Events Financial Operations Specialist

About the role

The Events Financial Operations Specialist manages the financial operations of the Advancement Events team, including a $1M+ annual budget.

Responsibilities

• Develops annual and long-range expenditure forecasts
• Monitors and analyzes budget performance
• Reconciles financial activity
• Ensures accurate transaction coding and documentation
• Develops financial reporting and analysis to support planning and decision‑making
• Maintains a strong working knowledge of University financial policies, protocols, and systems
• Provides guidance to colleagues and divisional partners with varying levels of financial expertise
• Serves as a key liaison between Advancement Events, external vendors, and University business partners regarding event contracts and purchasing processes
• Facilitates contract review and approval, identifies and resolves issues, coordinates vendor communication
• Proactively works with stakeholders to reduce processing delays and support successful event execution
• Contributes to creating and implementing documentation to improve the Advancement Events team’s project management systems and operational workflows
• Evaluates business processes; develops tools, templates, and resources
• Trains and coaches team members
• Recommends improvements that increase efficiency

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Minimum 3 years of experience in a related field such as fundraising, banking, nonprofits, or customer service
• Minimum two years’ experience in finance and budget tracking (preferred)
• Some project management experience (preferred)
• Experience in a higher education or non‑profit setting (preferred)

Skills

• Strong organizational and planning skills with the ability to initiate, collaborate, implement, monitor, evaluate, and support strategic plans
• Experience with data management, including data collection, entry, and accurate maintenance, with output and usage in mind
• Customer service experience with a strong service‑minded philosophy
• Excellent relationship‑building skills, along with a high level of tact, discretion, and diplomacy
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to successfully interact with diverse groups
• Expertise in Microsoft and Google platforms, especially Google Calendar and email, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Proficient with audio/visual and presentation platforms (Zoom, Microsoft Teams or WebEx, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Ability to work independently with strong project/time management skills and attention to detail
• Ability to apply tact and maintain confidentiality
• Willing and able to work occasional evenings and weekends

Schedule

• Full‑time position
• Scheduled weekly hours: 37.5
• Hybrid work location
• Occasional evenings and weekends may be required