Senior Officer, Finance

University of Ottawa; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 68,000 - 86,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Ottawa’s Common Law Section seeks a finance professional to manage the sector’s financial operations, payroll verification, and budgets, reporting to the Finance Manager. This role ensures policies are understood and applied, and delivers solid support to managers and researchers.

Based at the Main Campus, the incumbent will bring 3+ years of relevant experience, strong bilingual communication, and a commitment to confidentiality.

Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of accounting principles or equivalent
• Minimum 3 years of experience in a similar role
• Bilingualism - French and English (spoken and written)
• Experience interpreting policies and regulations
• Experience in preparing financial reports
• Ability to produce high-quality work under deadlines
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills
• High level of discretion
• Experience with payroll verification and remuneration processes
• Knowledge of financial systems and tools

Responsibilities

• Plan and coordinate financial operations for the sector
• Administer budgets and verify payrolls
• Reconcile payroll and financial reports with Payroll Services
• Process invoices, travel advances, and reimbursement requests
• Ensure compliance with policies and regulations
• Prepare remuneration documentation for contracts and casual/term employees
• Maintain confidential records and assist audits
• Provide financial analysis and recommendations to managers

Skills

Payroll and budgeting

Interpersonal communication

Bilingual: French & English

Organizational skills

Policy interpretation

Report preparation

Discretion

Time management

Payroll reconciliation

Financial analysis

Education

Postsecondary studies in accounting or related discipline

Tools

Financial systems

Spreadsheets

Databases

Job description

Follow us on LinkedIn

Posting Reason: Replacement of a regular position

Job Type: Employee

Anticipated Duration in Months (for contracts and temporary assignments): 868N/A

Job Family: Finance (JF)

# of Open Positions: 1

Faculty/Service - Department: Finances, Common Law Section

Campus: Main Campus

Union Affiliation: SSUO

Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD): 2026/10/22

Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD): 2026/11/02

Hours per week: 35

Salary Grade: SSUO Grade 08

Salary Range: $68 149,00 - $86 083,00

About the Common Law Section of the Faculty of Law

Over the past 20 years, the Common Law Section of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa has become a national and global leader in many fields. We are the only law school to offer a common law degree in both English and French, and our faculty is one of the most accomplished in the country. We are an engaged Faculty, and we have a strong culture of public engagement. We also have a strong bond with the legal community in Ottawa and a special relationship with the Supreme Court of Canada. We are leaders -- leaders in research, leaders in the profession and leaders in our community. On any given day, members of our faculty may be seen testifying before a Parliamentary committee, providing expert commentary in the media, or contributing to public policy debates on the issues of the day. We are the most‑cited law faculty in the national media. Through our dedication we have built strong experiential learning opportunities for our students where our students have unparalleled access to, and interaction with, the highest judges in the land to help foster an inclusive and high-quality student experience.

Position purpose:

Reporting to the Finance Manager , the incumbent plans and coordinates the activities related to the financial operations of the sector, including payroll verification and financial transactions in order to provide support and advice to managers and to ensure that the policies and procedures are well understood and properly implemented.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

• Administering internally and/or externally-funded budgets to ensure compliance with established policies.
• Analyzing financial statements against budgets for various types of funds to identify and address any inconsistencies.
• Performing all research and analysis necessary to provide recommendations to managers and/or researchers on the effective preparation of budgets, budget projections and shortfalls to maximize revenue and contain expenditure.
• Administering the ongoing financial transaction processes for the sector, to maintain financial integrity and transparency and to ensure compliance with established policies.
• Acting as approval agent for invoices, travel advances, requests for reimbursement and credit card statements to verify that documentation and taxation are correct.
• Preparing requests for remuneration, and required documentation for the generation of contracts, and administer remuneration for casual and term employees to ensure compliance with established policies and to minimize the possibility of a negative impact on the affected employee, such as an interruption in pay.
• Verifying payroll reports for accuracy and liaise with Payroll Services to reconcile any inconsistencies.
• Purchasing goods and services for the sector, on purchase order or on credit card, in compliance with all relevant policies.
• Requesting estimates from suppliers on behalf of internal clients and provide recommendations.
• Maintaining an effective filing and records management system to preserve confidentiality of the records and ensure that complete and accurate documentation is available for future reference or audit purposes.

What you will bring:

• Advanced knowledge of accounting principles normally acquired through postsecondary studies in a related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Minimum 3 years of demonstrated experience in a similar role
• Knowledge of computer systems and software including financial systems, spreadsheets, databases, Internet and e-mail
• Experience in interpreting, explaining and applying policies and regulations
• Experience in preparing reports
• Ability to produce high quality work under pressure while meeting strict deadlines
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong organizational skills
• High level of discretion
• Bilingualism - French and English (spoken and written)

Key Competencies at uOttawa:

Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa:

• Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
• Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
• Client Service Orie