Public Service - Higher Education Management Consulting Senior Manager – Transformation Lead

Accenture•St. Louis, MO

1d•$112,900 - $338,300•Hybrid

About The Position

Accenture's Higher Education practice is at the forefront of driving significant operational transformations within educational institutions. We work with universities, four-year colleges, and community colleges on strategy, readiness, and implementations, focusing on areas like finance, HR, payroll, procurement, and research administration. As a transformation lead, you will combine higher education functional expertise with the ability to lead complex, technology-enabled institutional transformations. This role requires a deep understanding of the unique challenges in higher education, such as decentralized operating models, change management in shared governance, and the integration of various university systems. We are looking for experienced professionals who can lead these critical initiatives, ensuring successful outcomes that unlock institutional capacity and avoid disruption.

Requirements

Minimum 8 years of consulting or functional experience in higher education or community college environments.
Senior-level functional expertise in at least one domain: institutional finance and budget operations, HR and academic workforce management, payroll administration, procurement and purchasing compliance, or research administration and sponsored programs.
Minimum 7 years of hands-on delivery experience with Cloud ERP in a functional capacity.
Demonstrated experience as a delivery lead or senior functional tower owner on large, complex ERP engagements or similar institution-wide transformations and implementations in higher education.
Accountability for design quality, senior relationships, and outcomes in your domain.
Ability to travel 50%+

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated experience engaging directly with senior functional executives in higher education organizations.
Prior experience in a senior functional operating role within a college, university, or community college (e.g., VP of Finance, CFO, CHRO, VP of Research, Sponsored Programs Director, Payroll Director, or Chief Procurement Officer).
Finance: Cloud ERP Financials delivery experience in higher education; deep familiarity with enrollment-driven budgeting, all funds budgeting, GASB fund accounting, endowment management, board and audit committee reporting cycles, and designing for decentralized finance structures.
HR: Cloud ERP HCM delivery experience with depth in academic workforce structures, faculty appointment management, or large-scale HR transformation; experience developing adoption strategies for shared governance environments.
Payroll: Cloud ERP Payroll delivery experience with multi-bargaining-unit complexity, faculty and staff pay structures, or college and university payroll compliance at scale.
Procurement: Cloud ERP Procurement delivery experience with familiarity with higher education purchasing compliance, decentralized requisition-to-pay environments, and the intersection of procurement and sponsored programs.
Research Administration: Deep familiarity with sponsored programs finance and operations in higher education, including effort reporting, indirect cost recovery, sub-award management, cost transfer processes, grant lifecycle management, and federal sponsor compliance; experience designing ERP or research administration systems to support the sponsored research lifecycle.
Experience managing data migration complexity in higher education, including payroll history, grant encumbrances, and position control records.
Experience with integration design in complex higher education environments, connecting ERP platforms to student systems, research platforms, advancement platforms, state reporting systems, or other enterprise applications.
Experience contributing to competitive higher education pursuits, including pre-RFP positioning, institutional advisory relationships, and engagement with platform account teams.
Familiarity with the higher education procurement and RFP process from the client side.
Bachelor's degree preferred. Equivalent experience considered.

Responsibilities

Lead Cloud ERP engagements with a focus on business transformation for college and university clients, acting as either an overall delivery lead or the senior owner of a functional tower.
Own senior client relationships in your functional area, engaging as a peer with executives like the VP of Finance, CFO, CHRO, VP of Research, Sponsored Programs Director, Payroll Director, and Chief Procurement Officer.
Drive functional design decisions that account for the full complexity of higher education operations, including decentralized finance and HR, shared governance, research enterprise needs, integration dependencies, and board reporting.
Lead change management strategy within your domain, developing adoption approaches suitable for shared governance cultures and engaging with faculty and department administrators.
Own integration strategy within your tower, ensuring dependencies with student systems, research platforms, advancement systems, and other enterprise tools are designed for from the outset.
Incorporate AI-assisted delivery, platform-native AI capabilities, and workflow automation into engagements, and guide clients on responsible AI adoption.
Contribute to competitive pursuits and proposals, leveraging domain credibility to influence client perceptions.
Shape the market by building relationships with university functional leaders, engaging with platform account teams, and representing the practice at industry forums.
Contribute to practice development, including solutions, services, and client outcomes for future engagements.
Develop junior and mid-level practitioners in your functional area, enhancing their domain depth, change management instincts, and platform fluency.