Assistant Provost Academic Budget Planning

St.-John; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

The University seeks an Assistant Provost for Academic Planning to oversee integrated budget planning and financial management for a broad portfolio of colleges, schools, and academic units.

Responsibilities include directing operating budgets, staff planning, compensation planning, endowment and restricted funds, and program investments, while aligning with university priorities and accreditation timelines.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in higher education administration, finance, or related field.
• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience in academic budget planning or institutional finance.
• Experience advising Deans or senior academic leaders.

Responsibilities

• Lead annual operating budget development for assigned schools and units.
• Develop multi-year financial projections and scenario analyses.
• Supervise the Director of Academic Budget Planning and ensure quality of analyses.
• Advise on endowment, restricted funds, capital planning, and program investments.
• Coordinate salary and compensation planning and budget transfers.
• Ensure alignment with institutional policies and priorities.
• Participate in assessment standards and accreditation planning as needed.

Skills

Budget planning

Financial modeling

Staffing planning

Advising Deans

Strategic thinking

Education

Master's degree in higher education administration/finance

Doctoral degree (preferred)

Job description

The Assistant Provost for Academic Planning is accountable for the integrated budget planning and financial management of an assigned portfolio of colleges, schools, and academic units. The Assistant Provost owns the financial planning relationship with assigned Deans, sets the strategic direction for the portfolio within division standards, and recommends significant portfolio actions to the Associate Provost.

This position exercises budget authority within approved parameters and leads school-level planning related to operating budgets, faculty and staff planning, compensation, restricted funds, endowments, capital implications, program financial analysis, assessment integration, accreditation considerations, and pre-award grants planning.

The Assistant Provost supervises and develops the Director of Academic Budget Planning, who provides analytical, modeling, reporting, and documentation support for the portfolio. The Assistant Provost remains ultimately accountable for portfolio recommendations, Dean-level advising, and escalation of material issues.

Operating Budget, Faculty Planning, and Portfolio Management

• Lead annual operating budget development for assigned schools and units, including revenue and expenditure planning, faculty and staff assumptions, compensation costs, program activity, strategic investments, and institutional budget parameters.
• Monitor budget performance through budget-to-actual review, variance analysis, root-cause assessment, and corrective action planning.
• Develop multi-year financial projections incorporating staffing, compensation, program activity, enrollment trends, restricted fund use, and strategic investment scenarios.
• Review and approve budget transfers, reallocations, and position changes within assigned portfolio parameters.
• Evaluate new, replacement, or restructured faculty and staff position requests for affordability, timing, financial impact, instructional need, and alignment with school and institutional priorities.
• Coordinate salary and compensation planning, including merit, equity, market, promotional, overload, adjunct, summer, leave, sabbatical, course buyout, reassigned time, and grant release-time costs.
• Conduct salary savings and resource availability analyses and translate findings into reallocation recommendations.
• Ensure faculty workload, adjunct staffing, compensation plans, academic personnel costs, and operating budgets are fiscally sound and aligned with institutional policies.

Endowments, Restricted Funds, Capital Planning, and Strategic Resource Use

• Manage endowment, designated, and restricted fund planning for assigned schools in coordination with appropriate University offices.
• Maintain fund status reports, statements of change, spend-down plans, and analyses of available balances.
• Advise Deans on strategic use of endowment distributions, designated funds, restricted funds, and start-up funds while ensuring compliance with donor intent and institutional policy.
• Integrate capital planning implications into school operating budgets and multi-year financial plans.
• Identify opportunities to use restricted, designated, or available funds strategically to support academic priorities and offset operating budget pressure where allowable.

Program, Initiative, and Academic Investment Analysis

• Serve as the primary financial advisor to assigned Deans, leading portfolio discussions and providing data-informed recommendations on budget performance, fund balances, staffing plans, program investments, operating risks, academic demand, and strategic resource decisions.
• Conduct program-level financial analyses, including revenue, expense, ROI, P&L, credit hour production, staffing costs, space, technology, overhead, and other operating costs.
• Evaluate proposed academic initiatives through pro forma modeling, scenario analysis, and sustainability review.
• Incorporate academic demand, enrollment trends, retention, completion, market indicators, assessment findings, accreditation requirements, mission considerations, and strategic priorities into financial recommendations.
• Identify programs or initiatives that are financially strong, marginal, or unsustainable and advise Deans on investment, restructuring, partnership, phase-out consideration, or other action.
• Analyze cross-subsidization patterns, operational efficiencies, shared service opportunities, and potential duplication of resources.
• Track approved initiatives and implemented efficiencies against original projections and identify risks or corrective actions.

Assessment Process Oversight and Academic Planning Integration

• Serve as the school-level operational partner to the Associate Provost for Academic Assessment and Accreditation for assigned schools.
• Support implementation of institutional assessment standards, timelines, and documentation expectations at the portfolio level.
• Advise Program Directors and academic leaders on assessment plan quality, including learning outcomes, measures, targets, collection timelines, findings, and action plans.
• Represent the assigned portfolio on the University Assessment Committee or related assessment and accreditation working groups.
• Identify and communicate assessment concerns, accreditation risks, or documentation gaps to the Dean and appropriate OASPA leadership.
• Participate in annual strategic reviews that connect assessment findings, academic quality indicators, program review results, and budget planning decisions.
• Ensure assessment and accreditation findings are incorporated into academic planning and resource discussions where appropriate.

Pre-Award Grants Planning and Budget Integration

• Serve as the school-level operational partner to the Associate Provost for Grants and Sponsored Research for assigned schools.
• Support pre-award grant planning by reviewing budget sustainability, cost-share commitments, faculty workload implications, and post-award financial obligations.
• Ensure grant-funded positions, course buyouts, faculty release time, cost-share commitments, and related budget impacts are accurately reflected in school operating plans.
• Notify the Associate Provost for Grants and Sponsored Research of financial constraints, sustainability concerns, or institutional commitments that may affect proposal feasibility.
• Coordinate with portfolio teams, Deans, faculty, and relevant administrative offices to ensure grant activity is integrated into academic and financial planning.
• Support planning for the transition from proposal approval to award implementation, in coordination with Business Affairs and other responsible offices.

Director Supervision and Cross-Training

• Supervise, mentor, and evaluate the assigned Director of Academic Budget Planning.
• Review Director work products and ensure analyses, reports, dashboards, and planning materials meet division standards.
• Provide coaching to strengthen the Director’s analytical, technical, communication, and strategic advisory skills.
• Participate in OASPA’s cross-training strategy to develop working knowledge of portfolios beyond assigned schools.
• Support onboarding and development of Directors and incoming Assistant Provosts.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree required in higher education administration, finance, business, public administration, public policy, or related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in academic budget planning, institutional finance, higher education administration, resource planning, or related work.
• Demonstrated expertise in operating budget development, multi-year financial modeling, salary planning, position authorization, variance analysis, and resource allocation.
• Experience advising Deans or senior academic leaders.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise budget authority and make sound financial planning decisions.
• Supervisory or mentorship experience with analytical professional staff.
• Excellent analytical, communication, relationship-building, and strategic thinking skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctoral degree or advanced coursework in a relevant field.
• Experience in a Provost’s Office, Academic Affairs, academic budget office, or central university planning environment.
• Experience with FLAC, endowment and restricted fund administration, capital planning, assessment systems, accreditation processes, and pre-award grants planning.