Finance Manager, Transformation

University of British Columbia - Staff; United States; Remote; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established academic institution is seeking a Finance Manager for Transformation to lead the optimization of financial processes across its campuses. This pivotal role involves enhancing financial systems, driving strategic insights, and implementing a comprehensive transformation roadmap. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership and analytical skills, fostering collaboration across departments to ensure alignment with university objectives. This position offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of financial operations in a dynamic environment, making a significant impact on the institution's financial sustainability and performance.

Qualifications

• Minimum of nine years of related experience required.
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives is essential.
• Demonstrates commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Lead finance transformation initiatives across the university.
• Develop strategies to improve financial operations.
• Collaborate with various departments to align finance objectives.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical Skills

Communication

Change Management

Financial Reporting

Project Management

Education

Undergraduate degree in relevant discipline

Completion of CPA accounting program

MBA

Tools

ERP financial systems (e.g., Workday, SAP, Oracle)

Business Intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau)

Excel and Microsoft products

Job description

Staff - Non Union

Job Category M&P - Excluded M&P Job Profile XMP - Accounting, Level F Job Title Finance Manager, Transformation Department Finance Transformation | VP Finance and Operations Compensation Range $9,859.25 - $15,380.75 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date June 5, 2025

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

Jun 1, 2026

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

Finance Manager, Transformation willlead the transformation and optimization of Finance and Accounting function, not only across the VP Finance & Operations (VPFO) portfolio, but also impacting the entire UBC, including both campuses. This role will focus on enhancing university-wide level financial processes, systems, and strategies to improve performance and seamlessly integrate new and existing technologies. The successful candidate will utilize both leadership and analytical skills to drive financial operations improvements, deliver strategic insights, and support business objectives. The Finance Manager, Transformation will support the Finance Transformation team by driving accounting process improvements impacting all major university funds, develop and implement a comprehensive transformation roadmap, focusing on key areas such as Procure to Pay, Order to Cash, Project to result and Record to Report.

Organizational Status

Reporting to the Associate Director, Finance Strategy & Decision Support, the Finance Manager, Transformation is a key member of the Transformation & Strategy team. The position works closely with all members in the Vice President Finance and Operations (VPFO) team and partners with other finance departments, including Treasury, Faculty and Administration Finance Directors from both campuses, and key data and informational partners such as PAIR and Enrolment Services.

Work Performed

• Lead and execute, at the corporate level, finance transformation initiatives to optimize financial systems and processes impacting the entire university and all major funds.

• Mentor, lead and educate both central and distributed finance teams across both campuses on finance transformation principles and framework.

• Develop, design, and implement from a corporate level strategy to improve financial operations, ensuring alignment with UBC and VPFO strategic plans.

• Drive the change management efforts by developing university-wide communication related to finance transformation, fostering the adoption of new processes, and guiding central and distributed teams across both campuses through system and process changes.

• Leverage advanced analytics to provide actionable insights, improving decision-making, overall university performance, and long-term financial sustainability.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with various departments, from both VPFO as well as from Faculties and other VP Portfolios, to ensure finance objectives support the entire university’s priorities.

• Evaluate cost structures for all major university funds, process flow charts and recommend optimization strategies to improve financial efficiencies at both central and distributed finance teams.

• Map current state, assess future state and perform gap analysis assessing risks, technology and data impacts, in collaboration with UBC IT and the Integrated Service Centre.

• Ensure transformative changes comply with relevant regulations, policies, and standards, including Generally Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS).

• Work with internal audit and compliance on risk mitigation strategies such as policies, governance, and internal controls.

• Manage project timelines and resources, ensuring successful delivery of finance transformation projects.

• Working with the Senior Director, Accounting and Compliance to plan, organize and direct processes to meet monthly, quarterly, yearly and ad hoc deadlines.

• Inspires the team with an inclusive mindset by continuously leading with the UBC values and ensuring all voices are heard as changes are made to people, process and systems.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

This role works within broad mandates aligned with the university’s and VPFO’s strategic goals. Due to the senior level of this position in the portfolio, the decisions or recommendations made will have a significant effect on the university’s financial standards and operations. A high degree of judgment, technical expertise and strategic thinking is required. This role provides a unique opportunity to shape the future of financial operations at a leading academic institution. The ideal candidate will have a continuous improvement mindset, a passion for driving transformative change, and the ability to align accounting processes with strategic business objectives to achieve impactful results.

Supervision Received

Works under the broad direction of the Associate Director, Finance Strategy & Decision Support. The Manager, Finance Transformation has interdependencies with the members of the VPFO Senior Leadership, Extended Leadership teams, and Finance Directors from all Faculties and Administrative Units across both campuses. The incumbent in the role must be able to work independently and assume full responsibility for his/her decisions. Work is reviewed in terms of achievement of corporate finance transformation goals.

Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Completion of the CPA accounting program (CA, CGA or CMA). Minimum of nine years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA

• Experience as a senior consultant or manager at one of the top-tier consulting firms in Canada, or other major players in the consulting industry, with specialization in finance transformation or in Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), is highly desirable.

• Experience in higher education or large public sector environment, is a plus.

• Expertise in ERP financial systems (e.g., Workday, SAP, Oracle), process improvement, and project management.

• Strong understanding of financial processes, budgeting and planning, accounting principles, and financial reporting.

• Proficiency with business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).

• Exceptional communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate with stakeholders at all levels of the organization.

• Experience in managing change and implementing process automation within the finance function.

• Experience in developing and managing complex long-term organizational financial forecast models. Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in highly complex and technical financial concepts and instruments

• Advance knowledge of computer software applications primarily Excel and Microsoft products platform including complex spreadsheet, data warehousing and business intelligence tools.

• Strong understanding of Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS) principles and ability to apply knowledge to UBC and its related entities

• Strong communication skills, verbally and in writing

• Demonstrated strong interpersonal, problem-solving, planning and organizational skills

• Ability to think strategically, grasp complex business and financial theories

• Identify key information and issues and suggest viable option as required.

• Proven ability to evaluate and design strategies for optimizing cost structures and improving financial operations.

• Ability to work well under pressure, prioritize tasks to meet deadlines and demonstrate a high degree of accuracy.

• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

This position offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of financial operations at a leading academic institution. The ideal candidate will possess a proactive, continuous improvement mindset and a passion for challenging the status quo to drive impactful transformation.