Executive Director Academic Financial Office

Executive Director of the Academic Financial Office

Position highlights:
The University of Arizona seeks a strategic and experienced leader to serve as its Executive Director of the Academic Financial Office. In this pivotal role, you will work closely with the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Budget & Fiscal Management Officer, the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), the Provost, and the Deans, providing financial oversight for all 20 colleges of the University.

Your responsibilities directly support the University's core academic mission, initiatives focused on student success, academic affairs, faculty and staff excellence, research, and key strategic objectives.

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), you will be a vital member of both the CFO and the Provost's administrative leadership teams. Your expertise will be instrumental in developing and implementing financial strategies for the near and long-term, directly contributing to the University's overall academic and strategic achievements. Success in this role requires a comprehensive understanding of finance, outstanding management capabilities, and a versatile professional background relevant to the nuanced financial landscape of an R1 university's central academic administration.

As the Executive Director of the Academic Financial Office, you will have significant autonomy in designing and implementing a new model for financial operations of the colleges, aligned with the University’s new budget model (Arizona Forward), eventually building and leading a team of finance professionals. You will foster a collaborative and customer-focused environment while ensuring financial goals and daily operations are aligned with CFO and Provost's vision for academic excellence and student success.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Benefits:
Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

• Lead the transition from a distributed academic financial model to a new structure that is aligned with the university’s financial structures and strategic imperatives and is managed in the CFO’s office in collaboration with academic leadership.
• Exercise direct, solid-line supervisory authority over and performance management of approximately 20 leaders/managers, fostering a culture of accountability, professional growth, and 'whole-university' thinking that transcends individual unit interests.
• Lead and inspire a distributed workforce of over 200 business and finance professionals by establishing clear standards for operational excellence, transparency, and ethical stewardship across all academic units.
• Set the cultural tone, model the collaborative behavior needed, and align the technical functions of academic business administration with the university's academic and research mission, ensuring all team members understand how their fiscal roles directly support faculty and staff success and student outcomes.
• Drive large-scale cultural change by implementing consistent, equitable practices in hiring, workload distribution, and professional development across the academic portfolio, reducing 'silo' behaviors and promoting cross-unit collaboration.
• With the support of the Office of Business Affairs and University Communications, design and execute a comprehensive internal communication strategy - including 'all-hands' interactions, functional working groups, and digital tool sets - to ensure all members of the team remain informed, engaged, and aligned with the CFO and Provost's strategic priorities.
• Continuously assess and adjust leadership roles and team structures to ensure optimal efficiency and effectiveness in achieving the financial and University-wide goals.

• Lead the development of a comprehensive suite of multi-year financial models for the colleges supporting initiatives related to areas…