Education & Compliance Office Manager

University of Washington•Seattle, WA

About The Position

Finance, Planning, and Budgeting (FPB) encompasses the major central financial, planning, analytical, and budgeting functions for the University of Washington, including: Financial Stewardship & Operations Institutional Analytics & Decision Support Budget, Policy & Strategy University Business Services The Education & Compliance Office Manager plays a critical role in advancing the University Controller’s Office (UCO) mission by establishing a robust education and outreach framework. This position leads the development of a university-wide training program, including foundational courses that will become prerequisites for Workday accounting role access. By creating consistent communication channels in a decentralized environment, the manager ensures timely dissemination of accounting updates, policy changes, and system requirements, fostering transparency and alignment across campus units. In addition to education initiatives, the manager oversees key compliance and monitoring functions, including institution-wide deficit tracking, overhead assessment reviews, and enhanced monitoring in collaboration with Internal Audit. Working closely with the Enterprise Accounting & Governance and Institutional Analytics & Decision Support teams, this role develops reporting tools to identify and correct financial activity, ensuring accuracy and accountability. Through these efforts, the manager strengthens financial governance while equipping campus stakeholders with the knowledge and resources needed to maintain compliance and operational excellence.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, public administration, or a related field; AND at five (5) years of responsible experience in financial operations combined with training, enablement, or instructional design responsibilities.
To include, three (3) years of leading cross‑functional initiatives in a complex or decentralized environment, with demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority and align diverse stakeholder groups, and three (3) years of leadership or management experience, including coaching, performance management, and developing high‑performing teams.
Deep understanding of finance and accounting frameworks, and the ability to break down terminology and illustrate how policies, internal controls, and ERP system behaviors interact, supporting clear, consistent understanding across decentralized units.
Demonstrated experience designing and delivering training for major technology or software implementations, preferably large‑scale ERP systems (e.g., Workday, Oracle, SAP).
Must be able to create scenario‑based, role‑specific training that connects system workflows to daily financial operations, policy expectations, and internal controls.
Ability to translate complex financial policies, regulations, and compliance requirements into clear, actionable guidance for diverse audiences including operational staff, unit leadership, central finance leaders, and auditors.
Experience creating and maintaining a comprehensive training strategy.
Working knowledge of fiscal health and compliance processes.
Proficiency with ERP financial systems, learning management systems (LMS), and analytics tools (Excel, Power BI, Tableau) to track adoption, identify risks, and measure training impact.
Excellent communication skills, including the ability to create auditor ready documentation, such as SOPs, process maps, decision trees, learning materials, and policy-to-process translations.
Demonstrated commitment to accessibility and inclusive learning design, including adherence to recognized standards.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and the ability to maintain clear, accurate documentation from a single source.
Demonstrated ability to work independently with excellent project management skills and a proactive approach to learning new applications and technologies.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, public administration, adult learning, instructional design, or a related field.
Professional certifications such as CPA, CMA, CPTM, Prosci/ADKAR, PMP, or Lean Six Sigma Green/Black Belt.
Experience in higher education, government, or other complex research or public-sector financial environments, including familiarity with Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), state/local policies, sponsored research financial practices, and academic fiscal structures.
Experience leading or supporting post‑ERP stabilization, business process redesign, or institution‑wide policy or system transformations.
Experience with Workday Financials.
Demonstrated ability to build or manage role‑based competency frameworks, linking learning outcomes to system access, internal controls, and job expectations.
Experience designing KPIs and dashboards that connect training outcomes to risk reduction, audit performance, policy compliance, and fiscal stability (e.g., deficit aging, exemption exceptions, cost center health).
Familiarity with service management and knowledge management practices (taxonomy, versioning, content governance).

Responsibilities

Strategy Development The Education & Compliance Manager develops and advances a cohesive financial education strategy that strengthens institutional stewardship, supports compliance, and promotes financial sustainability across the University. This role ensures training programs and assessment frameworks are scalable, effective, and aligned with enterprise systems and governance objectives.
Direct the development of training content and resources that support campus-wide financial literacy and accountability, collaborating with UCO units as well as broader university stakeholders.
Design and implement a university-wide financial training strategy aligned with institutional policies and Workday functionality.
Serves as a trusted advisor to campus stakeholders, providing authoritative guidance on accounting & compliance policies and directives.
Communicates complex financial concepts clearly, ensuring transparency and alignment across diverse audiences, including senior executives and auditors.
Builds and sustains collaborative relationships with internal and external partners to garner alignment and stability in accounting practices across Shared Environments, Dean’s Offices, and other central administrative units.
Develop a foundational accounting course that will serve as a prerequisite for Workday financial role access, establishing consistent baseline knowledge across all units with accounting roles in Workday.
Leadership / Team Management Provide leadership and manage the Education & Compliance Office.
Manage the day-to-day operations of the Education & Compliance Office, as well as guidance and oversight of projects and workflow, and general project timelines.
Work with a diverse group of individuals to create an inclusive environment and culture Responsible for management, staff development, career enrichment, and training.
Foster a collaborative and inclusive culture, promoting knowledge sharing, accountability, and continuous professional development.
Ensure team establishes and adheres to best-in-class standards for developing financial literacy training materials, driving consistency and excellence across all educational initiatives.
Program Development/Management Manage institutional compliance programs, including audit remediation and financial monitoring.
Establish and maintain a compliance program operations manual.
Lead exemption review processes and ensure alignment with university policies.
Establish performance metrics and feedback loops to evaluate training effectiveness and continuously refine curriculum based on evolving institutional needs and regulatory changes.
Advance UCO’s deficit monitoring program, implementing enhanced review protocols and risk indicators to proactively identify and address financial imbalances.
Collaborate with Internal Audit to design and implement a structured process for tracking and resolving findings from audit reviews, ensuring timely remediation and strengthened institutional controls.
Oversee the institutional overhead assessment framework, ensuring accurate application of rates and consistent compliance across all units.
Lead exemption review process, aligning decisions with university policies, and curating exemption requests for executive review.
Collaborate with Treasury and Management Accounting and Analysis to ensure timely sharing of relevant information for use in the Internal Lending Program and rate evaluations.
Administration Ensure training and cross-training on business processes and systems Other duties as assigned