Director of Finance

University of Illinois Chicago•Chicago, IL

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Finance provides strategic leadership and oversight of financial operations for the Retzky College of Pharmacy, with a primary focus on supporting the financial health and sustainability of its ambulatory and clinical pharmacy enterprise. This role is responsible for developing and implementing financial policies, managing budgets, forecasting revenue and expenses, providing clinical finance analytics, and ensuring compliance with institutional, state, and federal regulations. The Director collaborates closely with college leadership, the Director of Ambulatory Pharmacy Services, pharmacy managers, and external partners to optimize financial performance, enhance operational efficiency, and advance the college's mission to deliver high-quality patient care and innovative pharmacy services. Key responsibilities include financial planning, reporting, cost analysis, and resource allocation to ensure the enterprise operates effectively and achieves strategic goals.

Requirements

A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, healthcare administration or related field required.
A minimum of five years of financial management experience is required, including experience as a financial administrator.
Demonstrated leadership in the areas of budget development, financial management; compliance; analytical thinking; creativity and strong decision-making skills are also required.
Demonstrable knowledge of fiscal policies and procedures, financial systems, and experience with data analytical tools required.
Demonstrated experience in team management.
Experience/training in generally accepted accounting practices and project management required.
Excellent oral and written communication skills are required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in finance, business or accounting preferred.
Demonstrated knowledge in pharmacy finance processes, particularly with pharmacy programs and systems (i.e. 340B programs, EPIC, clinical revenue cycle management) preferred.
Active membership in a recognized professional finance association preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop, implement, and monitor annual financial operations and capital budgets for the Ambulatory Pharmacy Services unit. Areas of responsibility include accounts payable and receivable, budgeting, cost accounting, and revenue cycle (charge capture, denial reduction, reimbursement optimization) to optimize savings and revenue and maintain compliance across UI Health.
Oversee and manage college and department finance staff accountable for financial management, principles, and business processes. Plan, assign, and review staff work to ensure group objectives are met. Hire, train, develop, and manage staff to ensure that qualified staff exists to meet group objectives.
Support the Director of Ambulatory Pharmacy Services in developing financial pro formas and business cases for new pharmacy services, evaluating the ROI and financial feasibility of proposed initiatives, and conducting service line profitability analyses.
Work with the UI Health Managed Care group on financial modeling of payer contract proposals, analysis of reimbursement trends, and assessment of contract profitability.
Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements and present them to various constituents, including the College, the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Ambulatory Pharmacy, the College of Medicine, and Hospital leadership.
Collaborate with internal teams, including but not limited to the 340B compliance team, purchasing team, IT team, and other ambulatory pharmacy staff to analyze drug acquisition costs and gross margin performance, collaborate with pharmacy purchasing and wholesaler partners, and support contracting and purchasing processes.
Define, develop, shape, and implement policy and procedures, including but not limited to budget development and financial management, funds flow oversight, budget modeling/forecasting, resource allocation, operational policies and procedures, and data management.
Oversee the development of financial data analytics to establish and monitor financial KPIs for ambulatory pharmacy services.
Advise on budget and financial policy and procedures; provide business and financial oversight; monitor and guide in maintaining compliance and fiscal responsibility; maintain compliance with university, state, federal and professional standards.
Collaborate with the Pharmacy Practice department and the Ambulatory Pharmacy unit on clinical financial operations.
Advise the Senior Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs and other College and Department leadership on procedural improvements and assist in establishing and monitoring standard clinical financial reports.
Establish metrics, analyze and leverage data and best practice insights during action planning, respond to Ambulatory Pharmacy data requests, and prepare internal and external administrative reports on topics such as labor and economic data, financial modeling to achieve capital projects, trends and forecasting.
Represent the college to university and system-level financial units; serve on key department, college and campus committees.
Provide professional expertise and remains current with developments in field affecting the financial affairs of the college and campus levels.
Perform other related duties and participate in special projects as assigned.