Purpose Of The Position
The Executive Assistant in the Office of Financial Affairs plays a crucial role as an operational partner to the CFO and the Director of Financial Planning & Analysis. This position supports the daily operations of our busy and high-profile finance offices. The role includes a significant blend of high-level administrative support and budget management tasks, such as preparing and monitoring budget requests, reconciling expenses, and assisting with financial reporting.
Duties / Responsibilities
- Provide direct administrative support to the CFO, FPA director, and staff, including calendar management, appointment scheduling, and meeting planning and coordination.
- Coordinate meetings with university leadership, academic and administrative departments, faculty, staff, external partners, and other stakeholders.
- Prepare, edit, format, and proofread correspondence, reports, presentations, spreadsheets, memoranda, and other executive-level documents.
- Provide administrative coordination for financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and fiscal-year planning activities.
- Maintain organized electronic and physical files, financial documentation, correspondence, and records in accordance with university policies and applicable records-retention requirements.
- Monitor incoming communications, identify matters requiring leadership attention, and respond to routine inquiries or route requests to the appropriate individual or department.
- Coordinate travel arrangements, registrations, expense reimbursements, purchasing requests, and related documentation in accordance with university procedures.
- Assist with administrative processes related to purchase requisitions, invoices, contracts, approvals, and other financial transactions, as assigned.
- Work closely with System Office staff to ensure compliance with Board rules and help facilitate time-sensitive submissions to committees as requested.
- Support the preparation and coordination of financial presentations, budget reports, executive briefings, committee materials, and other documents used in leadership decision-making discussions.
- Collaborate effectively with internal and external customers while assisting with special projects, administrative process improvements, and other initiatives that support the effectiveness of the finance and financial planning functions.
- Perform other related duties consistent with the scope and level of the position.
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and years of experience.
- Minimum of 5 years of full-time, verifiable professional work experience (which should include providing high-level administrative support to senior or executive management).
- Must have budgeting experience or financial operations experience, such as preparing or tracking budgets, reconciling expenses, processing requisitions, or a working knowledge of and participation in financial reporting cycles.
- Must be proficient with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), calendaring software, and digital file management; advanced Excel proficiency required (pivot tables, XLOOKUP, financial formulas).
- Demonstrated experience using AI productivity tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or similar) in a professional work environment.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Proven ability to manage multiple tasks, track deadlines, and support complex scheduling needs.
- Self-starter with a willingness to take ownership of assignments and follow through with minimal supervision.
Desired Qualifications
- Higher education experience is preferred.
- Experience supporting multiple executives or administrators simultaneously is desired.
- Ability to create polished slide decks, formatted documents, and basic visual aids for meetings is preferred.
- Experience with budget reporting, variance analysis, and financial data organization is preferred.
- Familiarity with Oracle Cloud ERP or similar enterprise financial systems is desired.
- Demonstrated ability to remain flexible in a fast-paced or evolving environment is preferred.
Published Salary (if Available)
$70,000 to $79,168
Job no: 504574
Department: Office of Financial Affairs
Work type: Staff Full-time Exempt
Location: Alabama
Categories: Finance & Accounting