Business Manager; Director of Finance & Planning

Position Overview

The Director of Finance & Planning (DFP) serves as the fiscal administrative officer for the School of Law. The DFP has overall responsibility for financial reporting, financial analysis, budgeting, and preparation and review of the organizational budget for the School. The DFP serves as the fiscal liaison between the School and other University financial offices, is the principal adviser to the Dean on all budget and financial matters, and collaborates with the Dean on developing strategic planning that furthers the goals of the School in relation to the University as a whole.

The DFP also supports budget preparation of grant applications and plays a key role in developing strategic financial plans for budgeting, cash management, forecasting, risk management, and financial analysis.

• Provides overall financial leadership and planning in the management of all funding sources available to the School of Law, the Wheat Law Library, the Office of Admissions, the Office of Career Services, Douglas County Legal Aid, Moot Court, and other units within the School.
• Ensures the School follows State and University policies and procedures, and coordinates strategic reviews of resource allocation to ensure funds are directed toward strategic initiatives of the School and the University.
• Prepares and develops annual operating budgets, analyses of carry forwards and reserve balances, and an all‑funds budget model.
• Reviews and authorizes state and private payments to verify appropriate funding sources are used and that funds are not overspent or underspent.
• Manages annual budget requests from internal units, summarizes requests for the Dean, and distributes approved budgets to units.
• Assists Associate Dean with developing the summer school budget and analyzes various profit/loss scenarios; develops and provides lecturer budget for the School.
• Coordinates activities related to the University’s general research fund (GRF), summer research, and publication/presentation awards; performs all University budget collection processes (BCP) and transfers following the KU Budget Office’s procedures and deadlines; consults with KU’s Budget Office, Comptroller Office, and other units on funding and policy issues; assists principal investigators (typically faculty) with the appropriate expenditure of grant funds.
• Provides consultation and reviews significant purchases.

• Audits financial activities, payroll processes, and internal controls to verify that the School follows state and/or endowment policies and procedures.
• Advises the Dean on various financial matters and significant budget issues; serves as key contact for all University audits; reviews and reconciles various state and private funds to OAC (KU’s departmental executive management information system) and One Solution (endowment online accounting system).
• Provides detailed budget reports to various units and the Dean on a regular basis; compiles financial data for annual ABA Questionnaire, ABA Foreign Summer Programs, US News, and other reports as requested.
• Coordinates fiscal, human resource, and grant transactions for the School with Shared Service Center staff; provides funding and reports to the SSC and serves as a liaison between School personnel and the SSC staff; reviews services performed and assists SSC staff in identifying opportunities to create efficiencies.
• Attends budget, payroll, and other financial meetings held by the university, KUCR, and endowment; performs other duties as assigned.
• Responsible for reviewing and approving all financial transactions through FITC, One Solution, and Concur.

• Coordinates funding for all appointments in the School including faculty, staff, and research student hourly.
• Provides consultation to Dean, library, and other directors regarding payroll and/or personnel issues.
• Coordinates job postings and obtains official approvals for all temporary lecturer hires and related pools; communicates and oversees hiring processes with SSC personnel.
• Oversees payroll documents and monitors the accuracy of appointments,…