POSITION SUMMARY The Office of Academic Clinical Affairs seeks a motivated, strategic Finance Director who has a passion for academic mission, sound financial practices and client service. The Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA) serves the University of Minnesota’s mission to transform inter-professional clinical training, clinical research and patient care. The Finance Director is responsible for overall financial management of approximately 15 OACA centers and programs as well as nearly 10 administrative units, directly and indirectly, and ensures finance office operations are meeting the needs of units supported. The Finance Director serves in a liaison relationship with all OACA units, coordinating the annual budget process and serving as the Resource Responsibility Center (RRC) manager for the $185M+ enterprise. The Finance Director leads strategic financial initiatives to advance OACA’s long-term objectives. This position assures a financial environment that complies with internal and external requirements, provides timely and accurate financial reporting, and exercises good judgment with an ethical approach to business and compliance issues. The Finance Director represents OACA’s fiscal accountability internally across all centers and units as well as externally to funders and stakeholders, as needed. The Finance Director supports the Associate Vice President (AVP) for the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA) and provides information, analyses and recommendations to the Associate Vice President and the Vice President for Clinical Affairs.
The person hired into this position must be comfortable with highly varied and unpredictable situations, often complex and non-recurring, requiring new and creative approaches. New ideas will call for financial projections for new activities, determination of whether such are feasible, consideration of multiple ways to potentially fund or collaborate to bring activities to fruition, working with multiple parties from multiple departments. It will be important for the person in this position to be comfortable stepping into unfamiliar situations within units, becoming familiar with details, willing to delve in to discover the root of a problem or find potential solutions for an issue. This position also fills in for the OACA AVP when unavailable and needs to be able to assist with setting up infrastructure for a new center, or transitioning a center to a new home just as easily as helping a center grow its business.
REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS This position has five direct reports as well as four indirect reports and mentors financial staff in both the OACA shared finance team as well as approximately 10 finance staff positioned directly in the larger OACA shared units. The Finance Director is responsible for all aspects of leading a team of professionals, including staff selection, performance evaluation and management, engagement and development.
INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS The Finance Director serves as one of the key administrative leaders in the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs as well as liaison for University wide functions including the Controller’s Office, Purchasing, Central Accounting, Sponsored Projects Administration, and the Budget Office, among other University departments. The Finance Director leads the finance team in carrying out University-wide finance initiatives and processes for OACA. The position is responsible for developing financial strategy in consultation with the AVP and prepares financial data for a variety of purposes, as directed or delegated by the Associate VP for Finance. When OACA units do not have local finance staff, the Finance Director and OACA team provide direct financial support at all levels, engage in financial issues that arise, and navigate approaches to address and oversee resolutions of issues. Issues might include deficits, Internal Service Organization (ISO) reviews, internal audit findings, training and mentoring needs, and providing staff backup when resources are intermittently scarce. The Finance Director also serves as the OACA collegiate contact for University of Minnesota Foundation and has oversight of grant sponsored funds. The Finance Director also serves as the OACA RRC and as a Certified Approver, including backing up all OACA Shared units. EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS The Finance Director has major responsibility to represent OACA and its strategic direction to the general public, private, local, state and federal funders, and private donors, as appropriate and needed. A major relationship includes the Mayo Clinic, in relation to two large grant programs administered as sponsored projects, the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology & Medical Genomics, and the Regenerative Medicine Minnesota program (over $12M annually). In both cases the Finance Director plays a key role in supplying executive leadership with information and guidance, managing all financial aspects of the programs, and interacting with partners at Mayo, advisory board members, and business and industry partners.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Financial Management, Planning and Analysis (45%) Responsible and accountable for leading financial initiatives and strategies to support the fiscal viability of OACA units. Serves as a strategic thought partner that exemplifies a growth mindset and strong leadership skills. Collaborates closely with the AVP to develop and identify revenue opportunities and cost saving strategies to improve operating budget and future fiscal planning. Serves as the Finance Director for compliance purposes with federal, state and local government authorities, as well as being responsible for oversight of OACA units vis-Ã -vis University policy. Provides regular and timely fiscal updates to the AVP and OACA’s academic leadership. Provides financial analysis for planning, contracting and other functions. Undertakes special projects as needed.
