Budget and Fiscal Manager

Montana State University

Bozeman (MT)

On-site

USD 47,000 - 56,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

Montana State University’s Graduate School seeks a Budget and Fiscal Manager to lead strategic financial planning, budgeting, and reporting. You will oversee graduate budgets, tuition waivers, and stipends, collaborating with university offices to ensure fiscal integrity and program success.

The role requires strong leadership, data-driven decision making, and the ability to guide complex financial operations in an academic setting.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in business or related field or substantial financial leadership experience in academia.
Progressively responsible work experience as a program, operations or business manager for a complex organization.
Experience developing and analyzing budgets, monitoring and reconciling fiscal records.
Experience coordinating and implementing projects, goals, and initiatives.
Experience supervising and developing staff and managing performance.
Ability to make data-driven recommendations based on strategic needs.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and related software.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic financial leadership for the Graduate School and establish budget priorities.
Administer graduate appointments and tuition waiver usage across MSU-Bozeman.
Forecast, plan, and oversee annual and long-range budgets and expenditures.
Coordinate with Fiscal Shared Services and HR to resolve payroll issues and budget adjustments.

Skills

Budgeting

Financial management

Leadership

Communication

Project coordination

Staff supervision

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business or related field

Experience in academic setting or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

PowerPoint

HRIS systems

Job description

Please see Special Instructions for more details.

*This position is not eligible for sponsorship.*

Position Information

Announcement Number

Announcement Number STAFF - VA - 27050

For questions regarding this position, please contact:

Classification Title

Working Title

Working Title Budget and Fiscal Manager

Brief Position Overview

The Budget and Fiscal Manager for the Graduate School works collaboratively with Graduate School staff and university partners to support graduate student success. Reporting to the Vice Provost of Graduate Education, this position provides leadership and oversight for all fiscal operations, including budgeting, financial planning and analysis, fund management, policy implementation, and financial reporting.
The position oversees Graduate School budgets and expenditures, including tuition waivers, fellowships, completion awards, and travel awards, while supporting strategic initiatives and ensuring sound fiscal stewardship. Other duties may be assigned in support of the Graduate School’s administrative operations.

Position Number

Position Number 4M5313

Department

Department Graduate School

Division

Division Office of Academic Affairs

Appointment Type

Appointment Type Classified

Contract Term

Contract Term Fiscal Year

Semester

If other, specify From date

If other, specify End date

FLSA

FLSA Exempt

Union Affiliation

Union Affiliation Exempt from Collective Bargaining

FTE

FTE 1.0

Benefits Eligible

Salary $37.00 per hour, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications

Contract Type

If other, please specify

Recruitment Type

Recruitment Type Open

General Statement

The Graduate School at Montana State University supports one of the nation’s leading research universities by fostering excellence in graduate education, research, and professional development. Serving more than 2,000 master’s and doctoral students across a wide range of disciplines, the Graduate School partners with faculty, departments, and campus leaders to promote student success, advance innovative research, and ensure high-quality graduate programs. Through a collaborative, student-centered approach, the Graduate School provides leadership in graduate admissions, academic policy, funding opportunities, and professional development while helping prepare graduates to make meaningful contributions in academia, industry, government, and their communities.
Using independent judgment and with minimal and indirect supervision, the Budget and Fiscal Manager, performs complex budgeting, accounting and fiscal management tasks for the Graduate School. This position establishes, monitors, and manages budgets; maintains and reconciles numerous indexes (including grant, designated, state and foundation accounts); and prepares a wide variety of reports for administrative use by department and/or granting agencies.
This position also oversees the processing and approval of the graduate student tuition waiver budget and the graduate assistantship stipend budget. This position provides programmatic and fiscal management for all aspects of the Graduate School and University-wide initiatives and manages the HR functions for the Graduate School. Other duties may be assigned as related to the general administrative conduct and oversight of the Graduate School and supervision of one staff member.

