The Senior Director of Finance oversees all financial functions and acts as an advisor on administrative issues for the business units of Vice Chancellor for Administration and Auxiliary Services. Departments served by this position include the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Transportation & Mobility, Child & Family Centers, Conferences & Events, Bookstore, Card Services, Mail Services, Printing Services, and Campus Dining, which includes Residential Dining, Retail & Markets, Catering Services, and Athletic Concessions. Additionally, this position consolidates financial reporting and budgets for the division as a whole and directly oversees the PCI Compliance function for the University. The position provides critical support and guidance on financial matters to the Associate and Assistant Vice Chancellors and departmental directors within their area. The recommendations developed by this position are used to advise the Vice Chancellor and Associate Vice Chancellor for Administration on operational and strategic plans.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Business Unit Approvals

• Approval of all Purchase Orders and Expense Reports greater than $10,000 (including final approval for those less than $1 million)
• With Assistant Director, jointly responsible for review and submission of all journal entries to Finance, including:
  • Recognition of current portions of Deferred Revenue for Campus Dining Meal Plans and Card Services Commodore Card activity
  • Revenue and expense accruals and deferrals
  • Recording of tax liabilities into appropriate payables accounts
  • Recording commissions and liability adjustments for contract vendors
• Annual review and reauthorization of security roles within Oracle

Finance and Administration

• Principal liaison between University Finance and departments under purview
• Implement financial best practices and assure compliance with Division of Administration and university financial policies and procedures and timelines
• Prepare and deliver briefings regarding concerns, conclusions, and recommendations to the appropriate directors and AVCs
• Evaluate organizational functions and structures for optimal utilization of resources, working across department lines to develop efficient systems
• Develop financial monitoring and feedback mechanisms (e.g. dashboards and benchmarks) to monitor, assess, and direct performance efficiencies
• Monitor financial performance compared to fiscal goals, budgets, and prior years’ activities 
• Consulting and support on financial matters to departmental directors and AVCs
• Assist department heads with financial and tax implications of business decisions
• Provide financial training to departmental management and staff as needed
• Other duties as needed or assigned

Budgeting, Forecasting, and Reporting

• Oversight for preparation of quarterly forecasts & variance explanations and annual operating & capital budgets for all departments
• Oversight for financial planning, analysis, modeling, and reporting for all area departments
• Develop financial reports and analyses for presentation to department heads and institutional senior leadership 
• Develop, review, or consolidate financial information including quarterly reports, briefing reports, and salary increase data; provide financial modeling support during labor negotiations as needed
• Develop complex financial models and analyses for strategic planning and feasibility studies; analyze long-range financial impact of decisions and plans; analyze trends and set performance targets
• Provide senior management support for financial strategy, including trends, modeling, future assumptions and with a thorough understanding of each operation, its related industry practices, and benchmarks
• Oversight for financial reporting activities, including property tax, business tax, sales tax, unrelated business income tax (UBIT), liquor-by-the-drink tax, and hotel accommodation and occupancy taxes
• Prepare or oversee preparation of ad hoc reports requested by Finance or Division of Administration
• Develop capital project requests, including scope, funding and return on investment
• Monitor funds flow in operations and Capital Expenditure spend and contributions 
• Work with directors and managers to provide counsel on financial projections; assess validity of projections

Supervisory Relationships

This position does have supervisory responsibility, including three direct reports and three indirect reports. This position reports to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Administration and Chief of Operations. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field is necessary.
• Master’s degree is preferred.
• Five years of financial management is necessary.
• Highly analytical and detail-oriented is necessary.
• Advanced skills in MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) is necessary.
• Experience with Oracle ERP is preferred.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

Vanderbilt University is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.