Director of Finance (7709U) #77985

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty and staff.

As a world-leading institution, Berkeley is known for its academic and research excellence, public mission, diverse student body, and commitment to equity and social justice. Since our founding in 1868, we have driven innovation, creating global intellectual, economic and social value.

We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice. Please consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles, Principles of Community, and Strategic Plan.

At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups (staff organizations). Our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. Find out more about how you can grow your career at UC Berkeley.

The Department of Ethnic Studies holds the responsibility to present, through its programming and curriculum, the critical and interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color within and beyond the United States. Since the emergence of ethnic studies as an academic field in the late 1960s, scholars have analyzed the ways in which race and racism have been, and continue to be, powerful social, cultural, and political forces and their connections to other axes of stratification, including gender, class, sexuality, and legal status. The Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley was one of the first in the nation and has produced some of the most dynamic and influential scholarship in the field. Our faculty utilize a range of humanities and social science methodologies to analyze the production and effects of race and indigeneity. Some of our faculty focus on one racial group and geographic area while others work comparatively and transnationally. Collectively our research and teaching provide a comparative framework for understanding particular racialized and indigenous groups as well as the relationships among them. The Department offers undergraduate majors and minors in Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, Chicanx Latinx Studies, Native American Studies, and Comparative Ethnic Studies, as well as a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies.

Please note: The Department of Ethnic Studies is administratively clustered with the departments of African American Studies and Gender & Women's Studies to form the AGES Cluster. Though this position FTE resides in the Department of Ethnic Studies, it supports Cluster-wide financial analysis, management, and oversight.

The First Review Date for this job is: May 20, 2025

Fiscal Analysis and Budget Management:

• Construct and assemble data for budgeting and decision making; develop conclusions, and present high-level summary of recommendations. Include annual resource allocation approaches, trend analysis to assess future requirements, operating forecasts and sources. Create and manage new financial/resource reports.
• Create and analyze monthly and ad hoc budget and financial reports, often generated from multiple financial systems and dashboards. Track expenses, and provide cost projections and analysis for the following: staff, faculty and temporary academic staff salaries, gifts and endowment income, revenue and endowment income, graduate fellowship funds, etc. Provide reporting as follows: quarterly budget analysis, custom Cal Answers reports, payroll exception reports, and encumbrances reports, as needed.
• Provide research and reporting for various internal department constituents including regular faculty budget reports.
• Perform reconciliation functions for AGES' non-contract and grant funds, including analyzing payroll expense reports, CalAnswers reports, L&S commitments database, and CalPlanning/Human Capital Planning.
• Oversee and maintain all department funds, resolve deficits, and manage the correction of all chartstring and allocations errors.
• Manage records and process financial transactions related to faculty hiring and retention.
• Manage unit budgets, student awards, gift and endowment funds.
• Oversee Procurement Card program.
• Maintain department commitment tracking in L&S commitments database.
• Maintain compliance with SAS 115 requirements, completing and documenting required reviews for assigned department IDs on a monthly basis.
• Supervise Finance Assistant 3.

Budget Forecasting:

• Independently gather information, analyze, develop, prepare, forecast, and summarize future revenue, expenses and financial trends for AGES. Work with faculty, the Department Chair, the Department Manager, and the Dean's Office to plan, propose and update future years budgets.
• Generate analyses for complex summaries and proposals relative to a diverse range of topics to include new financial procedures and/or services, changes to department policies.
• Analyze and forecast staff /faculty salary budgets, current and future faculty commitment allocations, gifts, endowments, or other revenue sources, in order to create as accurate a financial model as possible.
• Participate in the annual CalPlanning budget and forecast process and quarterly forecast updates.
• Coordinate with colleagues, the Dean's office, and the Campus Budget Office to enter data, run reports, and meet deadlines related to the forecast and budget processes.

