Finance Business Partner & Budget Lead – Academic Affairs

Metropolitan Community College (Kansas City)•Omaha, NE

14d

About The Position

This position serves as the senior financial planning resource supporting the Academic Affairs portfolio and is a key driver of the college’s Finance Forward operating model. This role leads divisional budget planning and resource optimization, providing data-driven analysis, forecasting, and financial stewardship to enable informed decision-making and strategic execution. This position partners with Academic Affairs as the primary financial advisor to the division.

Requirements

Proficient computer skills with the ability to learn new software.
Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and other college supported systems.
Operational proficiency in Workday Finance and Adaptive Planning, including position management, transactional workflows, reporting, and financial modeling.
Comprehensive understanding of budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and multi-year planning within a complex academic environment.
Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize data into actionable recommendations.
Knowledge of human resources, faculty appointments, compensation practices, and payroll costing, with the ability to navigate instructional workload, overload, and adjunct pay models.
Familiarity with financial governance, internal controls, grants management, and donor/sponsor restrictions, ensuring compliance and responsible stewardship of institutional resources.
Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, capable of converting complex data into actionable insights for decision-makers.
Exceptional interpersonal and intercultural communication skills, with a customer-service orientation and the ability to influence without authority.
Strong organizational, prioritization, and project-management capability, with meticulous attention to detail and execution discipline.
Proven ability to deliver high-quality customer service and work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders in a service-oriented environment.
Ability to work well with minimal supervision in a team-orientated environment.
Ability to demonstrate cooperation and professionalism while maintaining patience and understanding in stressful situations.
Ability to demonstrate adaptability and resilience in a dynamic, technology-enabled environment, with a mindset focused on innovation, process improvement, and change adoption.
Ability to effectively work and interact with various cultures and ethnicities.
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Information Systems, Economics, or a closely related field.
Four (4) years of progressively responsible professional experience in finance, accounting, budget management, data analysis, or administrative operations.
Hands-on experience with Workday Finance, Adaptive Planning, or another enterprise financial system (ERP) including reporting, transaction workflows, or planning tools.
Equivalent combination of education and/or work experience considered.
Ability to travel between campuses for meetings or position responsibilities.
Must pass a background check.

Nice To Haves

Experience in higher education finance, academic budgeting, or faculty/staff personnel transactions preferred.
Experience managing academic division budgets across multiple fund sources (general, grant, gift, scholarship, endowed) preferred.
Familiarity with faculty workload models, adjunct/overload compensation, and instructional cost optimization preferred.
History of leading process improvement initiatives, digital workflow adoption, or financial training for end users. Preferred.
Professional certification (CPA, CGMA, FP&A, or similar) or relevant graduate degree (MBA, MPA, MAcc) is a plus.

Responsibilities

Leads annual and ongoing management of Academic Affairs’ all-funds operating and capital budgets, ensuring resource allocation aligns with institutional strategy, academic priorities, and Finance Forward standards.
Assists supervisor to drive multi-year budgeting, forecasting, and scenario planning in Adaptive Planning module, including position control, budget amendments, financial modeling, and long-range cost projections.
Serves as the divisional budget lead in Workday, overseeing general, program, grant, gift, scholarship, and endowed funds.
Partners with this supervisor, the Controller, and Human Resources to ensure budget integrity, financial transparency, and compliance across the academic enterprise.
Provides proactive financial guidance, training, and decision support to deans, program chairs, and administrative leads, strengthening budget ownership, fiscal accountability, and operational efficiency across the division.
Develops and delivers timely financial reports, dashboards, and variance analyses to inform strategic planning, program evaluation, and executive decision-making.
Ensures compliance with institutional policy, grant requirements, donor restrictions, and fiscal controls, serving as the governance lead for Academic Affairs in coordination with the Controller and Grants Accounting.
Oversees purchasing, expense management, and cost-center reconciliations, implementing transparent workflows, continuous improvement, and Workday-enabled process discipline.
Leads enrollment-aware financial modeling, collaborating with Academic Affairs leadership to build revenue and cost forecasts that support academic program planning, schedule optimization, and sustainable instructional delivery.
Manages faculty and staff compensation transactions in Workday, including costing allocations, workload management, adjunct/overload assignments, and compensation changes — ensuring alignment to staffing plans and budget authority.
Provides oversight for faculty workload, instructional cost planning, and adjunct/overload budgets, serving as a strategic partner to the VP Academic Affairs and Deans to advance sustainable instructional models and compensation practices.
Coordinates monthly review and reconciliation of divisional budgets, grants, scholarships, and procurement activity, ensuring data integrity, spend visibility, and timely issue resolution.
Serves as a Workday subject-matter resource, promoting data accuracy, workflow adoption, and customer-focused financial solutions that streamline user experience and reduce administrative burden.
Attends work activities or programs as scheduled or assigned.