"Associate Athletic Director, Business Operations"

Overview

The Associate Director of Athletics for Business serves as a key member of the Yale Athletics financial leadership team, reporting to and collaborating closely with the Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director & Chief Financial Steward. The position provides critical support in budgeting and forecasting, while leading the department’s financial reporting, accounting, reconciliation, and compliance functions.

This role ensures the accuracy and integrity of all financial transactions, oversees reconciliations, and produces timely and reliable financial reports in accordance with GAAP, University policies, NCAA, and federal requirements. The position leads the development and maintenance of sound accounting processes and internal controls, proactively identifies and resolves discrepancies, and ensures fiscal compliance across all units.

In partnership with departmental and University stakeholders, the position supports strategic financial planning, assists with annual budget submissions and adjustments, and contributes to the development of data-driven forecasts and long-term financial models. The position may supervise business office staff.

Job Specific Responsibilities:

• Provide support in preparing annual budgets by collaborating with department heads and coaches.
• Act as Controller for the Department of Athletics while working with the University Controller’s Office to ensure compliance with university policies and procedures
• Coordinate all financial audits, both external and internal, concerning the Department of Athletics. These include, but are not limited to, the annual Department of Education Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) Report, the annual NCAA Agreed Upon Procedures Report, and an annual internal Department of Athletics report.
• Evaluate processes and make recommendations to establish an environment of continuous improvement for the Yale Athletics Finance Office.
• Work with the Ivy League office on various items.

Required Skills and Abilities

Required Skill/Ability 1: Thorough working knowledge of finance, fund accounting, and financial reporting analysis; Demonstrated ability preparing budgets, forecasts, and financial plans; Integrating multiple complex pieces of financial information to identify themes, trends, and issues; Expertise in a highly regulated organization.

Required Skill/Ability 2: Well-developed managerial, decision-making, planning, organizational, problem-solving, supervisory and leadership skills; Demonstrated ability to manage people on a day-to-day basis and inspire a high level of commitment, professionalism and performance; High-level strategic planning skills; Visionary with ability to influence.

Required Skill/Ability 3: Ability to generate a strategic vision and to influence people to achieve this vision; Excellent written and oral communication skills; Ability to adapt communication style to address the needs of individuals throughout the University.

Required Skill/Ability 4: Ability to anticipate changes in the business environment and proactively manage change; Strong computer skills including Excel; Solid understanding of internal control concepts and the implementation of internal control systems in a complex business environment.

Preferred Experience and Education:

Master’s degree in Accounting or Finance strongly preferred.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or progress toward CPA designation highly desirable.

Extensive experience in accounting, financial reporting, and reconciliation within a complex organization; higher education or athletics administration experience preferred.

Principal Responsibilities

1. Financial Analysis and Reporting: Analyzes and synthesizes information and designs and creates accurate and timely reports that add value to the management of University operations. Advises and applies GAAP to specialized areas to properly report out on financial conditions. Designs financial reporting to meet the compliance needs of internal and external users. Extracts and consolidates data from multiple sources.
2. Financial methods and systems: Influences, plans, and designs methods to improve practices, processes and systems. Leads and partners with all levels of internal and external contacts to execute departmental and/or institutional level goals. Provides a high level of service that cultivates and maintains strong working relationships and effectively communicates information; takes ownership and accountability for timeliness, accuracy and relationship management.
3. Accounting and Reconciliation: Verifies enterprise or subsystem transactions are recorded correctly to ensure accuracy of balance sheets, income statements, and other financial activities. Performs complex multi-system reconciliations; navigates through multiple complex systems and reporting tools to independently investigate and resolve non-routine discrepancies. Plans, designs, and develops reporting tools. Regulates entries to the general ledger or subsystems and ensures adherence to GAAP, regulatory requirements and financial reporting considerations. Communicates effectively at all levels and applies sound judgment when handling highly sensitive information.
4. Strategic Resource: Translates department finance strategies into goals. Anticipates, identifies, and raises potential financial opportunities, issues, risks, ideas and solutions. Employs judgment and expertise in identifying the appropriate stakeholders to include in consultations, communications, approvals or buy-ins for designing and implementing changes.
5. Compliance and Risk Management: Establishes, implements and/or maintains strong internal controls in areas of assigned responsibility to provide reasonable assurance of effective and appropriate resources use, accurate financial information, and adherence to contractual obligations and agreements, policies, procedures, and external regulatory requirements.
6. Mentors, leads and/or supervises staff.
7. May perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Business, Economics or Finance and six years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Demonstrated application of financial, accounting and economic concepts.