Financial Control:

• In coordination with the Director of Administration and Department Chair, implement department budget allocations.
• Maintain department chart of accounts, other data management tools, and related business processes.
• Ensure that the appropriate internal controls are addressed, maintained and strengthened to protect University resources to minimize risk and to comply with legal regulations and tax implications.
• Coordinate department-wide monthly reconciliation and signs off on financial controls.
  Ensure fiscal close goals are met.
  Prepare, review, and/or approve various financial transactions, such as financial journals, BearBuy requisitions, blucard transactions, UCPath templates, IST requests, and more.

Fund Manager for Special Projects:

• Manage oversight of graduate student funding budget in collaboration with Director of Administration and GSAOs in African American Studies and Ethnic Studies; budgets funding from Block Grants, Department funds, Gifts and Endowments, Dean's Office and Graduate Division in order to maximize all available resources.
• Temporary Academic Staffing (TAS) management and oversight, ensuring that spending projections are on track and that sources of funding are reconciled each academic year.
  Collaboration and Communication:
• Act as liaison with various campus units (Berkeley Regional Services, Dean's Office, Disbursements, Account Receivables, Business Contracts and others) on issues related to purchasing, bluCard transactions, travel and entertainment, reimbursements, independent contractor, and external service agreement contracts.
  * Advise, train, review, and coach the finance and budget related work of faculty, staff, and students throughout the department.
  * Communicate with department faculty and staff, or external clients and vendors to resolve matters needing an escalated level of resolution.

Business Process Management:

• Provide department support in the areas of business process analysis and design, documentation, and workflow. Continuously assesses departmental financial processes to ensure that standards, fiscal control and accountability are considered.
• Recommend and implement procedures to affect various constituencies, including department, students and external vendors.
• Streamline workflows for efficiencies and high-quality service.
• Document procedures for financial activities.
• Review and update web-based tools and self-help resources. Provide training as needed to staff and create and maintain a set of departmental training resources for faculty and students.

• Thorough knowledge of finance policies and procedures supporting research and educational activities, preferably in a university environment. Familiarity with various business and financial data management and reporting systems.
• Utilize organization and prioritization skills to manage a high volume workload, balance complicated long-range projects and proposals with short-term/immediate tasks, ensure priorities and other deadlines are met, and maintain flexibility to redirect efforts when priorities change.
• Ability to independently gather required information to organize and perform complex financial analysis and customized reporting. Analyze expenditures, recognize trends, and support budget justifications consistent with funding requirements.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to collaborate with team members, present instructions and updates to stakeholders, and communicate financial data and modeling in a clear, logical, and concise manner to target audience.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and effectively interact with people across cultures, ranges of ability, genders, ethnicities, races, and other areas of difference.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to develop and maintain cooperative professional relationships with employees at all levels of the organization and work collaboratively with individuals and groups to incorporate their ideas and adapt to their needs. Customer service focus across broad and diverse subject areas.
• Maintain independent and sound judgment, and exhibit a high degree of integrity.
• Develop original ideas to solve problems.
• Leadership skills to provide guidance, coaching and mentoring to professional and support staff.
• Ability to gain knowledge and understanding of internal control practices and their impact on protecting University resources.
• Competence in the use of common software suites (MS Office, Adobe, and Google) and other common desktop/web applications used for complex financial analysis, fiscal management, and financial reports. Strong Excel skills including pivots, filtering, and advanced formulae.
• Proven ability to adapt to changing priorities.
• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.

• Master's degree in finance or accounting, CPA, or other related advanced education in fiscal management or accounting

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $80,000 - $106,800.

• This is a 100% full-time (40 hours per week), career position that is eligible for full UC benefits.
• This position is exempt and paid monthly.
• This position is eligible for up to 25% remote work. Exact arrangements are determined in partnership with your supervisor to meet role responsibilities and department needs, and are subject to change.

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. For more information about your rights as an applicant, please see the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission poster.

The University of California's Affirmative Action policy.

The University of California's Anti-Discrimination policy.