"Executive Director, Finance and Administration, School of Business"

Job Description Summary

Overview
The Wake Forest University School of Business is seeking qualified candidates for the role of Executive Director, Finance and Administration. This key leadership role will be responsible for operational leadership and management of the school’s financial and administrative operations. The role serves as a thought partner with the Chief Administrative Officer to provide financial leadership and insight for the School of Business. Direct areas of responsibility include: budget planning, financial analysis & forecasting, financial operations, and supervision of finance and administrative operations team.

Job Description

This position is not eligible for sponsorship of non-immigrant or immigrant visa status through Wake Forest University. All eligible applicants are encouraged to apply.

About the Role

Essential Functions:

• Develops and maintains financial models and analysis to facilitate strategic decision-making by senior leadership.
• Effectively communicates and presents critical financial matters to the Dean, Chief Administrative Officer, and other members of the School of Business Leadership Team.
• Leads the annual planning and budget development process. Plans, drafts, and coordinates approval of the annual budget and multi-year projections, working closely with the Chief Administrative Officer and other members of Leadership. Works with department heads to prepare budgets. Monitors the approved budget through analysis of monthly budget and other reports.
• Sets the Finance and Administrative departmental strategy and manages through direct reports the school’s financial operations. Directs the daily financial management of all departments within the School of Business.
• Reviews School of Business contracts for goods and services. Coordinates with the Chief Administrative Officer, WFU Procurement, and WFU Legal Department to engage and maintain such contracts. Develops, initiates, and evaluates requests for proposals (RFP) on behalf of the School of Business for goods and services.
• Designs and presents ad hoc financial analyses to Dean, Senior Associate Deans, Chief Administrative Officer and other senior leaders, as requested; performs information research and analysis as needed for special projects, new programs, and ventures in the WFU School of Business.
• Manages use of restricted funds, tracks endowment performance, and ensures that donor terms are honored.
• Serves as School of Business liaison and partners effectively with University Financial Services, and other university-wide shared services.

Other Functions:

• Other duties as assigned.

Required Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 10+ years of related experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of standard accounting principles.
• Ability to provide operational leadership to a complex organizational structure within the University.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community; proven communication skills, both verbally and in writing; ability to convey financial concepts to non-financial professionals.
• Ability to analyze and interpret policy and procedural questions without the benefit of precedent; and make recommendations to higher management in a coherent manner with supporting arguments.
• Ability to work independently; evidence of good judgment and a high-level problem-solving skills.
• Technical knowledge of fund accounting principles, budget preparation, and fiscal management in an academic environment.
• Proficiency in Excel (template development, pivot tables, macros) and Access (creating queries and reports).

Preferred Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Knowledge of University practices, policies, and procedures.
• Knowledge of related systems (Workday, Adaptive Insights, etc.) or the ability to quickly learn the systems.
• Master’s degree strongly preferred with prior experience in Finance or Accounting in higher education.
• CPA or other relevant certification.

Accountabilities:

• Hires, trains, develops and directs finance and administrative operations staff.
• Responsible for the budget planning, financial analysis & forecasting, and financial operations of the School of Business.

Physical Requirements:
Work primarily involving sitting/standing; communicating with others to exchange information; repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands, and/or fingers; and assessing the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned.

Environmental Conditions:
Climate controlled, office setting.

Additional Job Description

About Us
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational institution dedicated to academic excellence in liberal arts, graduate, and professional education. Founded in 1834, the University is ranked among the top thirty national universities according to U.S. News & World Report. With over 5,400 undergraduates and 3,400 graduate and professional students, the student-faculty ratio is 11:1. Wake Forest is a collegiate university offering a vibrant, intellectual community with a rich cultural life, an impressive array of facilities, and a strong athletics program competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Since its founding, the University has adopted the motto Pro Humanitate, which is exemplified by a deep institutional commitment to public service and engagement with the world. For more information, visit: https://about.wfu.edu/.

Wake Forest University is located in Winston-Salem, a beautiful, mid-sized city centrally located in the Piedmont-Triad region of North Carolina. A family-friendly city with high quality schools, a wide selection of restaurants and shops, outdoor recreational activities, and numerous special events, it is known for its vibrant and thriving arts and innovation scenes. Residents enjoy proximity to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains (1.5 hours) and Atlantic beaches (4 hours), a moderate climate with four distinct seasons, and a very reasonable cost of living. Winston-Salem offers many of the amenities of a large city but with the sense of community and quality of life of a small town. For more information, visit: www.visitwinstonsalem.com.

The School of Business
The AACSB-accredited, nationally ranked Wake Forest University School of Business offers undergraduate academic programs in Accountancy, Finance, Business and Enterprise Management, and Mathematical Business as well as graduate programs encompassing the Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA, Online MAcc), Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA, on-ground and online), Master of Science in Management (MSM), and Master of Business Administration (MBA - on-ground, hybrid and online). Courses are offered at the beautiful home campus in Winston-Salem, the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center, and/or online depending upon the chosen program.

Wake Forest University continues to rank as a top school for undergraduate business education (ranked #21 by Poets & Quants for Best Undergraduate Business Programs in 2022). Wake Forest MSA students have earned the #1 CPA Pass Rate more than any other school in the past 20 years, and the MSA Program has been listed as a “Top 20 Program” by the Public Accounting Report. For 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked the part-time MBA Program #1 in North Carolina and #19 in the nation while The Economist ranked the MSM Program as #2 in Career Opportunities and #5 overall for 2021. For more information about the School of Business, visit: https://business.wfu.edu/.

Farrell Hall and the Charlotte Center
Located on the main campus of Wake Forest University, Farrell Hall is an inspiring, four-level, 130,000-square foot structure featuring state-of-the-art technology and groundbreaking design to create an environment in which faculty-staff-student engagement and interaction thrives.

Located in the heart of uptown Charlotte near some of the city’s most influential businesses, the 30,0000 square foot WFU Charlotte Center houses our on-ground and hybrid MBA Programs.

To learn more about careers at Wake Forest University, the Winston-Salem community and our other locations and entities, please visit our Career Site at https://hr.wfu.edu/careers/