"Assistant Director, Budget Strategy / Financial Planning"

Assistant Director, Budget Strategy / Financial Planning

Company: Pace University

Category: Business and Financial Services

Type: Full-Time

Pace University is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides. To add to our esteemed staff, we are seeking an experienced Assistant Director, Budget Strategy/Financial Planning for a hybrid role at the College of Health Professions (CHP) at our Pleasantville (Westchester County) campus.

Responsibilities:

Acting as the primary financial liaison between the school and central administration, this role manages all aspects of budget planning, analysis, and fund oversight, including multi-year modeling and faculty workload/compensation analysis. It ensures compliance with university policies and strategic goals while providing financial insights and funding recommendations to the Dean and leadership team. Although embedded in CHP, the position remains accountable to the University Budget Office to maintain consistent financial practices across all schools.

Position Duties:

• Serve as the embedded financial liaison between the CHP and the University Budget Office, providing financial guidance and recommendations to the Dean, Associate Deans, and department chairs.
• Lead budget planning and multi-year modeling in collaboration with the University Budget Office. Prepare CHP’s annual operating, capital, and multi-year budgets, as well as monthly and quarterly financial reports and variance analyses for the Dean’s Office and the University Budget Office.
• Develop and maintain multi-year financial models that incorporate enrollment, tuition, staffing, and academic program variables.
• Conduct scenario analyses to assess the financial impact of new initiatives or structural changes. Establish and maintain a clear process for budgeting and forecasting adjunct costs using data on hiring trends, course sections, and teaching loads.
• Recommend funding strategies and adjustments to ensure alignment with institutional priorities.
• Design and implement policies and monitoring mechanisms to ensure workload compliance with university faculty standards, integrating financial accountability into workload planning and course scheduling.
• Perform high-level financial modeling to evaluate the impact of faculty overloads, release time, and administrative assignments on operating and multi-year budgets. Provide recommendations for sustainable and equitable workload structures.
• Develop and institutionalize a consistent process and annual review framework for faculty stipends, release time, and overages, ensuring practices adhere to university policy and align with annual budget targets.
• Establish and maintain a centralized, auditable record of faculty and chair appointments, contracts, and compensation authorizations to support budget control, transparency, and policy enforcement.
• Collaborate with the Dean’s Office and department chairs to ensure course schedules align with available budgets, enrollment levels, and faculty workload policies. Recommend adjustments to improve scheduling practices and manage instructional costs effectively.
• Create university reporting and dashboards to track adjunct spending, section changes, and overall instructional costs. Use analytics to guide decision-making and contribute to process improvements and system updates in Banner, Pyramid, or related platforms.
• Manage restricted funds, including endowed, gift, and grant accounts, ensuring expenditures comply with donor intent and university policy. Coordinate with Advancement, Grants Administration, and the Controller’s Office on fund usage and reporting.
• Monitor balances and spending patterns, integrating restricted fund projections into overall planning.
• Advise the Dean on appropriate funding sources (operating or restricted) for proposed expenditures to ensure strategic and compliant use of funds.
• Identify financial risks and opportunities, recommending corrective actions or reallocations as needed.
• Maintain detailed documentation of budget assumptions, one-time funding items, and reallocations.
• Ensure all transactions, funding allocations, and personnel requests comply with university budget and policy standards. Assist in standardizing internal CHP financial workflows and documentation practices.
• Train and support staff on budget tools, reporting processes, and fund management procedures. Present financial information clearly to audiences with varying levels of financial literacy.
• Performs other such duties as assigned from time to time.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or related field required; Master’s preferred.
• At least three years of experience in budgeting, financial analysis, or accounting, ideally in a higher education setting.
• Strong modeling and analytical skills with advanced proficiency in Excel.
• Experience using ERP systems (Banner, Workday, or similar) and reporting tools such as Pyramid or Power BI.
• Familiarity with faculty workload and compensation structures, including stipends and overage policies.
• Understanding of fund accounting and restricted fund management.
• Demonstrated ability to balance school-level needs with central policy compliance preferred.
• Experience with multi-year financial forecasting and scenario analysis preferred.
• Clear and effective written and verbal communication skills preferred.
• Strong collaboration and problem-solving orientation preferred.

Salary Range: $90,000 - $110,000 / Year. Please apply at: https://secure6.saashr.com/ta/6000630.careers?ShowJob=671509777