Manager, Business and Finance

Finance Strategy & Solutions seeks a creative, resourceful, and collaborative leader to fill the new position of Manager, Business and Finance. The person will report to the Director, Business & Finance and play a pivotal role in strategy and financial planning.

The incumbent will oversee financial operations working with a great degree of autonomy, supervise full-time staff, and participate as a key member of the management team.
The successful candidate will be a seasoned leader with excellent finance and managerial skills, will demonstrate a professional demeanor, superlative customer service, dedication to collaborative teamwork, and will support the team values and goals.

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• Responsibility across many areas of Finance, including accounts payable, purchasing, compensation and position tracking, procurement, and asset management.
• Manages a functional team specializing in processing payments, providing leadership and direction to accomplish an area of financial work.
• Foster collaboration across multiple financial functions to streamline processes and improve overall efficiency.
• Manage and evaluate financial portfolios and provide clear and timely reporting to leadership.
• Provide monthly management level reporting and financial guidance to department head, budget owners, and internal directors.
• Conduct strategic financial analysis to identify risks and opportunities aligning with the organization's short- and long-term goals.
• Provide financial expertise for decision-making, including scenario planning, market trend analysis, and forecasting.
• Monitor accuracy of financial statements and business processes; drives corrective measures.

Supervision:

• Leads, develops, mentors and supervises finance staff and students and aids in the recruitment process.
• Fosters the team's culture based in agreed values and norms, setting management expectations and supporting professional development.
• Manages process improvements, driving organizational effectiveness and operational efficiencies. Ensures backup systems and teaming when needed.
• Train staff on financial processes, analysis, enterprise systems nuances and related activities.
• Serve on departmental committees and assist with special projects.

Budget Planning:

• Develop the timeline for the annual budget and multi-year plan to meet relevant deadlines.
• Assist divisions and department leaders in the development and implementation of complex annual multi-year budgets and reports. Serving as an expert financial resource.
• Collaborate with department heads on their workforce needs, planning and tracking compensation and labor goals of each assigned portfolio.
• Oversee and mentor finance staff in budget preparation and production, ensuring accuracy.
• Approve purchase orders in line with budgetary expectations.
• Prepare and analyze income and expense actuals against planned allocations for assigned funds or units.
• Produce monthly re-forecasts and reports, ensuring corrections where necessary.

Guidance and Communication:

• Engage with department heads and service directors to ensure the inclusion of all relevant income and expenditure in the budget.
• Produce financial materials for each department containing predetermined financial data and metrics.
• Produce consolidated financial information for presentation to committees, external agencies, or leadership.
• Communicate budgets to and ensure understanding by budget holders.
• Conduct budget holder training and rely financial policies to department leaders.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrate strong analytical skills for interpreting financial data and providing strategic insights.
• Exhibit strong leadership skills in overseeing financial teams and managing performance.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, fostering a positive working relationship.
• Familiarity with data analysis tools for efficient financial reporting and decision-making.
• Solid business acumen, detail oriented, highly analytical, creative problem solver with an excellent ability achieve effective results in a fast-paced and growing environment.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required
• Minimum of 3 years of related work experience or equivalent combination of education and work experience required.

• Experience in management accounting with fluency in financial and accounting standards.
• Experience driving change and process improvement. programs with the capability to solve complex problems where precedent may not exist.
• Experience working in Higher Education finance.
• Experience with various University of Arizona and UA Foundation systems and departments including UAccess Financials and Student.
• Experience interpreting accounting principles, practices, and procedures.
• Experience in utilizing Microsoft Excel to analyze financial data and using UAccess Analytics and Budget and Planning systems to create financial reports and documents.
• Experience communicating with high level internal and external stakeholders.