Director of Finance and Business Development

Job Summary

The Director of Finance and Business Development reports directly to the Director of the Renée Crown Wellness Institute (Crown Institute). In this capacity, this position will serve as a leader within the Institute, and provide high-level budgetary, financial policy, and operational support to the Director and the Institute. This position is expected to provide vision and leadership. It has the authority and responsibility to represent the Institute in areas related to financial affairs, including fiscal issues, budgeting, accounting, gift administration to support strategic directions, including the development of revenue-based models.

This role will provide key financial oversight for the Institute’s complex production and operational budgets, identify and implement efficiencies, and support the Institute with forward-thinking and adaptive fiscal planning and budgeting. This position engages in long-term strategic projects, planning in consultation with the Director and leadership team, leading initiatives to improve financial processes, designing and being responsible for revenue-generating pathways, strengthening long-range planning and data-informed decision-making and projections, and ensuring that resources are aligned with strategic priorities. Additionally, this position will supervise financial, technical, and administrative personnel in service of these goals and priorities.

This position will collaborate and connect with relevant campus offices and implement campus administrative, HR and fiscal processes and policies and will develop procedures to ensure the quality of administrative and financial processes and adherence with the Crown Institute and grant reporting requirements. 

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Responsibilities

Leadership, Strategy and Business Development:

• Contributes to the development of strategic goals and objectives by participating in short- and long-range planning for both financial and HR activities. This includes advising the Director of short-term needs, as well as supporting long-range plans for Crown Institute and formulating recommendations and action plans for consideration by the Crown Institute Director and leadership team. In this leadership role, this position will hold primary responsibility for providing proactive guidance to the Crown Institute leadership for all financial and HR needs, and subsequently creating, maintaining, and refining internal policies and procedures to support the operation of Crown Institute activities.
• This position requires strong leadership skills and the ability to effectively lead a large and diverse team. They will be responsible for supervising finance and HR personnel and motivating these teams to coordinate administrative activities in alignment with the Crown Institute mission and vision and in ways that align with University policies. This position will promote team cohesion for these administrative responsibilities and facilitate effective working relationships between the Finance/HR teams and the rest of the Crown Institute.
• Develops and implements strategies to grow revenue streams at the Crown Institute including but not limited to developing business plans for clinical services and managing rate-based service agreements. This position will prepare and outline complex models for Institute leadership to consider and will work in collaboration with relevant partners to implement revenue-generating models.

Finance Management:

• Leads financial budget modeling and forecasting development. Acts as the financial authority, directing and managing all daily accounting functions by directing the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure compliance with federal, state, and university rules and regulations. Establishes proper audit trails. Requires ability to evaluate the relevance and importance of finance and HR principles, and people leadership skills to build a teamwork environment.
• Administers and monitors Institute budgets, expenses, and revenues for general, auxiliary, gift, grant, and service funds. Manages cost center accountability and net position for the Institute. Approves budget journal entries to align funding with expenses. Prepares monthly financial reports and financial projections. Reviews and approves all journal entries, payroll expense transactions, cash transfers, and requisitions over $10,000.
• Reports financial status of the Institute to Crown Institute leadership. Develops status reports by analyzing expenditures and by calculating projections based on the goals and current activities of the Institute programs.
• Oversees all sponsored project administration including ensuring compliance with university, state and federal regulations, coordinating sub-awards, preparing projections for future spending, collaborating with investigators to plan for optimal and appropriate usage of awarded funds, and organizing project closeouts. Manages all general, auxiliary, and gift fund speedtypes, including planning for payroll allocations.
• Approving authority for procurement cards and primary approver for all requisitions. Provides guidance as the purchasing authority for the Institute.

Proposal Development:

• Develops budgets for grant proposals to outside agencies (federal, state, and private). Requires knowledge of funding agency rules and regulations, Office of Management and Budget circulars, and University policy and procedures. Provides oversight for other grant proposal submissions not under the direct control of this position.
• Acts as an authority, advising principal investigators (PIs) of procedural options available such as collaborative vs. subcontracting, consulting vs. subcontracting, on-campus F&A vs. off-campus F&A rates, cost sharing, and matching.
• Collaborates with Office of Contract and Grants' Proposal Analyst. Defends budgets to the University or funding agency as required. Acts as liaison among the University, the Pl, other collaborating institutions, and the funding agency. Requires supervision of PIs to manage the fiscal components of contract and grant proposals.

Human Resources:

• Functions as lead for HR and will supervise other team members. Leads strategic HR initiatives such as being responsible for the Institute's compensation philosophy, a comprehensive performance management system, and coordination with Crown Institute leadership. Supervises members of the Finance and HR team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field and 4 years of work experience in general and/or research administration which includes developing research and/or business operational opportunities, developing revenue-generating initiatives, and/or developing revenue funding models.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute.

What You Will Need

• Ability to train and supervise staff, and to empower and maintain cohesive staff teams.
• Ability to support the Institute's mission and goals.
• Commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Ability to thrive both independently and as a member of interdisciplinary teams.
• Excellent judgment and analytical skills to identify problems and develop solutions effectively.
• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written, and capacity to connect with poise with University faculty and external audiences.
• Capacity to handle sensitive and confidential issues.
• High attention to detail and organization.
• Flexibility to meet challenges as they arise.
• Excellent time management skills, with the capacity to prioritize tasks and set timelines.
• Excellent budget management skills and grant management knowledge.
• Database management and computer proficiency, and ability to learn new computer programs quickly.
• Ability to thrive in a lively work environment that requires coordination of multiple activities and the judgment and flexibility to reprioritize to accommodate urgent needs.
• Standout colleague with outstanding communication skills. Flexible and adaptive to change. Curious, eager to learn and develop. 

What We Would Like You to Have

• Graduate degree in business administration, accounting, or related field.
• Experience in either a research or academic environment.
• 5 years of financial experience, including organizational budgeting, forecasting, and developing revenue-generating business models.
• Advanced research administration background with experience in research grant budget preparation and grant proposal administration.
• 2 years of supervisory experience and team leadership.
• 3 years of progressively responsible experience in sponsored project administration, budgeting, and accounting.
• Broad familiarity and understanding of regulatory frameworks, such as Federal processes and procedures, university terms and conditions, cost accounting standards, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), OMB Uniform Guidance and Code of Federal Regulations.
• Possess solid understanding of finance, HR, purchasing, and travel systems.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials: 

• A current resume. 
• A cover letter that specifically tells us how your background and experience align with the requirements, qualifications, and responsibilities of the position. We may request references at a later time.
• Please apply by February 5th, 2025 for consideration.
• Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, please apply through CU Boulder Jobs.
• In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.