Director of Financial Analysis and Decision Support

The Role

The University of Michigan has an exciting opportunity for a well-qualified candidate to become the next Director of Financial Analysis.  The Office of Financial Analysis is responsible for leading the annual budget planning process for the Business & Finance organization and for consolidating the University’s “all funds” budget and performing associated variance analysis.  The Office will play a leadership role in the creation of enterprise financial planning models and the development of a financial data analytics strategy.  In addition, the Office of Financial Analysis supports and assists university units with a variety of services such as developing financial or budget reports and other financial services as requested. 

About the University of Michigan

Governed by a publicly elected Board of Regents, The University of Michigan is a world-class public research university that is comprised of three campuses (Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint) and a premier, highly ranked academic medical center and award-winning health care system.  The University has an annual operating budget of over $9 billion per year, cash and investments of over $15 billion and outstanding bond indebtedness of over $3 billion.  The University of Michigan is one of only a small handful of public universities that carry the Aaa (Moody’s) and AAA (S&P) long-term bond ratings. 

The University of Michigan is a global leader in business, engineering, health, law and public policy, medicine, public health, the arts and humanities, science and technology, and many other academic disciplines.  The essence of the University is the academic diversity of our schools and colleges, many of which are among the best in the country, and the degree of interdisciplinary cooperation among them. Our schools of Business, Education, Engineering, Information, Law, Medicine, Music, Nursing, Public Health, and Social Work are ranked among the best in the country.

Working at Michigan

Michigan is one of the best universities to work for in the country. The Michigan culture is engaging faculty and staff in all facets of the University to create a workplace that is vibrant, stimulating, and fulfilling.  For five consecutive years, the Chronicle of Higher Education has recognized U-M among the “Great Colleges to Work For”. In particular, the University earns high marks for diversity, confidence in senior leadership, job satisfaction, facilities and work life balance.

About Finance

The Finance Division is led by the AVP for Finance and reports directly to the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Finance partners with the University community to provide the financial infrastructure essential to being one of the world’s greatest public universities. The Finance organization is comprised of several units including Financial Analysis, Controllership and Financial Operations, Procurement Services, Sponsored Programs, Treasury, and Tax Policy and Compliance. While we maintain several distinct departments, we share a common set of values and goals. For more information about the Finance Division, please go to www.finance.umich.edu.

The new Director of Financial Analysis will:

• Advance positive organizational principles that promote a respectful, collaborative, and solutions-based culture.
• Managing results for positive performance (and doing so through high quality connections)
• Regularly connecting the work of the department to the mission of the institution
• Staff engagement.
• The Director must be a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Collaborate with campus units, including the Office of Budget and Planning within the Office of the EVP and Provost and Michigan Medicine, to prepare an annual consolidated “all funds” university budget and associated budget-to-actual reporting.
• Provide ongoing variance analysis of budget-to-actual performance.
• Lead the annual Business & Finance budget process by collaborating with the financial leads in each business function and developing a comprehensive budget package for an organization with a recurring, annual budget in excess of $600 million.
• Develop and manage multi-year enterprise financial forecasting models.
• Play a leadership role in the development of a financial data analytics strategy.
• Develop financial dashboards, key performance indicators, management reporting and analytics for the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and the Associate Vice President for Finance.
• Develop similar tools that can be used by other central units and the campus community.
• Lead Business Operations Recharge activities and recharge rate approval process.
• Conduct market research on financial and business strategies in Higher Education.
• Manage and direct the work of a team of financial analysts.
• Lead special projects, as needed.

Qualifications include a Bachelors degree in Business Administration, Economics, Finance or Accounting or equivalent experience, and/or experience in higher education; at least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in budget management and financial planning. Strong financial and data analysis skills.  Knowledge of analytics, budget, and reporting tools preferred.  Ability to balance quantitative and qualitative information.  Systems-oriented thinking.  Proven success leading a team with the principles of positive leadership.  Demonstrated success coaching and developing staff, and building a diverse and inclusive team. Strong presentation skills and ability to tailor message to different audiences, including executive leadership.  Excellent verbal and written communication skills; excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to foster and maintain positive and productive working relationships throughout the organization and across the university. 

To Apply

Please visit: https://careers.umich.edu/job_detail/193930/director_of_financial_analysis

U-M EEO/AA Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.