Finance & Accounting Senior Manager

University of Colorado•Aurora, CO

2d•$79,990 - $107,187•Hybrid

About The Position

The Finance & Accounting Senior Manager serves as a high level financial leader for the Department of Emergency Medicine and is responsible for the strategic oversight of financial planning, forecasting, business analytics, financial modeling, budgeting, and operational decision support. This position partners closely with departmental leadership (Vice Chair of Finance and Administration, Vice Chair of Research, and Vice Chair of Clinical Operations) to develop data-driven strategies that support the department's clinical, research, educational, and administrative missions. The Finance & Accounting Senior Manager is responsible for developing sophisticated financial models, forecasting tools, and executive dashboards in collaboration with the analytics team that inform strategic planning, resource allocation, program growth, and operational performance improvement. The position provides leadership for data analytics initiatives and promotes the use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to enhance financial analysis, reporting efficiency, and business intelligence capabilities. This position oversees the day-to-day operations of the finance, analytics, procurement, and contract management functions and serves as a trusted advisor to department leadership regarding financial risks, opportunities, and long-term strategic investments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, business, finance, accounting, or a directly related field from an accredited institution and 5-7 years of professional experience related to finance and accounting management.
A combination of education and related technical/military/paraprofessional experience may be substituted for a bachelor’s degree on a year for year basis.
Applicants must meet minimum qualifications at the time of hire.
Proficiency working with Microsoft Word, Access, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Advanced knowledge of Excel.
Ability to work with a diverse group and competing interests.
Ability to tolerate a high degree of ambiguity yet work effectively to fulfill the mission, goals and objectives of the department.
Knowledge of standard accounting practices.
Knowledge of fund accounting.
Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, identify and set priorities for self and others, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced work environment.
Excellent time management and organization skills.
Ability to effectively explain processes and procedures.
Strong analytical skills.
Excellent attention to detail.
Strong commitment to the team approach.
Ability to understand complex systems and guide other personnel with regard to their use.
Strong financial management and the ability to manage funds from a variety of sources.
Solid understanding of budget development and management.
Ability to evaluate, analyze and interpret vast amounts of data, recommend solutions and implement the preferred course of action.
High degree of technical skills in fiscal management, and knowledge of accounting and business practices, including accounting software packages.
Ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution.
Outstanding customer service skills.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Finance, Accounting or a related field from an accredited college or university.
Experience with fund accounting.
Experience working with standard accounting policies and procedures.
Higher education accounting experience.
Higher education budget management, modeling and forecasting experience.
Experience with contract and grant administration.
Experience working with clinical data.

Responsibilities

Provides leadership and supervision for finance, analytics, procurement, and contract management staff.
Serves as the department's senior financial strategist and trusted advisor to the Chair, Vice Chair for Administration and Finance, and executive leadership team.
Establishes performance expectations and fosters a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Mentors staff in advanced financial analysis, data analytics, forecasting, and business intelligence methodologies.
Promotes adoption of emerging analytics technologies and AI-enabled solutions to improve departmental performance.
Leads strategic initiatives focused on process automation, data governance, and analytical capability development.
Oversees management of departmental funds including state, grant, clinical, gift, endowment, auxiliary, and contract funding.
Designs, develops, and maintains sophisticated financial models to evaluate new programs, faculty recruitment, compensation plans, clinical initiatives, research investments, and strategic partnerships.
Leads the development of executive dashboards and financial scorecards.
Utilizes advanced Excel modeling techniques, data visualization tools, and AI-enabled technologies to improve forecasting accuracy and operational efficiency.
Identifies emerging trends, financial risks, and growth opportunities through advanced analytics and benchmarking.
Ensures departmental compliance with applicable procurement policies and procedures.
Prepares cost studies for all service center accounts and conducts cost-benefit analysis to determine the best allocation methodology for overhead costs.
Leads development of long-range financial strategies that support departmental growth, sustainability, and operational excellence.
Reconciles and consolidates financial information from multiple entities including University, CU Medicine, hospital, research, and affiliated organizations.
Monitors departmental financial performance and proactively identifies budget variances, operational risks, and opportunities for improvement.
Directs all departmental budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning activities.
Oversees development of annual operating budgets, multi-year financial plans, and periodic forecast updates.
Ensures compliance with University, School of Medicine, CU Medicine, hospital, state, and federal financial policies and regulations.
Establishes and maintains internal controls to ensure responsible stewardship of departmental resources
Serves as the departmental Approving Official (AO) for procurement activities.
Ensures the propriety of all transactions in accordance with State, University, CU Medicine and UCH rules and regulations.
Implements and oversees execution of procurement policies and procedures related to all facets of the University and CU Medicine procurement systems (CU Marketplace, Concur, Travel, etc.), including, electronic and paper approval and submission (Pos, SPOs, Payment Vouchers, Travel Reconciliation, Employee Reimbursements, CU Medicine Travel and accounts payable)
Sets reimbursement policy for the department faculty and staff. Oversees and manages reimbursement requests for all faculty/staff and develops training program to best inform faculty/staff.
Manages all procurement and travel card transaction activity. Develops, implements and educates others about the departmental policy on the use of university credit cards.
Provides financial guidance and support for contract negotiations and business agreements.
Study the legalities of contracts and help to negotiate terms and conditions with faculty and third parties, before drafting agreements to outline terms of service and project deliverables.
Provide contract analysis and summaries, and ensure contract execution accomplished in accordance with company policy
Drives current contract processes and provides improvement initiative direction including scrutiny and evaluation of best practices and lessons learned
Manage all service agreements in the department. Reviews agreements for cost effectiveness and develops budgets to ensure cost reimbursement exceeds costs for all agreement. Negotiates with sponsors for budget consideration.
Develops departmental tax allocation process on all clinical and contract income.
Serves as the subject-matter expert for Scope of Work transactions and acts as a work lead for all department personnel under the Chair and DFA.
Performs other duties as assigned.