Director of Financial Planning and Analysis

Location

Manhattan, KS | United States

Job description

Manhattan College

Director of Financial Planning and Analysis

Under the direction of the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Financial Planning and Analysis is a proactive, data-informed professional who works closely with the College’s senior leadership and the Board of Trustees, as well as with departmental managers and colleagues across the institution, to prudently support the collaborative goals of the College. The College’s annual operating and capital budgets are designed and intended to be the financial manifestation of the College’s mission and its strategic priorities.

The Director is responsible for the budget and planning process, including but not limited to the preparation, administration, data and financial analysis, and maintenance of the College’s budget throughout all stages. The Director is involved in recommending and implementing approved policies, procedures, tools, models, and systems to help coordinate, plan, and report on the budget and planning activities of the College. Throughout this work, the Director reviews, prepares, and has access to confidential, sensitive, and proprietary information and, therefore, must display exceptional discretion.

A principal role of the Director is to help develop and coordinate the alignment of the annual operating and capital budgets with the College’s mission and strategic objectives. To this end, the Director leads a budgeting process, helping to confirm the availability and sufficiency of resources to achieve the College’s goals.

Primary Responsibilities

The Director’s principal responsibilities include:

• Implement and oversee an efficient and effective annual budget and planning process, including working with many colleagues across the College related to their budget submissions
• Perform high-quality quarterly (and periodic) budget and variance reports
• Perform long-term modeling and sensitivity analyses
• Communicate financial information and insights to department and divisional leaders and provide valuable guidance thereto
• Work in close coordination with College leadership and Human Resources, managing the College’s position control functions

In addition to the principal charges referenced above, the items below may be typical functions and activities undertaken or overseen by the Director:

• Communicate frequently with senior staff members and departmental managers in support of budgeting questions and alignment of financial resources
• Strengthen the College’s budgeting and financial planning and support strategic decision-making by developing a comprehensive understanding of the financial complexities and competing needs of the organization and developing useful and robust analyses and long-term financial models to inform discussions of critical issues
• Work closely with the Director of Human Resources to ensure budget alignment and support for workforce recruitment and development
• Perform financial analyses in key operating revenue and expense areas to identify key drivers, trends, benchmarks, risks and opportunities, and recommends appropriate actions
• Develop and present financial reports, metrics and analyses to increase understanding and improve decision-making
• Develop and lead an operating and capital budget process that is holistic and transparent to meet the current and future needs of the College. Work with senior leaders to provide budgetary and analytic support to optimize the deployment of resources. Proactively works with department leaders to improve financial outcomes
• Work closely with the Provost’s office to support development and management of the budget for the academic program, including faculty staffing, departmental budgets, and support for institutes and centers. Provides support to the Provost’s office in determining optimal funding sources for academic program priorities and maximizing the use of endowed funds
• Lead efforts by identifying and engaging with division, department, and program leaders to implement changes in processes and systems to improve service and cost effectiveness in support of the College’s programs and mission
• Coordinate the development and outreach of the annual operating and capital budgets
• Perform financial modeling and financial analysis, ensuring consistent integration of key budgetary and financial information to support institutional goals
• Develop and maintain budget models and tools to administer the current year budget, multi-year budget and dashboard sensitivity analyses
• Maintain multiple informational data sets related to the annual budget preparation and analysis of College financial operations and positioning
• Monitor the results of operating and capital budgets, prepare variance reports, and provide summary budgetary status on a regular basis
• Review and approve compensation for all requested new positions, replacement positions, revised positions, and proposed departmental restructuring
• Provide analytical support related to salaries and benefits adjustments and scenarios, in partnership with HR
• Prepare detailed fiscal year-end budgetary reporting on the annual operating results of the College
• Integrate key budgetary and financial information from internal and external sources and identify trends, opportunities, and risks that will inform the budgeting and financial planning process
• Support the work of the Finance and Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees, preparing materials in a timely fashion
• Assist with preparing regular budget presentations
• Work with colleagues to coordinate restricted, grant, and research funding in terms of the budget

Line of Report: The Director of Financial Planning and Analysis will report to the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Five (5) years of experience in budgeting or finance with at least five (3) years spent in higher education

Professional Competencies:

• Budgeting expertise in a non-profit and collaborative setting
• An unwavering commitment to compliance matters, ethical standards, and integrity
• Experience with endowment-supported institutions and with research, restricted, and grant funding mechanics for colleges and universities
• Management experience and a capacity to mentor and lead team members and colleagues
• A receptiveness and willingness to consider and engage in feedback and suggestions from all constituents on campus
• A client service focus and mindset
• Ability to solve problems proactively, creatively, and innovatively
• A nimbleness and agility to efficiently manage external forces and internal considerations
• A commitment to transparency
• Exceptional analytical capacity and quantitative skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree with a concentration in the fields of accounting, economics, finance, or management; or a Masters of Business Administration or similar graduate degree
• Experience with colleges and university finance and budgeting
• Knowledge of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and accounting principles and practices for colleges and universities
• A solid knowledge of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and sophisticated budgeting tools; a working familiarity with Elucian’s Banner v9 is beneficial
• Experience in a leadership role as the principal budgeting and planning administrator for an institution, school, or college
• Effective written, verbal, communication, presentation, and organizational skills
• Business savvy and superior negotiating skills
• Comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft Office suite, specifically advanced Excel

Salary: $125,000 to $150,000 Annually

Manhattan College is an independent Catholic coeducational institution in the Lasallian tradition. We expect our faculty, administration, and staff to be knowledgeable about our mission and to make a positive contribution to the mission. Applicants from historically under-represented segments of the population are encouraged to apply, as well as those attracted to a college with a Catholic identity. We are committed to a diverse campus community. AA/EO Employer M/F/D/V

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