Senior Financial Analyst, Financial Planning and Analysis

About the role

The University of Chicago seeks a Senior Financial Analyst to support University-wide decision support through financial planning and analysis. This role will assist with financial planning and analysis, benefit management, and budgeting processes.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a member of the finance team and supports the University’s finance leadership in short-term and long-term strategic decisions.
• Develops and maintains financial reporting tools and analysis for evaluating the University’s financial performance, financial plan, strategic projects, and financing transactions.
• Assists in the preparation of materials for Board meetings, including Financial Planning Committee.
• Partners with the Office of Human Resources to develop the annual budget for University-wide staff benefit expenses.
• Delivers ad-hoc reporting and analysis as needed to support finance and treasury operations.
• Communicates and collaborates with stakeholders across the University to drive forward execution and tracking of strategic initiatives.
• Coordinates the development of the Finance and Administration budget.
• Reviews and reports on Finance and Administration budget, expenses, and actual performance in accordance with overall budget.
• Establishes and coordinates the overall budget for Finance and Administration.
• Leads the analysis of the benefit rate approved by the federal government and prepares the annual calculation for federal approval.
• Performs year-end close out of the staff benefit pool and related analyses.
• Develops, monitors, and analyzes a consolidated annual and intermediate budget plan and budget process.
• Works mostly independently and serves as a financial strategy and modeling contributor.
• Acts as a trusted advisor and recommends improvements on financial strategy and situation.
• Collaborates to create the long-term financial model to reflect the strategic priorities.
• Guides budget administrators to help ensure the integrity of financial analysis and planning.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will have experience in higher education finance, working with finance, accounting, and/or legal teams, proficiently using financial models to guide strategic decision-making, and efficiently partnering across an organization to complete high-priority assignments.

Qualifications

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in a related field.
• Knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
• Undergraduate or master’s degree in a STEM, business, accounting, or economics field is preferred.
• Familiarity with GAAP financial statements.

Skills

• Fluency in using Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
• Strong quantitative skills and demonstrated fluency with financial concepts, financial forecasting, and/or modeling experience.
• Familiarity with employee benefits concepts.