School Chief Financial Officer - 135254

University of California San Diego; Union (NJ); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Financial Manager to oversee budgeting and financial resources within their Biological Sciences department. This pivotal role involves managing a significant budget, leading teams in financial analysis, and ensuring compliance with regulations. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills and a comprehensive understanding of financial management principles. Join a dynamic team that values diversity and innovation, where your contributions can shape the future of financial operations in a research-driven environment. Embrace the opportunity to make a meaningful impact while advancing your career in a supportive and collaborative atmosphere.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's preferred.
• Expertise in financial management and accounting principles.
• Strong analytical and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage budget and financial resources for the School.
• Lead financial analysis and reporting teams.
• Ensure compliance with financial regulations and policies.

Skills

Financial Management

Budgeting

Accounting Principles

Analytical Skills

Communication Skills

Leadership

Conflict Resolution

Interpersonal Skills

Risk Management

Financial Reporting

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business or Accounting

Master's Degree in Business or Accounting

Tools

Cognos

Spreadsheet Software

Database Software

Job description

Payroll Title:

FINANCIAL ANL MGR 1

Department:

SCHOOL OF BIOLOGICAL SCI.

Hiring Pay Scale

$145,000 - $190,000 / Year

Worksite:

Hybrid

Appointment Type:

Career

Appointment Percent:

100%

Union:

Uncovered

Total Openings:

1

Work Schedule:

Days, 8 hrs/day, Variable based on business need

#135254 School Chief Financial Officer

Filing Deadline: Thu 5/8/2025

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UC San Diego values equity, diversity, and inclusion. If you are interested in being part of our team, possess the needed licensure and certifications, and feel that you have most of the qualifications and/or transferable skills for a job opening, we strongly encourage you to apply.

DESCRIPTION

At the direction of the Dean and Assistant Dean, determines how to use financial resources to meet objectives and goals, as well as deliver services. Manages, prepares, administers, and directs control of budget / organization resources for the School, shared services units, departments, Centers and Strategic Programs. Manages the activities of the financial / resource analyst staff. Reviews and approves recommendations for financial planning and control. Monitors school and department adherence to approved budget. Provides guidance to subordinates to achieve goals in accordance with established policies. Work is reviewed and measured based on meeting objectives and schedules. Follows processes and operational policies in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions. Erroneous decisions or failure to achieve goals results in additional costs and personnel, and serious delays in overall schedules.

Reporting to the Assistant Dean, the School Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is responsible for oversight of a variety of functions, administrative operations and leadership of several shared service units within the School of Biological Sciences, including the Departments of Biological Sciences and the Dean’s Office. The incumbent leads the Accounting & Financial Services Team, Post Award Fund Management Team, Pre-Award Sponsored Project Team, and the Business Analytics & Reporting Team. The position leads the business development and non-research contract analysis functions, working closely with the Executive Director of Strategic Programs on proposals development.

The CFO serves as the primary planning and budget officer for the School and each of its 4 academic departments. Incumbent is responsible for implementation of School financial and resource planning and analysis, including the development of resource management policies and short and long-range planning models. Provides leadership, risk assessment, and strategic planning as part of the senior leadership team to help accomplish the goals and objectives of the School and Departments of Biological Sciences. Manages the accountability and stewardship of human, financial, and physical resources in compliance with school and organizational goals and objectives. Designs, develops and modifies sophisticated financial models to allocate and manage all funds within the School totaling approximately $80M of total annual expenditures, $50M in annual core budget, $35M in sponsored project funds per year, ~$40M in available donor funds, and other strategic programs. Ensures subordinate supervisors and professionals adhere to defined internal controls and understand and follow UC, UCOP and all sponsor requirements and regulations. Ensures all business processes meet audit and regulatory requirements around financial management and sponsored project fund management. Builds and manages systems and procedures to protect school and department assets, build sustainable operations and position the school of future success and opportunities. Works closely with all School Sr Leaders to develop and implement financial systems and processes that meet the needs of each shared service units. Responsible for all research and self sustaining core rate assessment and accounting processes.

Leads School Business Analytics and Reporting unit that leverages Cognos development to provide a variety of data sets, tools and reports to support the School, Departments, Sr Leaders, shared service units, and faculty portfolios.

The position maintains the confidentiality of privileged information and performs a wide range of duties that require tact, sensitivity, independent judgment, diplomacy, discretion, and flexibility. Manages a large professional staff, comprised of finance, accounting, contracts and grants administration, stewardship and coordination of donor funds, business development, business analytics and report developers for the School and its departments. Partners with other senior leaders to ensure resources and operational success for education mission, student services and engagements, research enterprise, and facilities. Assumes accountability for decisions made by subordinates. Performs long and short-term financial planning for each function, and other duties as assigned.

~Work schedule can be either a Hybrid OR Fully Remote position depending on candidate selected & business need.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree in business, accounting or closely field or comparable education and experience is required. Masters Degree in business, accounting or closely related field or equivalent combination of education and experience is preferred.

