Posted: 14-Apr-26
Type: Full-time
Internal Number: R148717
The Senior Fiscal Officer (SFO) serves as the financial leader for the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE), reporting directly to the Dean with a dotted reporting line to the universitys Vice President of Financial Operations and Deputy CFO. This role is responsible for the financial health, strategic direction, and operational excellence of the college across all funding sources. The SFO leads the Office of Finance and Business Services and provides expert counsel to the Dean, Associate Deans, Department Chairs, and Center Directors to advance EHEs mission and strategic goals.
The SFO oversees all aspects of financial operations, including budgeting, forecasting, resource allocation, compliance, and fiscal stewardship, ensuring a highâ‘performing and customerâ‘focused finance function. The role also leads collegeâ‘wide finance transformation effortsmodernizing financial processes, systems, and decision frameworks to increase efficiency, accuracy, and strategic alignment. This includes aligning financial resources with college and departmental strategy, driving budgetâ‘rebasing initiatives, and developing sourcesâ‘andâ‘uses reporting at the departmental level to support transparent and effective financial management. Through this work, the SFO ensures the finance function evolves from transactional processing to delivering highâ‘value insights that enhance decisionâ‘making and longâ‘term fiscal sustainability.
Responsibilities include developing and maintaining a comprehensive allâ‘funds annual budget; creating longâ‘range financial plans and forecasting models; and managing resource projections and trend analyses to support strategic decisionâ‘making. The SFO also sets and monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) to maintain alignment with the colleges strategic direction. Additionally, the SFO directs the management of the colleges administrative budget, centrally held allocations, and strategic reserves, while ensuring strong internal controls, compliance with university policies, and readiness for internal and external audits.
Beyond financial planning and oversight, the SFO manages operations such as purchasing, capital planning, development and implementation of collegeâ‘wide financial policies and procedures, funds management, and preâ‘ and postâ‘award grants administration in collaboration with research administration. The position prepares and presents executiveâ‘level financial reports and analyses, responds to information requests, and ensures transparency and accountability through regular monitoring of KPIs.
The SFO provides direct leadership to the colleges central/administrative finance team and oversight to EHE finance business partners across departments, fostering a culture of collaboration, customer service, and continuous improvement. This role works closely with Human Resources, Facilities, Capital Planning, and other operational units to integrate financial strategies with broader college priorities. The SFO also partners with the colleges HR Business Partner on initiatives that intersect with fiscal planning and serves as a liaison to Legal Affairs, Business & Finance, University Advancement, the Office of Academic Affairs, and other central university units. The SFO is a member of the colleges Executive Committee and represents EHE at universityâ‘level Senior Fiscal Officer meetings and other forums, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities. Other duties may be assigned as needed.
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Ten (10) years of relevant experience required.
Desired Qualifications:
Extensive finance operations and leadership experience.
A Master's degree focused in finance, accounting or business administration
Complex budget forecasting and modeling experience for a large organization.
Fund accounting and zero-based budgeting experience.
Possess data analysis skills and experience.
Executive-level reporting experience.
Function: Finance
Sub-function: Financial Operations
Career Band: People Leader - Managerial
Career Level: M4 Director
Target Hiring Range for this position is $140,000 to $183,000 per year.