Senior Financial Specialist (Grants & Budgets)

UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 59,000 - 72,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous PTO

Health benefits

Retirement benefits

Job summary

The Department of Plant & Agroecosystem Sciences at UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences seeks a Financial Specialist III to provide advanced financial support for faculty, scientists, and graduate students engaged in research, teaching, and outreach.

The successful candidate will manage complex financial transactions, translate UW–Madison policies, and ensure compliance with grants and internal controls. This role requires strong financial judgment and attention to detail.

Qualifications

• Experience processing financial transactions including procurement, A/R, A/P, expense transfers or justifications.
• History of providing accurate and timely customer service via verbal, written, and electronic communication.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate with a team to resolve issues or support workflows.
• Proven ability to manage and prioritize multiple concurrent tasks or projects.

Responsibilities

• Train staff on financial processes and best practices.
• Serve as a unit liaison to leadership providing financial advice and status updates.
• Draft communications and reports; maintain organized records for administrative support.
• Answer complex fiscal questions and provide information based on standards to diverse audiences.
• Reallocate expenses to appropriate funding strings.
• Review and approve complex transactions; assign funding codes per rules and policies.
• Monitor financial transactions and fund balances; generate and reconcile complex reports.

Skills

Financial processing

Customer service

Independent work

Prioritization

Education

Associate degree in accounting/financial field

Tools

Workday

ShopUW+

Assetworks

Smartsheets

Qualtrics

Job description

The Department of Plant & Agroecosystem Sciences at UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences seeks a Financial Specialist III to provide advanced financial support for faculty, scientists, and graduate students engaged in research, teaching, and outreach.

The successful candidate will manage complex financial transactions, translate UW–Madison policies, and ensure compliance with grants and internal controls. This role requires strong financial judgment and attention to detail.