Director of Financial Management

Samuelmerritt; Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, San Mateo (CA, CA, CA, CA); On-site; USD 123,000 - 161,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Director of Financial Management to lead financial planning and analytics for its colleges. This role requires a strategic thinker with strong budgeting and financial analysis skills, as well as the ability to communicate complex financial information clearly. You will collaborate with university leadership to drive data-informed decisions, support program evaluations, and enhance financial effectiveness. If you are passionate about higher education and have a track record in financial management, this is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of experience in budgeting or finance, with 5 years in leadership.
• Strong communication and analytical skills required.

Responsibilities

• Support Deans with financial metrics and training in financial management.
• Prepare monthly financial reports and oversee multi-year forecasts.

Skills

Budgeting

Financial Analysis

Leadership

Communication Skills

Data Analysis

Microsoft Excel

Problem-Solving

Financial Reporting

Analytical Support

Education

Bachelor’s degree in accounting or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Financial Reporting Systems

Job description

Director of Financial Management

Locations: Oakland Campus, Sacramento Campus, Fresno Campus, San Mateo Campus

Time Type: Full time

Posted on: Posted 5 Days Ago

Job Requisition ID: JR100796

Description:

The Director of Financial Management reports to the AVP & Controller, with a dotted line to the Provost, as part of the Business Affairs Group, and supports both the centralized and decentralized elements of the University’s annual operating budget. Partnering with the Deans of the University’s 3 colleges (Nursing, Health Sciences, and Podiatric Medicine), the Director participates in long-term financial planning and special projects to support data-driven decisions by the senior leadership team and the board of regents. The Director of Financial Management provides essential technical and analytical skills to the Finance team as well as serving as the lead analytic/budget resource for all departments.

Remote Opportunity: This position will require building strong relationships across the campus. Candidates for this position will have the option to work on campus, hybrid, or in a fully remote capacity. Travel to campus on occasion is expected to build relationships and attend key events and meetings. Travel costs will be budgeted for and covered by the University.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Your Mission:

• Support the Deans in the College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, and College of Podiatric Medicine with key metrics; contribution margin, enrollment trends, pricing analytics, operating profit, budget to actual spend, and forecasting.
• Training and development of deans and program chairs/directors in financial management.
• Support the University in evaluating new programs, including creating financial pro-formas for new programs and evaluating the performance of programs compared to their pre-launch pro-formas.
• Prepare monthly financial reports reflecting monthly and year-to-date financial activity, as well as projected financial activity through year-end, ensuring reporting is compared to budget and grouped by Colleges and in total.
• Prepare and/or oversee preparation and monitoring of the University's multi-year forecast model.
• Develop and maintain campus-wide communication and training program to enable end-users to view, track and take ownership of their respective areas of budget responsibility.
• Assist Deans, Directors, and other University leaders in interpreting financial and budget reports, analyzing data, and planning budgets.
• Create dashboards, graphs, and other reporting tools to communicate information to campus constituents.
• Maintain allocation methods to distribute shared costs to appropriate departments.
• Create and maintain methods to allocate administrative overhead costs to appropriate departments.
• Develop predictive models to analyze financial consequences of policy or program changes.
• Refine modeling assumptions and employ methodologies that result in improved projection accuracy and validity.
• Monitor enrollment and tuition earnings against projections and provide variance reporting.
• Accurately analyze complex financial and accounting data and effectively communicate it to a wide variety of executives, faculty, and other constituents in lay terms.
• Ensure analysis and financial/budget reporting of budget vs. actual reports as well as historical analyses for initiatives, cost centers, and segments.
• Proactively identify and present opportunities to enhance financial and business effectiveness.
• Actively seek new tools and ideas to help management better understand and plan operations of the business.
• Play an active role in formulating budget policies, controls, and workflow processes.
• Serve as liaison with Human Resources for salary and benefits budget matters.
• Provide operating and capital budget assistance to the Campus Community.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, financial analysis, finance, economics, mathematics, statistics, business administration, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• A minimum of 7-10 years of experience in budgeting, finance, or accounting, with 5 years in a leadership capacity, preferably from a college or university.
• Effective, accurate, and clear communication with excellent verbal, written, interpersonal, and leadership skills.
• Ability to perform complex finance functions related to budgeting and forecasting.
• Thorough knowledge of financial policies, practices, and systems.
• Ability to synthesize large amounts of data into summary tables, graphs, and dashboards.
• Experience providing analytical support for complex budget, financial, or resource analysis assignments.
• Ability to prepare, articulate, and explain complex financial analysis materials clearly.
• Handle all activities and highly confidential information with discretion and good judgment.
• Prioritize and perform multiple projects/tasks, meet deadlines, and respond to others in a timely manner.
• Strong problem-solving and quantitative analytical skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work with senior-level and operations staff.
• Work independently and collaboratively with high integrity and ethics.
• Exceptional active listening skills with a customer service orientation.
• Advanced skills with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel.
• Strong financial systems background with financial reporting systems and data query tools.

Physical Effort:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Employee Status:

Regular

Exemption Status:

United States of America (Exempt)

Time Type:

Full time

Job Shift:

Pay Range: $123,610 ~ $160,690

Samuel Merritt University currently provides base salary ranges for all positions based on local requirements. Individual compensation will ultimately be determined based on a variety of relevant factors.

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