Finance Operations Specialist

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 44,543 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc. is seeking a Finance Operations Specialist to support day-to-day financial operations during the LinkUW transition at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

You will help with purchasing, accounts payable, expense reimbursement, and general accounting tasks, reporting to the Finance Operations Manager. Responsibilities include processing Workday transactions, offering financial guidance to faculty, staff, and students, and generating reports to assist

Qualifications

• Professional experience in accounting, finance, or business administration.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to convey information clearly and professionally.
• Strong organizational skills, ability to work independently, manage priorities and meet deadlines.
• High attention to detail and ability to interpret and apply rules and policies.
• Demonstrated commitment to providing excellent customer service and maintaining positive relationships.

Responsibilities

• Review transaction processing controls and recommend policies and procedures.
• Serve as unit liaison to leadership, providing financial advice and status updates.
• May train staff on financial processes and best practices.
• Monitor financial transactions and fund balances; generate and reconcile reports.
• Review and approve complex transactions and assign funding codes according to policies.
• Reallocate expenses to appropriate funding strings.
• Draft communications and reports; maintain organized records for the unit.
• Answer complex fiscal questions and provide information based on standards.

Skills

Accounting/Finance

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Customer service

Education

Finance degree

Tools

Workday

ShopUW+

WISER

SFS

Excel

Job description

Salary:

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any ofthe Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply throughthe internal application process.

Job Category:

Academic Staff

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Profile:

Financial Specialist III

Job Summary:

LinkUW is a major administrative transformation initiative at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison designed to modernize how corebusiness services (especially HR and finance) are delivered acrosscampus. LinkUW’s mission is to deliver timely, customer-centeredhuman resources and financial services to schools, colleges, anddivisions. As a Finance Operations Specialist, you will play a keyrole in supporting day-to-day financial operations during thistransition to a shared services model. Reporting to the FinanceOperations Manager, you will assist partner units with purchasing,accounts payable, expense reimbursement, and general accountingtasks.

This position involves initiating and reviewing financialtransactions in Workday—including expense reports, purchaserequisitions, supplier invoice payments, and cost transfers—whileensuring compliance with university policies. You will serve as aliaison to faculty, staff, and students, providing financialguidance, resolving inquiries, and generating reports to supportdecision-making. As part of a collaborative team, you will helpshape a more strategic and effective finance landscape acrosscampus, delivering high-quality service and fostering strongrelationships with the units you support.

This position will be on site a minimum of one day per week, withthe ability to work remotely up to four days per week.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Reviews transaction processing internal controls and recommendspolicies and procedures
• Serve as a unit liaison to leadership providing financialadvice, recommendations, and financial status updates
• May train staff on financial processes and best practices
• Monitors financial transactions and fund balances and generatesand reconciles complex reports and statements in accordance withestablished rules and regulations
• Reviews and approves complex transactions and assigns fundingcodes in accordance with established rules, regulations, andpolicies
• Reallocates expenses to appropriate funding strings
• Drafts communications and reports and maintains organization ofvaried records to provide administrative support within a specified work unit
• Answers complex fiscal questions and provides information basedon set materials and standards to various audiences

Department:

• LinkUW is a team dedicated to delivering quality administrativesupport in finance and human resources to partner units across theuniversity. Our team will be composed of professionals who haveexpertise in performing high-volume or time-bound administrativeservices. LinkUW will deliver timely and customer-centered supportthat enables campus partners to focus on advancing the university’smission.

Compensation:

• Well qualified applicants can expect to earn between $44,543 -$65,000 with final salary based on experience and qualifications.Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such asgenerous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitiveinsurance and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Benefitsinformation can be found at (https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/)

Required Qualifications:

• Professional experience in accounting, finance, or businessadministration.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with theability to convey information clearly, professionally, andcourteously to a diverse internal and external audience.
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to workindependently, manage multiple priorities, and meet deadlines in a rapid-paced environment.
• High attention to detail and the ability to accuratelyinterpret and apply written rules, policies, and regulations.
• Demonstrated commitment to providing excellent customer serviceand maintaining positive working relationships

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in cross-functional teams or shared servicesenvironments.
• Familiarity with financial systems (e.g., Workday, ShopUW+,WISER, SFS, Excel, etc.).

Education:

• Degree in finance or related field preferred.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation forUW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respectthe profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience,status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. Wecommit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching,research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linkedgoals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission bycreating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from everybackground - people who as students, faculty, and staff serveWisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal OpportunityEmployer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employmentwithout regard to, including but not limited to, race, color,religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy,disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases asdefined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promoteexcellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from allbackgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. Formore information regarding applicant and employee rights and toview federal and state required postings, visit the HumanResources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for anystep in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview,pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division youare applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible tohelp the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct,including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identitiesof applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis.Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The AnnualSecurity and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safetyand disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policiesand fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madisonwill provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin PoliceDepartment.