Director of Global Finance

University of Chicago•Hyde Park, IL

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Development Innovation Lab (DIL) at the University of Chicago is seeking a Director of Global Finance to lead financial strategy and grant management. This role is responsible for overseeing a global portfolio supporting research initiatives in low-income communities across multiple countries. The Director will manage the Lab's financial operations, ensure compliance with university and external funding regulations, and oversee the life-cycle management of grants, gifts, and internal funds. This position requires managing funds from various sources, including foundations, government grants, and internal University budgets. The Director will lead a team of professional staff, build financial systems and processes, manage operating budgets, lead the annual and quarterly budgeting process, and report regularly on financial status to leadership. The role involves analyzing the Lab's overall financial picture, including risks and opportunities, and adapting to a dynamic research environment. The Director will serve as a key liaison between DIL and central university offices, including the Director of Financial Operations for the Social Sciences Division, the University Budget Office, and University Research Administration. Beyond operational duties, the Director will act as a senior advisor and thought partner to the Lab’s faculty director, research PIs, and project leads, assisting with strategic planning, financial decisions, structuring funding streams, and monitoring financial spending. DIL values professionals who can clearly communicate financial information to non-finance audiences and provide well-reasoned recommendations based on a thorough understanding of the Lab's priorities, constraints, and preferences.

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.
High-level proficiency with spreadsheets, computer applications such as Word, Excel and accounting systems.
Familiar with financial and accounting systems used in large organizations, such as Workday or Oracle/Peoplesoft.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience in operations, grant administration, finance, or other related fields.
Budget planning and forecasting, financial operations, and fiscal reporting.
Working in a higher education or non-profit environment.
Managing restricted funding such as endowments, sponsored awards, or contracts.
Working effectively with colleagues from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Demonstrated leadership skills and experience managing multiple direct reports, including mentoring, training, and development.
Engage effectively with a diverse workforce in a complex research environment.
Clear, concise, and warm communicator — in writing and in person.
Able to convey financial information accurately and specifically without being overly technical, and to adapt tone and framing for different audiences, from faculty and research leads to program staff and external donors.
Exceptional organizational skills, with previous project management experience.
A resourceful problem-solver and critical thinker who is proactive in leveraging opportunities and anticipating and averting problems in a global environment.
Handle all employment information and issues with absolute discretion and confidentiality.
Strong cross-cultural communication and collaboration skills.
Demonstrated experience working effectively with senior academic or organizational stakeholders — including faculty, Principal Investigators, or executive leadership — building trust and providing financial guidance that is both accurate and genuinely useful to non-finance audiences.
Comfortable in a dynamic, consensus-driven environment where research priorities and resource constraints evolve.
Adapts fluidly as plans shift — maintaining operational rigor without rigidity — and brings a collaborative, ego-free orientation to a senior advisory role.
Offers recommendations with confidence and substance, and supports final decisions made by Lab leadership fully, including when those decisions take a different direction.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage a team of grant and finance managers responsible for managing project-level budgets with research teams for funding proposals, managing project spending, and reporting regularly to donors.
Provide financial analysis and well-considered recommendations to support unit-wide decisions made by the Lab’s faculty director and executive director.
Develop guidance with sufficient depth and contextual grounding to be genuinely useful — attuned to the Lab’s priorities, known preferences, and operating constraints — and supports final decisions made by those leaders fully.
Provide reports at least quarterly analyzing the Lab’s financial performance including analyzing spending against annual fiscal year budgets.
Regularly project financial outcomes by modeling revenue and spending, including conducting Monte Carlo simulations of projected fundraising, thinking strategically about which funding source to use, and communicating with leadership about iterative decisions as the funding environment changes.
Lead budgeting processes and oversee Lab’s financial picture.
Manage organization-wide budget development and budget process, including monthly forecasting, fiscal year close out, and reporting to the Unit, Provost, Dean, and Budget Office.
Gather budget requests from across many projects and consolidating them for leadership, including flagging issues and ensuring data validity.
Track performance against budget and provide strategic advice to the Lab’s leadership team as well as regularly provide actuals to the project teams.
Partner with international colleagues to oversee financial management of global research programs, ensuring compliance across multiple funding sources and country requirements.
Oversee the Lab’s interactions with the University’s financial system.
Oversee and audit reporting within the University’s General Expense Management System (GEMS) system each month.
Review individual expenses charged to various Lab accounts for correctness, applicability, and compliance with any donor requirements.
Ensures compliance with University financial policies and procedures and builds systems that work for DIL culture that help ensure compliance and efficiency.
Ensure adherence to University financial regulations and standards, stays updated on changes in financial policies, grant requirements, and best practices.
Serve as the primary financial resource for research and policy teams on project-level questions, ensuring finance support is timely and responsive to the operational needs of project staff.
Oversee the management of payroll allocations across funding sources, ensuring funds are used appropriately as budgeted and for the efficient use of donor or other funds.
Responsible for working with Lab leadership to avoid over- or under-staffing of activities.
Manage time tracking system to aid leadership in project management and ensures grant and gift spending on salaries accurately aligns with staff effort.
Develops, communicates, and implements financial policies and procedures.
Communicates University guidelines and policies to staff and ensures that all expenses are compliant with those policies.
Develops and conducts in-house staff trainings around pre- and post-award administration.
Manages the preparation of financial statements, activity reports, financial position forecasts, and/or reports required by regulatory agencies.
Manages, negotiates, and resolves financial compliance issues with various governmental agencies.
Perform other related work as needed.