Leads the fiscal year budgeting process, following University accounting guidelines, but with broad management autonomy within OACA. The annual budget coordination requires planning and meeting deadlines, ensuring cooperation and timely submission from all OACA units, review of budgets submitted, analysis of overall financial position, and summarized financial picture for the overall OACA Shared enterprise. Sets own goals and determines how to accomplish results; provides broad guidance and overall direction. Sets schedules, reviews budgets and funding requests. Coordinates, consolidates and packages materials for OACA AVP and VP, and further for Budget Office presentation. Assists VP and AVP in communicating final decisions to units, coordinates budget entry and training for all units. Ensures overall financial structural balance and stability for the collegiate units.
Financial Data Reporting (25%) The Finance Director develops and oversees streamlined financial analyses, reporting and metrics either for OACA Shared units or in response to general questions from AVP, VP Clinical Affairs, and/or Associate VPs for Education, Research and Strategy. Analyses may include cost accounting, trend analysis, financial projections, balance analyses, UMF fund analyses, etc. The Finance Director also supports grant programs in the OACA Office of Research, approximately $15M per year. Serves on U-wide committees on various topics as needed. The Finance Director also manages VP Clinical Affairs commitments, tracks balances, and projects funding availability. The Finance Director must be able to roll up sleeves and provide direct support to a unit in the form of monthly reports when needed.
Administrative and Programmatic Operations (30%) This position supervises the functions of all internal and external financial transaction processing, financial reporting, contract negotiation/management, pre-award and post-award grants support, legislative reporting for grant programs, state of MN MERC program activities, and various other activities that involve the University’s Office of General Counsel, Sponsored Projects Administration and Controller’s Organization. This position directly supervises personnel who complete these needed duties. The Finance Director directs staff in problem-solving operational issues, assists in developing efficient and timely administrative systems, and works closely with supervisees to identify and report on key financial indicators to track overall financial performance. This position also serves as the primary contact with the University External Sales Department, reviews contracts with major vendors, and problem-solves contract concerns related to external agreements. CORE COMPETENCIES Strategic Leadership - Operates Strategically â— Understands the big picture; aligns initiatives with OACA’s strategic priorities â— Understands the broader University culture and context of issues and dilemmas; skillfully navigates to find solutions to complex issues â— Leverages diversity and differences to foster a climate of respect and inclusion; leads by example in encouraging others to support diversity goals, values, and practices â— Effectively utilizes and prioritizes time to maximize impact in leadership role â— Promotes an environment of excellent client service
Results Leadership - Manages Execution, Anticipates Change â— Ensures broad strategies are translated into specific objectives and action plans; conveys clear priorities; addresses barriers, takes action, and ensures accountability; â— Integrates information from a variety of sources to evaluate alternatives and make sound decisions; adheres to defined principles when making decisions; considers intended and unintended consequences of decisions; practices good stewardship of University resources â— Applies functional and technical knowledge when making key decisions; seeks expertise of others when appropriate
People Leadership - Influences and Inspires â— Promotes ideas and proposals persuasively; creates a climate that encourages personal investment; inspires action without relying solely on positional authority â— Utilizes skills to manage conflict constructively; demonstrates growth mindset in coaching and mentoring team members to improve outcomes and efficacy
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS â–ª Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or related field â–ª Minimum of 12 years’ experience in accounting or finance â–ª Strategic leadership experience in progressively more responsible roles â–ª Supervisory and/or management experience â–ª Ability to work on multiple projects at once, many of which have tight deadlines â–ª Ability to work with minimal supervision, to take initiative and follow through â–ª Ability to represent OACA on strategic fiscal issues â–ª Excellent English written and verbal communication skills â–ª Experience working with diverse populations and in a large or complex organization â–ª Expert capacity to provide leadership in a comprehensive setting with diverse stakeholders PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS â–ª Master’s degree in accounting, finance or business administration â–ª Certified Public Accountant (active or inactive) â–ª UMN Certified Approver – active status and/or willingness to pursue certification â–ª Expert knowledge of software with financial reporting capabilities â–ª Capacity to work in a highly matrixed work environment, ability to cope with complexity and ambiguity and creatively solve problems â–ª Relational leading style with excellent interpersonal and communication skills
*OACA reserves the right to change or add duties to this position consistent with the job classification. A criminal background check and credit check are required for this position. |