Associate Director of Finance Operations and Budget Management

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of Finance Operations and Budget Management, the Associate Director provides high-level support for the Financial Operations and Budget Management functions within the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).

In this role, the Associate Director will :

Partner with the Senior Director to lead a well-structured Finance office for GSAS, including budget management, reporting, and day-to-day running of financial operations.

Works closely with the Senior Director to assist with management of the school's annual $120M budget as well as long-term forecast and model; design of ad hoc financial analyses to support the school's goals and objectives; and development and interpretation of budget policy.

Be the first point of contact for administrators to troubleshoot financial transactions and provide clarification on policy and procedural questions.

Partner with the Senior Director to prepare, adjust, and manage the school's annual budget.

• Lead initiatives to streamline and improve the efficiency of financial management and quarterly closing processes in GSAS.

To be successful in this role, the Associate Director should demonstrate a blend of technical, analytical, and interpersonal skills to effectively support the execution of financial operations and the management of a complex budget in a matrixed institutional environment; a high degree of professional maturity and operational effectiveness; strong organizational and project management skills; a customer service disposition; and an ability to work collaboratively and independently across constituencies.

Responsibilities

Finance Operations - 55%

• Under the direction of the Senior Director, execute day-to-day GSAS financial operation functions including all matters related to Accounts Payable, Procurement, Vendor Management, and general ledger activities. Initiate and ensure the accurate and prompt processing of payments for invoices, reimbursements, and honoraria as well as the preparation and submission of requisitions, purchase orders, change orders, and service agreements.
• Initiate and review transactions in the University financial systems (ARC and Concur) in a prompt and accurate fashion for all GSAS departments. Verifies and identifies appropriate accounting codes for such transactions
• Serves as Concur initial reviewer for GSAS staff as well as for student reimbursements initiated in GSAS.
• Monitors ARC and Concur for rejections, corrections, holds, and other obstacles to proper processing. Initiates journal vouchers to make accounting corrections and initiates internal transfers of funds as directed. Monitors invoice and requisition aging in ARC to ensure prompt payment. Resolves inquiries on payment status for internal and external constituencies.
• Processes and logs checks for deposit with gift systems, University cashiers, and the sponsored projects lock box.
• Ensures that all central University, Arts & Sciences, and School-based deadlines are met, and that all transactions are in compliance with University policies and procedures.
• Escalates complex financial transaction issues to supervisor and / or appropriate University financial offices to resolve policy issues as needed.
• Thoroughly understands documentation requirements for transactions and compiles all necessary documentation to ensure completeness.
• Intercede with Accounts Payable and Procurement on behalf of GSAS vendors; resolve payment and contracting issues, escalating to Senior Director as needed
• Reviews sales reports, prepares invoices, and ensures prompt payments from cafe vendor.
• Initiates GSAS student casual and additional compensation payments.
• Monitors student work study allocation balances to ensure student availability.

Budget Management - 30%

• Collaborates with the Senior Director to prepare Graduate School budget reports and variance analyses. Assist with reconciling budgets against actuals, reviewing financial and budgetary reports, and identifying key drivers for variance analyses.
• Partners with the Senior Director and other senior administrators to devise and improve budget and forecasting accuracy
• Partners with the Senior Director to lead Financial Aid reconciliation and budgeting as needed or required, in partnership with Financial Aid office,
• Contributes to oversight and monitoring of OTPS and personnel budgets
• Supports review, approval, and execution of administrative officer and student officer payroll.
• Enters, analyzes, and reconciles approved entries in University's budget and payroll tools.
• Leads reconciliation of monthly financial statements and e-commerce accounts on a routine basis to ensure appropriate payment accounting. Researches and resolves discrepancies.
• Develops, maintains, and disseminates a standardized set of dashboards on revenues and expenses against budget for GSAS department heads and senior management.
• Generates reports, tables, and graphs from the University's financial data stores and other sources for the purposes of preparing budgets, and reconciling actuals against budgets
• Develops approved budget templates and guidance for GSAS departments and programs in a timely manner to meet internal GSAS, A&S, and University budget deadlines.
• Spearheads preparation for end-to-end cycle of quarterly meetings with various GSAS stakeholders for budget submission reviews and year-end budget reviews.
• Enhances the unit's operational processes, including the use of tracking sheets, templates, and other tools to improve efficiency and to meet reporting needs
• Update and reconcile complex financial and budgetary spreadsheets; track student group spending against allocations; analyze financial and budgetary information and prepares ad hoc reports.
• Provide successful and on-time month-, quarter- and year-end closing of the budget in line with the University policies and procedures.

Training and Compliance - 10%

• Ensure appropriate controls and compliance for all financial transactions under their purview, including payments and contracts for the Dean's Office.
• Keep track of issues and trends with internal control protocols, financial, and administrative procedures, and process improvements for GSAS departments, institutes, and centers. Compile information to be shared with the Senior Director.
• Ensure effective communication of existing University financial policies to all GSAS departments and central GSAS units as well as changes to those policies, to make sure that all compliance requirements are being met.
• Work closely with the Senior Director to continuously improve reporting and audit tools used by departments, institutes, and centers.
• Collaborate with central administrative offices across the University, to make sure that the needs of GSAS departments are addressed and satisfied with respect to the increasing complexity of processes, technologies, and policies.
• Develop training materials and improve support for GSAS staff as needed, leading one-on-one training as needed.
• Guide GSAS staff and student groups in interpreting University and school procurement policies, procedures, and documentation requirements.
• Communicate procurement (purchasing, AP, and p-card) policies to GSAS staff members to ensure compliance with University policies.

Other - 5%

• Develop and recommend to the Senior Director enhancements and / or streamlining of financial policies and practices within GSAS that are consistent with University guidelines for financial activities.
• Maintain all GSAS financial records; organize and manage files (both electronic and paper) for school accounts including grants, gifts, and endowments.
• Perform related duties as required or requested.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree required.
• A minimum of 6 years of related experience in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field.
• Demonstrated proficiency in budget and financial operational practices. Demonstrate a high level of integrity and dependability with a strong sense of urgency and results-orientation.
• Capacity to work with a strong degree of independence and successfully within a deadline driven, multi-tasking environment. Ability to handle multiple projects, demonstrate sound judgment in managing time, prioritizing, and decision-making.
• Good critical thinking and analytical skills, and ability to mentor others in these skills.
• Strong Excel skills, including proficiency with creation and use of complex pivot tables, lookup functions, and other features for formatting, manipulating, and analyzing data. Ability to leverage and analyze data to contribute to team initiatives and projects. Ability and willingness to learn new systems and programs.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. Ability to communicate clearly and accurately with colleagues and peers. Ability to communicate effectively on a technical level with personnel in central offices and department leads.
• Strong interpersonal and emotional intelligence skills focused on establishing and maintaining productive relationships with faculty, peers, leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment and tact as well as maintain confidentiality when dealing with sensitive and confidential matters.
• Ability to adapt to meet the needs of departments and manage challenging situations.
• Candidate must be well organized and be able to manage a demanding, varied workload. Ability to manage multiple concurrent assignments, set, and meet deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a related field such as higher education administration, financial or business administration preferred.
• Knowledge of Columbia University financial systems.

Other Requirements

• Interested individuals must submit a resume and cover letter.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.