgets across the Ithaca campus, Cornell Tech, and Weill Cornell Medicine; supporting space and capital planning; and overseeing institutional research, accreditation, and external reporting. Within the Division, the University Budget Office works closely with colleges and administrative units to develop, implement, and report on the Ithaca campus operating plan. The office serves as a steward of institutional resources by forecasting revenue and expenses; providing analytical context for planning assumptions and budget policies; coordinating allocation and policy issues with senior leadership; monitoring resource use; modeling the impact of program and policy changes; and providing specialized budget services to meet New York State (NYS) and SUNY requirements. The Budget Office also maintains budget schedules, systems, and tools, and provides training to support the annual budget development process. Additional information about the Division of Budget and Planning and the University Budget Office is available at Division of Budget and Planning website. What you will do: Reporting to the Associate Vice President of the University Budget Office, the Director of Administrative Finance & Strategic Planning is the primary financial lead for the University's Allocated Units portfolio, responsible for bringing consistency and clarity to a complex administrative financial environment and providing leadership to a team of financial professionals supporting these functions. A key priority for this role is consolidating budget staff currently spread across decentralized units into a single, cohesive team. The Director will lead, supervise, and develop this centralized team, managing centralized reporting structures while ensuring that functional area leaders across HR, the Provost’s Office, Financial Services, and others continue to receive responsive, high‑quality financial support. Navigating these cross‑functional relationships effectively is central to the role. The Director holds end-to-end ownership of Sources & Uses reporting, including budget development and forecasting across both Operating and Capital portfolios. This includes standardizing financial processes and reporting frameworks to ensure revenue and expenses are clearly aligned and that cross-subsidization is transparent and well-documented. A core objective is establishing the data integrity and reporting infrastructure that gives University leadership an accurate, reliable picture of current financial conditions—reducing the need for ad hoc reconciliation and creating a stable foundation for strategic planning through effective coordination and oversight of team contributions. The Director must be equally capable of building rigorous financial systems and communicating complex financial information clearly to senior leadership. This work is also critical to the University's upcoming implementation of Workday Adaptive Planning, making process standardization, clean data, and strong team leadership and accountability a near‑term priority. While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 7–10 years of progressive experience in financial management, budgeting, and resource planning or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading organizational change or restructuring, particularly transitions from decentralized to centralized or shared-service models.
• Proven track record of preparing and presenting complex financial information, including Sources & Uses reporting, to senior leadership such as VPs, Deans, and Provosts.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to scrutinize financial assumptions and trace how figures are derived.
• Experience leading teams within a dual-accountability structure, balancing responsive service to functional units with consistent enforcement of central financial standards and controls.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate organizational complexity and resolve data discrepancies across stakeholder groups, bringing diverse perspectives to a shared understanding of financial reality while preserving working relationships.
• Demonstrated skill in understanding cultural differences.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in higher education or a similarly complex, decentralized organization is preferred.
• Experience identifying and resolving cross-subsidization and aligning revenue and expenses to reflect the true cost of operations is highly desired.
• Master's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field, or CPA licensure.
• Familiarity with Workday Adaptive Planning or a comparable ERP budgeting and forecasting platform.
• Prior experience in a shared services or matrixed organizational environment with responsibility for both central standards and unit-level service delivery.
• Working knowledge of capital budget planning and management in addition to operating fund oversight.

Responsibilities

• Consolidating budget staff currently spread across decentralized units into a single, cohesive team.
• Leading, supervising, and developing this centralized team.
• Managing centralized reporting structures while ensuring that functional area leaders across HR, the Provost’s Office, Financial Services, and others continue to receive responsive, high‑quality financial support.
• Holding end-to-end ownership of Sources & Uses reporting, including budget development and forecasting across both Operating and Capital portfolios.
• Standardizing financial processes and reporting frameworks to ensure revenue and expenses are clearly aligned and that cross-subsidization is transparent and well-documented.
• Establishing the data integrity and reporting infrastructure that gives University leadership an accurate, reliable picture of current financial conditions.
• Building rigorous financial systems and communicating complex financial information clearly to senior leadership.
• Leading and managing staff, including setting priorities, overseeing analytical work, supporting professional development, and fostering collaboration.

Benefits

• educational benefits
• access to a plethora of wellness programs
• employee discounts with local and national retail brands
• health care
• generous paid leave provisions
• 3 weeks of vacation
• 14 university paid holidays (including end of year winter break through New Year’s Day)
• superior employer retirement contributions

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director