Director of Academic Finance & Strategic Planning

Mgr Finance III

This position is located on the Cornell University Campus in Ithaca, New York. You will be expected to work in Ithaca, although you may be permitted to perform a portion of your work remotely.

Note:

No Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Cornell University is a bold, innovative, inclusive, and dynamic teaching and research university where staff, faculty, and students alike are challenged to make an enduring contribution to the betterment of humanity. Cornell University is one of the largest and most diverse institutions in the Ivy League. We are a community of 22,000 students and more than 10,000 faculty and staff members representing more than 80 countries and hundreds of disciplines—global cultures, backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and ideas.

The Division of Budget and Planning supports Cornell University's academic mission and long-term sustainability through institutional budgeting, financial and strategic planning, resource allocation, and analysis. The Division is responsible for developing planning assumptions; preparing and consolidating operating and capital budgets across the Ithaca campus, Cornell Tech, and Weill Cornell Medicine; supporting space and capital planning; and overseeing institutional research, accreditation, and external reporting.

Within the Division, the University Budget Office works closely with colleges and administrative units to develop, implement, and report on the Ithaca campus operating plan. The office serves as a steward of institutional resources by forecasting revenue and expenses; providing analytical context for planning assumptions and budget policies; coordinating allocation and policy issues with senior leadership; monitoring resource use; modeling the impact of program and policy changes;

and providing specialized budget services to meet New York State (NYS) and SUNY requirements. The Budget Office also maintains budget schedules, systems, and tools, and provides training to support the annual budget development process.

Reporting to the Associate Vice President of the University Budget Office, the Director of Academic Finance & Strategic Planning is the primary financial lead for the University's decentralized Colleges and Enterprise units, responsible for strengthening the analytical depth and consistency of unit-level budgeting practices.

A central focus of this role is defining and implementing the methodologies and internal controls that govern budgeting across the decentralized landscape. This includes assessing current unit-level practices and establishing consistent methodology across the Ithaca and Cornell Tech campuses, covering areas such as fund balance reporting and future-year hiring plans. The Director's authority to guide and enforce these standards is supported by the dotted-line reporting relationship between college budget leads and the Associate Vice President.

The Director holds end-to-end ownership of Sources & Uses reporting across both Operating and Capital portfolios. While individual units develop their own plans, the Director serves as the final reviewer and approver of those submissions, responsible for ensuring every financial narrative is accurate, operationally sound, and thoroughly vetted. This includes proactively challenging unit-level assumptions and pushing for the level of analytical depth that complex institutional decisions require.

The Director leads and develops a small team of analysts while driving the process standardization and data integrity that underpin both day-to-day financial clarity for University leadership and the University's upcoming Workday Adaptive Planning implementation.

As a people manager and university leader you will model and support a culture of inclusion, belonging, and wellbeing by fostering an environment where everyone has the ability to thrive and navigate work and life's challenges because they feel like they belong and have the tools and support they need.

While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.

Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 7–10 years of progressive experience in financial management, budgeting, and resource planning. Experience in higher education or a similarly complex, decentralized organization is preferred.

Demonstrated experience assessing and standardizing financial processes across decentralized units, with a track record of implementing consistent methodologies and internal controls at scale.

Proven track record of preparing and presenting complex financial information, including Sources & Uses reporting, to senior…