Finance Specialist

Business and Finance Shared Services (BFSS) is a specialized unit within the University of South Florida's Office of Business and Finance. Our mission is to empower USF's success by performing accurate and efficient transaction processing guided by a steadfast commitment to compliance and process enhancement. BFSS serves as a "trusted partner" to the university community, providing expert support in areas such as travel, purchasing, PCard, contracts, accounts receivable, and USF Foundation transactions.

By operating as the university's "easy button," our teams leverage their collective expertise to streamline financial workflows, ensure rigorous adherence to the separation of duties, and navigate complex approval channels. This collaborative approach optimizes resource management and ensures fiscal stewardship, allowing USF's colleges and units to focus on their core missions of student success, research excellence, and community engagement. BFSS strives to be a national model for innovation, collaboration, and effective data-driven decision-making in higher education financial services.

The Finance Specialist I serves as an entry-level professional and trusted financial services partner within the Business and Finance Shared Services (BFSS) department. Dedicated to mastering university financial operations, this role functions as a subject-matter expert in-training, leveraging a structured Canvas-based curriculum and hands‑on experience to ensure all transactions are processed with the highest standards of efficiency, accuracy, and policy compliance.

Under the guidance of a supervisor, the incumbent performs professional‑level exploratory work to facilitate a "smooth journey" for financial requests through the university's complex approval channels. As a key link in the university's separation of duties framework, the Finance Specialist I reviews request packages for completeness, ensures alignment with funding source intent, and prepares documentation for official university and Foundation oversight.

Operating under the "easy button" philosophy, the Specialist is responsible for becoming a process expert in 1-2 primary focus areas while proactively supporting USF's mission of student success and research excellence through innovation, collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to continuous improvement.

• Primary Requirement: Bachelor's degree in finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field; OR
• Equivalency (SB 1310): A high school diploma and four (4) years of directly related professional experience in financial services, business administration, or a similar field.
• Senate Bill 1310
  - The Florida Senate (https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1310) is conditional upon meeting all employment eligibility requirements in the U.S.
  SB 1310:
  Substitution of Work Experience for Postsecondary Education Requirements
  A public employer may include a postsecondary degree as a baseline requirement only as an alternative to the number of years of direct experience required, not to exceed:
  (a) Two years of direct experience for an associate degree;
  (b) Four years of direct experience for a bachelor's degree;
  (c) Six years of direct experience for a master's degree;
  (d) Seven years of direct experience for a professional degree; or
  (e) Nine years of direct experience for a doctoral degree
  Related work experience may not substitute for any required licensure, certification, or registration required for the position of employment as established by the public employer and indicated in the advertised description of the position of employment.
  Minimum Qualifications that require a high school diploma are exempt from SB 1310.
• Experience: 0-2 years of…