Strategic University Budget & Financial Planning Lead

Miacada; Michigan; On-site; USD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Olivet College is seeking a Senior Budget Accountant to coordinate annual operating and capital budgeting, provide variance analysis, and support executive financial planning. You will partner with department leaders to ensure accurate projections and adherence to budgeting policies.

The role reports to the CFO with a dotted line to the Accounting Manager and requires strong Excel and ERP skills, plus nonprofit budgeting experience. A Master’s degree is preferred for advanced modeling.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Economics, or a related field required.
• Minimum of 3–5 years of progressive experience in budgeting, financial planning, accounting, or financial analysis.
• Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field preferred.
• Experience with institutional budgeting, financial modeling, or financial reporting systems is strongly preferred.
• Higher education budgeting or nonprofit financial management experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate, development, and systems implementation of the University’s annual operating and capital budgeting processes.
• Collaborate with departmental leaders to develop budget projections and financial planning.
• Assist University personnel in understanding budget policies and financial procedures.
• Monitor departmental budgets and perform budget-to-actual variance analysis, identifying significant variances.
• Work with Budget Managers on budget questions, revisions, and variances.
• Monitor Capital budget and expense in alignment with the capital plan.
• Write periodic narrative in response to budget-to-actual variance analysis.
• Maintain institutional budget documentation, financial assumptions, and supporting schedules.
• Assist the CFO in the preparation of financial presentations for executive leadership, the Board of Trustees, and standing committees.
• Maintain and improve budget processes, internal controls, and financial planning procedures.
• Reconcile bank accounts as part of the month end close process; submit completed reconciliations to the Accounting Manager for review.
• Monitor debt service responsibilities; payments, contracts, and amortization schedules.
• Assist the CFO with monitoring cash position against forecast outflows to identify potential liquidity shortfalls.

Skills

Budgeting

GAAP knowledge

Excel

ERP systems

Financial analysis

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Economics, or related

Master’s degree preferred

Nonprofit budgeting experience

Tools

Microsoft Excel

ERP software

Job description

Olivet College is seeking a Senior Budget Accountant to coordinate annual operating and capital budgeting, provide variance analysis, and support executive financial planning. You will partner with department leaders to ensure accurate projections and adherence to budgeting policies.

The role reports to the CFO with a dotted line to the Accounting Manager and requires strong Excel and ERP skills, plus nonprofit budgeting experience. A Master’s degree is preferred for advanced modeling.