Finance Manager

Columbia University

New York, Northern (NY, KY)

Hybrid

USD 100,000 - 120,000

Full time

9 days ago

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Job summary

Columbia University in New York seeks a Finance Manager to lead the Procurement Team and oversee all procurement, purchasing, accounts payable, and reimbursement activities for the department. The role ensures efficient coordination of equipment purchases, maintenance contracts, supplies, and inventory to support operational goals.

The incumbent manages Procurement Coordinators and a Financial Analyst, with close collaboration across stakeholders and suppliers.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Minimum four years of procurement and/or financial management experience.
Strong knowledge of procurement, accounts payable and expense management.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

Oversee departmental procurement activities, contracts, and purchasing to ensure timely, cost-effective processes.
Oversee sourcing documentation, quotes, sole-source justification, and contract paperwork.
Collaborate with faculty and staff to understand needs and support procurement planning.
Manage capital purchasing and evaluate sourcing opportunities for standardization and cost efficiency.
Strategically manage sourcing to ensure stock for high-priority supplies and operational continuity.
Lead Pcard and Corporate Card programs, ensuring compliance and training.

Skills

Procurement

Purchasing

Accounts payable

Reimbursement

Budgeting

Forecasting

Financial analysis

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration

Tools

Concur

Job description

Job Type: Officer of Administration

Bargaining Unit:

Regular/Temporary: Regular

End Date if Temporary:

Hours Per Week: 35

Standard Work Schedule:

Building:

Salary Range: $100,000.00 - $120,000.00

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

The Finance Manager, reporting to the Associate Director of Finance, leads the Procurement Team and oversees all procurement, purchasing, accounts payable, and reimbursement activities for the department. This role ensures efficient coordination of equipment purchases, maintenance contracts, supplies, and inventory to support operational goals. The incumbent manages Procurement Coordinators and a Financial Analyst, working closely with internal stakeholders and suppliers to ensure timely delivery, cost-effective sourcing, strong cash management, and high customer satisfaction. In addition to leading procurement operations, the Finance Manager is responsible for financial management of assigned non-salary operating activities, including but not limited to budget monitoring, forecasting, financial analysis, expense controls, capital expenditures, and financial close activities.

Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities

Oversees departmental procurement activities, including routine and strategic purchases, contract and blanket purchase orders, capital equipment, supplies, and service agreements. Ensures purchasing activities are completed timely, cost-effectively, and in accordance with University and departmental policy.

Oversees sourcing and purchasing documentation, including quotes, sole-source justification, and other required documentation for contracts, equipment, and supplies.

Partners with departmental faculty and staff to understand operational needs, resolve purchasing and contract issues, and support effective procurement planning. Manages capital purchasing and evaluates sourcing opportunities to promote standardization, cost effectiveness, and appropriate use of departmental resources.

Strategically manages sourcing and supply chain issues to ensure sufficient stock of high-priority supplies to ensure continuity of operations.

Performs other strategic sourcing of high-priority or scare supplies and equipment to ensure department goals are met.

Pcard Maintenance & Oversight

Oversees the department’s Pcard and Corporate Card programs, including cardholder administration, appropriate access and spending limits, and monthly close activities. Manages paycard programs for human subjects.

Reviews and audits card activity to ensure appropriate documentation, business purpose, and compliance with University and departmental policies. Provides guidance and training to card holders on departmental regulations and policies and manages resolution of compliance issues and infractions.

Reimbursement Activity

Oversees the departmental reimbursement process, serving as first-level financial approver and ensuring transactions. are accurate, appropriately documented, properly allocated, and compliance with University policy and departmental policy.

Provides guidance and training to departmental users regarding Concur and University travel and expense policies and resolves escalated reimbursement issues.

Financial Management, Budgeting and Reporting

Manages and monitors assigned departmental non-salary operating budgets, including supplies, equipment, service contracts, maintenance agreements, and other operating expenses.

Performs budget-to-actual analysis of non-salary expenses identifying significant variances and works with departmental leadership to identify root causes and corrective actions as needed.

Develops and maintains forecasts for non-salary operating expenses, purchasing commitments, capital expenditures, and other assigned financial activities.

Establishes and maintains financial controls surrounding purchasing, Pcards, reimbursements, accounts payable activity, and other non-salary expenditures to ensure appropriate authorization, documentation, and compliance with University and departmental policies.

Coordinates monthly, quarterly, and year-end financial close activities for assigned non-salary operations including accruals, open commitments, journal entries, and expense corrections.

Supports departmental leadership in annual budget development and long-range financial planning for non-salary operating and capital expenditures.

Supports internal and external financial reviews and audits related to procurement, accounts payable, Pcards, reimbursements, capital expenditures, and other assigned activities.

Staff Management

Supervise procurement team and manages performance.

Establishes performance expectations and metrics for the procurement team to promote accountability, productivity, and continuous improvement.

Coaches, teaches, and mentors procurement team to achieve individual professional goals.

Other

Researches and communicates product information; assists establishing programs and techniques and presents savings opportunities.

Develops and sustains a purchasing training program for newly onboarded faculty and staff within the department.

Maintains up-to-date knowledge on institutional and departmental policies, methods and procedures.

Maintains a function awareness of all financial activities throughout the department and provides support to other Finance Managers within the department as needed.

Partners with Central Offices including Pcard Administration, Accounts Payable, Controller, etc., to support new vendor onboarding, contract routing, transaction processing, compliance, and financial reviews with assigned areas of responsibility.

Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in a related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience, with a minimum of four years of progressively responsible procurement and/or financial management experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Other Requirements

Demonstrated knowledge of procurement, accounts payable, and expense management.

Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret financial data, identify trends and variances, and communicate findings to department leadership.