Director of Financial Systems & Planning

Job Description

The Director of Financial Systems & Planning will serve in a hybrid role supporting both Finance & Accounting and Principal Gifts & Strategic Initiatives, reporting to the Assistant Vice President of Operations/Chief Financial Officer (AVP/CFO). This position will lead the change management efforts for Advancement's Workday ERP transition and system alignment, in addition to providing financial modeling, projections, and strategic support for principal gift initiatives. The Director will collaborate with stakeholders across the enterprise to enhance financial reporting, inform decision-making using data and emerging technologies, and ensure alignment with institutional priorities.

ERP Implementation & Financial Systems Alignment

• Develop and deliver Advancement-specific training on Workday financial processes and related systems.
• Assist with transitioning reporting structures using Workday-specific fields, values and data architecture.
• Support the design and build of Foundation Accounting System 3.0 (FAS 3.0), including data mapping from PeopleSoft to Workday.
• Develop, document, and create Advancement-specific Workday reports and dashboards.
• Partner with stakeholders to ensure alignment across Workday, endowment administration tool and related financial systems.
• Support organizational readiness and change management efforts leading up to and following Workday go-live.
• Leverage AI-enabled tools to enhance system design, reporting automation and user adoption of Workday financial processes.

Financial Strategy & Modeling

• Familiarize with Principal Gifts needs and initiatives
• Lead business planning and financial modeling efforts for principal gift visioning and proposal development.
• Partner with academic, clinical, or university leadership to translate vision into financially viable philanthropic proposals, including helping units identify funding needs, pinpoint costs and timing for these needs and then scaling those needs for specific philanthropic asks.
• Assess operational, capital and endowment needs associated with proposed initiatives and growth strategies.
• Conduct scenario analyses evaluating gift structures, payout assumptions and long-term sustainability.
• Produce and refine financial projections, business plans and ROI analyses to support principal gift solicitation strategies, including rapid-turnaround projects. Work with unit accounting teams to build capacity for more philanthropic partnership.
• Develop multi-year financial models and projections to support eight and nine-figure principal gift proposals and campaign initiatives.
• Utilize AI-driven analytics and modeling techniques to enhance financial projections, scenario analysis and decision support for principal gift initiatives.
• Produce and manipulate complex Excel documents for funding needs around philanthropic visions.

Financial Reporting, Data Architecture & Insight Generation

• Review and analyze quarterly and annual financial reports, including underlying data structures and rollups.
• Evaluate and enhance financial reporting processes to improve clarity, consistency and usability.
• Support the evolution of data models and reporting frameworks aligned with Workday and broader system changes.
• Analyze and translate complex financial data into actionable insights for stakeholders across Finance & Accounting and Principal Giving.

Stakeholder Engagement, Planning & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Participate in campaign visioning and principal gift proposal discussions, providing financial perspective and guidance.
• Collaborate with finance, budget, legal and operational teams to ensure alignment with institutional policies and long-term planning.
• Leverage AI-enabled tools to enhance stakeholder communication, surface insights and support data-driven decision-making across cross-functional teams.
• Facilitate communication between functional areas to support coordinated execution of initiatives and system changes.