Budget Planning Analyst
The Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) is seeking a dynamic individual to join our team. OPB serves as a steward of resources and trusted advisor to University leadership to support decision-making and enable strategy.
The Budget Planning Analyst will assist in the development and execution of policies, processes, and practices in the areas of budgeting, planning, and analysis. The Budget Planning Analyst uses a collaborative and consultative approach to working effectively across stakeholder groups to address financial opportunities and challenges for the University.
Essential Duties
- Under administrative direction, serves a primary role in facilitating the development and implementation of annual all-funds budgets for assigned administrative and academic units.
- Performs work related to budget variance analysis, commitment analysis, revenue and expense forecasting, what-if scenario analysis, program evaluation, and other efforts that support administration decision-making.
- Evaluates critical cost pools and works with assigned units to identify cost saving measures, including utilities, employee benefits, debt service, and other general operating expenses.
- Builds, maintains, and updates financial models and associated financial analysis. Performs financial account reconciliations, statement analysis, and transaction research. Participates in the development of less complex mid and long-range predictive enrollment, space, staffing, and financial models that support strategic planning efforts and executive decision-making.
- Supports analysis of complex proposals led by senior departmental staff.
- Develops data-driven solutions and technical guidance to solve financial, operational, or strategic issues facing assigned units.
- Develops a strong understanding of the core functionality of Adaptive Planning, the University’s enterprise-wide budget and planning software; capable of providing technical guidance to assigned units to enhance their use of the software for budgeting, forecasting, and reporting needs.
- Ensures financial compliance with University/Board policies and procedures and applicable legal rules and regulations.
- Compares data from a variety of sources to ensure accuracy using judgment, and relying on knowledge of subject material.
- Gathers information; identifies analysis methodologies; and prepares, develops, and submits written and graphic results of the evaluation of data under the supervision of senior staff.
- Performs other duties upon request.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as Business Administration, Public Policy/Administration, Finance, Economics, or Higher Education Administration and one year of experience in budgeting, financial analysis, or strategic planning; OR, any equivalent combination of experience and/or education from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved.
Desired Qualifications
- Evidence of Master's degree in related field, such as Business Administration, Public Policy/Administration, Finance, Economics, or Higher Education Administration.
- Relevant work experience, in budgeting, financial analysis, or strategic planning, preferably in higher education.(2 years)
- Experience in using effective interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills, including the ability to speak and write with clarity and precision to obtain and convey information related to job responsibilities; comfortable in regular interactions with mid and senior- level administrators of the university.
- Experience in working independently on routine tasks and with limited, but appropriate, direction on more complex matters.
- Knowledge of strategic and financial planning/modeling principles, methods, and practices.
- Knowledge of the principles, concepts, and practices in government and university governance involving fiscal control, budgeting, strategic planning, information analysis, forecasting, reporting, and assessment.
- Demonstrated knowledge of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
- Demonstrated knowledge with Workday Financial Management System and/or Workday Adaptive Planning.
- Cultural competency skills to effectively engage with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Experience in promoting innovative thinking by bringing different perspectives and approaches together, combining them in creative ways to solve problems.
- Ability to offer customer service by actively listening, and validating others’ viewpoints.
- Ability to respect the confidentiality of others.
- Ability to develop forecast and tracking models that integrate disparate statistical and financial information.
- Ability to perform analysis of financial forecasts, budgets, and econometric trends and of the factors/items therein.
- Ability to effectively synthesize large amounts of complex detailed materials for presentation and review to varying audiences.
- Ability to identify appropriate data sources, extract and manipulate data from multiple and diverse database sources by designing, refining, and running complex data queries.
- Experience in planning and organizational skills, including the ability to successfully manage multiple, complex projects on deadline, often working with interruptions, a changing workflow, and potentially competing priorities.
- Knowledge of decision tools for budgetary analysis, such as weighted score tables, decision trees, cost-benefit analysis, activity-based costing, and sensitivity analysis.
- Ability to research, analyze, interpret, explain, and apply policies, rules, and procedures appropriately; ability to determine compliance with existing policies and established guidelines.
- Ability to take initiative, demonstrate resourcefulness, and display a sense of urgency in fulfilling commitments.
- Experience in delivering a high-quality work product, free of material error, by showing concern for all aspects of the job with a high attention to detail.
- Ability to build effective working relationships and build trust by communicating in an open manner, and following through on commitments.
- Experience in handling conflict and difficult situations in a professional way, working toward consensus.