• Comprehensive knowledge of finance and budget policies, practices and systems; budgeting and reporting techniques; fund accounting; human resource planning; accounting and bookkeeping. Broad knowledge of financial analysis and reporting techniques; human resources and risk management planning; and / or accounting and payroll. Demonstrated expertise in financial management and accounting principles to manage unit operational budgets and develop reports. Thorough knowledge of recharge operation policies. Demonstrated expertise in human resources management.

• Ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing. Strong verbal and written communication skills; ability to influence / persuade all levels of staff. Maintain confidentiality of privileged information, perform a wide range of duties that require tact, sensitivity, independent judgment, diplomacy, discretion, and flexibility.

• Interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively across the organization at all levels; ability to interact with diverse populations. Demonstrated ability to exercise an advanced level of independent judgment and decision making utilizing strong analytical skills and written and oral communication skills using tact, diplomacy, and strategic negotiation skills

• Client services oriented; good listening, critical thinking, and analytical skills. Demonstrated ability to develop reports, graphs and charts to explain financial issues to a broad audience.

• Ability to multi-task. Proven ability to manage significant volume of transactions. Skill in prioritizing a high volume workload to ensure priorities and other deadlines are met. Demonstrated ability to work in pressure situations to meet deadlines and accommodate interruptions. Ability to maintain flexibility to redirect efforts when priorities change.

• Knowledge and understanding of internal control practices and their impact on protecting University resources.

• Demonstrated superior skills in budget management and financial analysis including staffing, financial modeling, development of short and long-term plans, management of deficit recovery plans, self-supporting program plans and budgetary plans for new programs and initiatives. Experience projecting revenue and expense in a complex environment.

• Demonstrated experience working in core business and finance functions (typically acquired by eight years experience), with at least half of that time (such as four years) in a leadership and financial management position.

• Demonstrated management and conflict resolution skills to effectively lead and motivate others. Strong experience in personnel management including supervisory experience. Demonstrated leadership to solve difficulties between people with collaborative skills to build effective teams.

• Strong organization, problem solving, negotiation and decision making skills with expertise in clarifying and resolving conflict situations and developing attainable solutions.

• Innovation and initiative to anticipate, develop and implement new procedures, practices and processes adaptable to constantly changing work patterns and business methods to solve unusual and new concerns using means which establish effective and efficient precedents.

• Demonstrated experience in the planning, development and management of complex, high dollar volume financial operations involving fund accounting, staffing, capital budgets, operating budgets, financial analysis, financial reporting, long-range financial planning, and internal financial controls. Demonstrated ability to adapt programmatic objectives to changes in resources.

• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in the interpretation and implementation of federal, state, and private agency administrative regulations and policies.

• Knowledge of rules and regulations governing the acceptance of gifts and consultant agreements.

• Demonstrated skills in analyzing complex issues or problems, formulating and implementing creative and appropriate solutions having evaluated all risks and consequences

• In depth ability to use multiple spreadsheet and database software tools to gather information for specialized, complex financial analysis, fiscal management, and financial reports.

• Proven experience and skill to audit financial data, format special financial reports and communicate budgetary information using complex data, rules, regulations and resource materials. Thorough understanding of the auditing process (internal and external) and how to effectively lead the school through audits.

• Demonstrated knowledge of databases, general computer applications, programs, terminology, functions and operations as management tools for analyzing financial processes for automation, and for improving, implementing, and enhancing all levels of fiscal activity, and for forecasting and report generation. Willingness and ability to increase and improve technical skills as needed to support the needs of the School.

• Willingness and demonstrated ability to embrace and consistently uphold the principles of community for a collaborative work environment and communicate professionally and courteously verbally, and in written form.

• Demonstrated experience with proposal development and pre-award sponsored project or research administration support.

• Demonstrated experience in leading research and sponsored project administration both within pre-award and post award management. Has experience building and leading teams that support this scope for a complex and multifaceted organization.

• Demonstrated experience support research cores, animal facilities and other recharge or self-sustaining facilities with regards to rate analysis, development of financial models, and financial management/business planning.

• Expert in internal controls, regulatory requirements, University state and other regulatory agency requirements for funds and financial management.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

• Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on Background Check results.

• Occasional evenings and weekends may be required.

• Work schedule can be either a Hybrid OR Fully Remote position depending on candidate selected & business need.

Pay Transparency Act

Annual Full Pay Range: $104,900 - $198,900 (will be prorated if the appointment percentage is less than 100%)

Hourly Equivalent: $50.24 - $95.26

Factors in determining the appropriate compensation for a role include experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. The Hiring Pay Scale referenced in the job posting is the budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position. The Annual Full Pay Range may be broader than what the University anticipates to pay for this position, based on internal equity, budget, and collective bargaining agreements (when applicable).

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