Budget Director

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Budget Director initiates, leads, and manages the annual operating and capital budget process, long-range financial plans and reports on financial performance to the CFO and senior leadership. This position plans and directs the creation of analytical tools and internal and external reporting that contribute to IIT’s ability to maintain its fiscal discipline. Reporting to the CFO, the Director of Budget and Finance contributes to IIT’s ability to develop and manage its $300 million annual operating budget by maintaining the budget model, developing financial and managerial reports and supporting university budget managers. The Director of Budget and Finance will serve as the primary point of contact between the Budget Office and academic and administrative departments by disseminating and collecting annual budget development workbooks, responding to data requests, providing training and automated reports to units, analyzing budget versus actual variances, and troubleshooting end-user budgeting issues. This position must work as part of the university academic and fiscal administration team to provide a comprehensive picture of university financial performance and recommend resource allocation. As often as necessary in the fiscal year, the Budget Director coordinates mid-year projections by interpreting and communicating financial results to measure against institutional goals. A strong interest in and ability to develop informative and relevant financial reports for a variety of constituencies is required.

The university will also be implementing a new budgeting tool, for which this position will have an integral role in developing and implementing the software.

The salary range for this role is $115,000  and is commensurate with experience.

Benefits Our commitment to employee well-being is reflected in our competitive benefits package located here : COMMUNICATIONS The Budget Director is responsible for ensuring that financial information related to budget development and management, as well as overall institutional financial health, is communicated clearly to a variety of audiences. This position must interpret, analyze and communicate data through written reports and oral presentations. This position interacts with all colleges and divisions, assisting unit leaders and staff to identify, discuss, elucidate, document, and resolve budget and planning issues. This position requires excellent verbal and written skills in order to effectively communicate with individuals on every level of the organization, from unit line staff to directors, deans, vice presidents, senior leadership, and trustees. Discretion and ability to maintain confidentiality on a wide range of matters is essential. CUSTOMER SERVICE This position serves Vice Presidents, Deans, Directors and Budget Managers as well as the Finance and Budget Office and Controller’s Office by providing timely information, proactively and productively responding to inquiries, providing training and clarification on budget processes, and developing tools to achieve process efficiencies. Special Schedule Requirements Qualifications Education & Experience A Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance / Accounting, Public Administration, or related field is required, with a minimum requirement of five (5) years of progressive finance / budget management experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience with fund accounting at a research university is preferred. Knowledge & Skills Experience with fund accounting at a research university is preferred. Technical experience in the use of financial software to develop and maintain financial models and automated financial reports is required. Knowledge of / experience using database query tools is also very strongly preferred. Must be proficient in Microsoft Office programs including Excel, Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint. Demonstrated proficiency in troubleshooting the above programs. Experience with Ellucian Banner and Cognos report writer preferred. Working knowledge of accounting and finance is required, and knowledge of fund accounting in a research university environment is strongly preferred. Demonstrated analytical ability. Requires the ability to work independently with minimal supervision and to maintain positive working relationships with other employees. This includes the ability to independently seek out, research, and learn new skills related to the technical use of financial software tools. Requires strong attention to detail, especially in data validation and accuracy, process documentation, and report preparation and formatting. Requires a high level of integrity and honesty, including a demonstrated maturity to responsibility handle sensitive and confidential information. Excellent writing and oral communication skills are required, including the preparation of reports and materials for senior leadership and board committees. Requires the ability to master financial reporting and budget management tools and, in turn, requires the ability to, and comfort with, presenting, mentoring and teaching others how to interpret and develop financial reports, use budget tools, and comply with related university business processes and policies. SUPERVISION & BUDGET AUTHORITY This position supervises one exempt Budget Analyst. Physical Environment and Requirements From time to time this position may require additional work effort during evenings and / or weekends as major deadlines approach. Usually these periods are less than a week induration and occur only a few times per year. Traveling to other buildings as well as occasional travel to other IIT campuses (downtown Chicago, IFSH Moffett campus, or Wheaton, IL) or other locations may be required. Certifications and Licenses List any certifications or licenses that are either required or helpful in performing the job, designating whether required or preferred. N / A Key Responsibilities Key Responsibility Budget Development :

• Establish, maintain and complete the university’s annual budget process. Directs the initial allocation for all units based on the strategic assumptions for each fiscal year. Working collaboratively with key stakeholders, refine and maintain financial / budget models, as well as create and program data collection tools to aid in the budget development process.
• Disseminate and collect budget preparation documents from units and advise units on budget office policies, procedures and priorities.
• Respond to budget adjustment requests and work within established guidelines to update the budget throughout the year. Percentage Of Time 30 Key Responsibility Report Writing and Analysis
• Develop and produce financial reports including year-to-date results compared to the budget, provide year-end projections, payroll projections, total spend reports and tuition and enrollment reports. Analyze and report reasons for variations in actual performance versus budget.
• Respond to ad hoc data requests from internal and external customers.
• Develop and maintain monthly managerial financial reports and distribute reports to departments / end-users.
• Update quarterly executive reports and finance materials for the Board of Trustees.
• Help users access and interpret reports from Banner ERP and the Cognos reporting system and develop new reports to respond to business needs. Percentage Of Time 30 Key Responsibility Process Automation
• Assist with developing and implementing budgeting software system that integrates with the Ellucian Banner ERP system.
• Work with budget managers, key stakeholders and technical resources to design and implement process improvements around transactional and routine processes.
• Manage workflow tools through which requests come to the budget office including overspent budget queues and capital project request workflows.
• Work as part of a project team that supports the Chief Financial Officer’s strategic priorities by designing and implementing communications and training plans, new functionality and systems that support financial service delivery at Illinois Tech. Percentage Of Time 30 Key Responsibility Position Control
• Responsible for reconciliation of position control with budget. Assists with ongoing maintenance and development of position control system. Percentage Of Time 5 Key Responsibility Other duties as assigned. Percentage Of Time 5

Salary : $300 - $115,000