Director of Finance

University of Illinois Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Illinois Chicago seeks a Director of Finance for the Retzky College of Pharmacy in Chicago. You will lead budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and policy development to sustain ambulatory and clinical pharmacy operations.

You will partner with college leadership, Ambulatory Pharmacy Services, and external partners to optimize financial performance, ensure compliance, and advance patient care and innovative pharmacy services.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in business, finance, accounting, healthcare administration or related field.
• At least five years of financial management experience, including financial administration.
• Leadership in budget development, financial management, and compliance.
• Knowledge of fiscal policies, financial systems, and data analytics.
• Experience in team management and project management.
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written.
• Experience with clinical revenue cycle management is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and monitor annual financial operations and capital budgets for Ambulatory Pharmacy Services.
• Oversee finance staff and streamline staff performance and development.
• Prepare financial pro formas and ROI analyses for new pharmacy services.
• Model payer contracts, reimbursement trends, and contract profitability.
• Prepare monthly/quarterly/annual financial statements for leadership committees.
• Collaborate with internal teams on drug costs, gross margin, and procurement.

Skills

Financial management

Budget development

Leadership

Analytical thinking

Communication

Project management

Policy development

Data analytics

Financial reporting

Education

Bachelor's degree in business/finance

Master's degree in finance (preferred)

Tools

EPIC

Finance analytics software

Job description

Director of Finance

Hiring Department: Pharmacy College Admin

Location: Chicago, IL USA

Requisition ID: 1042378

Posting Close Date: For fullest consideration, please apply by Friday, August 21, 2026.

Salary: The budgeted salary range for the position is $140,000 to $200,000. The final salary offered will be determined by a thorough assessment of available market data, internal salary equity, candidate experience and qualifications, and budget constraints.

About the University of Illinois Chicago

UIC is among the nation's preeminent urban public research universities, a Carnegie RU/VH research institution, and the largest university in Chicago. UIC serves over 34,000 students, comprising one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation and is designated as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPSI) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Through its 16 colleges, UIC produces nationally and internationally recognized multidisciplinary academic programs in concert with civic, corporate and community partners worldwide, including a full complement of health sciences colleges. By emphasizing cutting-edge and transformational research along with a commitment to the success of all students, UIC embodies the dynamic, vibrant and engaged urban university. Recent "Best Colleges" rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, found UIC climbed up in its rankings among top public schools in the nation and among all national universities. UIC has over 300,000 alumni, and is one of the largest employers in the city of Chicago.

The UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy is the oldest college in the University of Illinois System and is ranked number 11 in the nation and number 1 in Illinois among colleges of pharmacy by U.S News & World Report. The College has two campuses in Chicago and Rockford. The UIC Health Sciences Campus - Rockford consists of three health sciences colleges, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy.

This position is intended to be eligible for benefits. This includes Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, a Retirement Plan, Paid time Off, and Tuition waivers for employees and dependents.

Position Summary

The Director of Finance provides strategic leadership and oversight of financial operations for the Retzky College of Pharmacy, with a primary focus on supporting the financial health and sustainability of its ambulatory and clinical pharmacy enterprise. This role is responsible for developing and implementing financial policies, managing budgets, forecasting revenue and expenses, providing clinical finance analytics, and ensuring compliance with institutional, state, and federal regulations. The Director collaborates closely with college leadership, the Director of Ambulatory Pharmacy Services, pharmacy managers, and external partners to optimize financial performance, enhance operational efficiency, and advance the college's mission to deliver high-quality patient care and innovative pharmacy services. Key responsibilities include financial planning, reporting, cost analysis, and resource allocation to ensure the enterprise operates effectively and achieves strategic goals.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and monitor annual financial operations and capital budgets for the Ambulatory Pharmacy Services unit. Areas of responsibility include accounts payable and receivable, budgeting, cost accounting, and revenue cycle (charge capture, denial reduction, reimbursement optimization) to optimize savings and revenue and maintain compliance across UI Health.
• Oversee and manage college and department finance staff accountable for financial management, principles, and business processes. Plan, assign, and review staff work to ensure group objectives are met. Hire, train, develop, and manage staff to ensure that qualified staff exists to meet group objectives.
• Support the Director of Ambulatory Pharmacy Services in developing financial pro formas and business cases for new pharmacy services, evaluating the ROI and financial feasibility of proposed initiatives, and conducting service line profitability analyses.
• Work with the UI Health Managed Care group on financial modeling of payer contract proposals, analysis of reimbursement trends, and assessment of contract profitability.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements and present them to various constituents, including the College, the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Ambulatory Pharmacy, the College of Medicine, and Hospital leadership.
• Collaborate with internal teams, including but not limited to the 340B compliance team, purchasing team, IT team, and other ambulatory pharmacy staff to analyze drug acquisition costs and gross margin performance, collaborate with pharmacy purchasing and wholesaler partners, and support contracting and purchasing processes.
• Define, develop, shape, and implement policy and procedures, including but not limited to budget development and financial management, funds flow oversight, budget modeling/forecasting, resource allocation, operational policies and procedures, and data management.
• Oversee the development of financial data analytics to establish and monitor financial KPIs for ambulatory pharmacy services.
• Advise on budget and financial policy and procedures; provide business and financial oversight; monitor and guide in maintaining compliance and fiscal responsibility; maintain compliance with university, state, federal and professional standards.
• Collaborate with the Pharmacy Practice department and the Ambulatory Pharmacy unit on clinical financial operations. Advise the Senior Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs and other College and Department leadership on procedural improvements and assist in establishing and monitoring standard clinical financial reports.
• Establish metrics, analyze and leverage data and best practice insights during action planning, respond to Ambulatory Pharmacy data requests, and prepare internal and external administrative reports on topics such as labor and economic data, financial modeling to achieve capital projects, trends and forecasting.
• Represent the college to university and system-level financial units; serve on key department, college and campus committees.
• Provide professional expertise and remains current with developments in field affecting the financial affairs of the college and campus levels.
• Perform other related duties and participate in special projects as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• A minimum of a Bachelor's degree in business, finance, accounting, healthcare administration or related field required.
• A minimum of five years of financial management experience is required, including experience as a financial administrator.
• Demonstrated leadership in the areas of budget development, financial management; compliance; analytical thinking; creativity and strong decision-making skills are also required.
• Demonstrable knowledge of fiscal policies and procedures, financial systems, and experience with data analytical tools required.
• Demonstrated experience in team management.
• Experience/training in generally accepted accounting practices and project management required.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills are required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in finance, business or accounting preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge in pharmacy finance processes, particularly with pharmacy programs and systems (i.e. 340B programs, EPIC, clinical revenue cycle management) preferred.
• Active membership in a recognized professional finance association preferred.

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

The university provides accommodations to applicants and employees. Request an Accommodation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in some portions of the candidate review process for this position, however, all employment decisions will be made by a person.