Duties and Responsibilities

Budget and Fiscal Responsibilities:

Provides strategic financial leadership for the Graduate School, working with the Vice Provost of Graduate Education on establishing budgetary priorities and strategies
Administers and provides support of graduate appointments for students and departments across the entire MSU -Bozeman campus including graduate school tuition waiver usage.
Forecast, plan, and oversee the development of annual, semester-based, and long-range
budgets—including internal budget models, revenue projections, and expenditure plans.
Coordinate with MSU Fiscal Shared Services and HR Business Partner to trouble‑shoot appointment and payroll issues, track budget and expenditures, and enter budget adjustments to reflect changes in payroll and budget allocations throughout the year.

Human Resources Responsibilities:

Works with the VP for Grad Ed to assess the Graduate School’s staffing needs to meet goals and priorities, writing appropriate position descriptions, and onboarding paperwork throughout the hiring process.
Provides training to and serves as a resource for graduate stipends and hiring of graduate assistantships in departments.
Collaborating with HR and the Vice Provost of Graduate Education re: the implementation and rollout of updates to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Serves as the primary point of contact between the Graduate School and the university administrative offices/services (i.e. Budget Office, University Business Services, Human Resources, Facilities Services, and Provost Office).
Provides regular communication from Graduate School to Colleges, departments and other MSU offices regarding administrative issues, initiatives and fiscal matters.
Provide ongoing training and advise colleges and departments on policies and procedures of graduate appointments and graduate waivers.

Required Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

Bachelor’s degree in business or related field and/or substantial experience performing financial management and administrative leadership in an academic setting or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
A record of progressively responsible work experience as a program, operations or business manager for a complex organization.
Demonstrated competence and experience in development and analysis of budgets including managing, monitoring, and reconciling fiscal records.
Demonstrated experience coordinating and implementing projects, goals, and initiatives.
Demonstrated experience supervising and developing staff, including assigning work, providing guidance, and managing performance while and fostering a collaborative and productive work environment.
Demonstrated experience making recommendations based on data and strategic needs.
Demonstrated proficiency in appropriate computer systems and relevant software programs, including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint).

Preferred Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

Advanced training or credentials related to job duties and responsibilities.
Experience working in higher education

The Successful Candidate Will

Have strong decision-making skills and initiative.
Have excellent leadership, written and oral communication, presentation and interpersonal skills.
Work effectively with a broad range of constituencies including students, staff, faculty, university administrators, funding agencies, professional associations and organizations
Possess enthusiasm, integrity, and vision.
Demonstrate ability to work efficiently and effectively both independently and as part of a team.
Maintain effective attention to detail, meeting deadlines, multi-tasking, and prioritizing competing demands.
Maintain a high degree of accuracy in one’s work.
Possess or have the demonstrated interest and capacity to learn skills in accounting, financial management, organizational management, and other areas relevant to the Vice Provost of Graduate Education’s office.
Possess the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
Present oneself professionally.
Possess the clear ability to maintain confidentiality.
Demonstrate the ability to maintain a calm, pleasant, and positive demeanor in difficult situations.

Position Special Requirements/Additional Information

This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements, but a general description of the job. Nothing contained herein restricts Montana State University’s rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Physical Demands

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

This position has supervisory duties?

This position has supervisory duties? Yes

Number of Vacancies

Number of Vacancies 1

Desired Start Date

Desired Start Date At the conclusion of a successful search

Position End Date (if temporary)

Open Date

Close Date

Special Instructions

This position is not eligible for sponsorship.

EEO Statement

Montana State University is an equal opportunity employer. MSU does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, political ideas, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, or any other protected class status in violation of any applicable law.
In compliance with the Montana Veteran’s Employment Preference Act, MSU provides preference in employment to veterans, disabled veterans, and certain eligible relatives of veterans. To claim veteran’s preference, please complete the veteran’s preference information located in the Demographics section of your profile.

Required Documents