PAY GRADE: 35E

LOCATION: Newark/Hybrid

CONTEXT OF THE JOB:
The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) has two academic departments serving over 1,400 students and a research portfolio with $25M in annual sponsored program expenditures. CEHD houses nine centers from highly productive research units (CRESP, CDS) to high quality childcare facilities (ELC, College School, Lab School) to units providing services to the University and the State (CEETP, SSC). CEHD operates under a centralized model. The Human Resources, Contract & Grant, Information Technology and Advising functions are all centralized to provide efficient services to the College. The college employs over 300 faculty, exempt and non-exempt employees.

Reporting to the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, the Senior Business Officer (SBO) serves as the Chief Financial & Administrative Officer of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). The SBO is responsible for significant contributions to institutional planning and operational strategy development and is responsible for enhancing the internal organization processes and infrastructure in support of the College mission and that of the University of Delaware.

As the functioning Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, the SBO is responsible for the organization, direction, and management of budget and planning, facilities management, grant administration, procurement, and information technology. Operating in a complex all-funds budget environment, the SBO supports the Dean in ensuring effective use of the CEHD budget exceeding $50M annually. The SBO acts as a liaison with other University departments on behalf of the college and/or Dean.

The CEHD SBO provides service to the University though participation in the recruitment in and as a mentor to new Sr. Business Officers and other high-level positions across campus.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
Executive Leadership

• Participates in the development and implementation of CEHD’s overall strategic goals, objectives, priorities, plans and initiatives.
• Leads the development of CEHD’s finance and administration vision and strategy, with a focus on operational excellence.
• Develops and implements policies, procedures, and systems to improve efficiency across the College.
• Advises the College Leadership of financial and administrative opportunities and risks.
• Assists the Dean, Chairs and Directors in the resolution of routine and highly sensitive issues and concerns.
• Provides interim support/management for the personnel and business of various centers/units during periods of leadership transition or extended absence.
• Ensures proper internal controls are in place for all applicable administrative functions. Manages the exchange of critical information between the Dean, Chairs and Directors, staff/faculty and University support and service units.
• Provides leadership for business operations and human relations college-wide. Participates in both strategic and operational planning and decision-making regarding various programs.
• Establishes and implements short- and long-range goals, objectives, policies, and operating procedures; monitors and evaluates operational effectiveness; effects changes required for improvement.
• Develops and presents budget summaries and projections to College and University to inform the strategic activities of the CEHD.
• Oversees the Financial Services Unit and supervises the Sr. Grant Analyst.
• Oversight of the College’s grant portfolio including working with faculty and staff in grant preparation and budget management as well as serving as liaisons with the Research Office. Assigns work and special projects; monitors workload and productivity; evaluates performance and makes recommendations for personnel actions; motivates employees to achieve peak productivity and performance; promotes staff training and development, makes recommendations for internal personnel actions; aids in analyzing and resolving complex issues.
• Directs and coordinates administrative functions and enforces University policy for the college in coordination with associated university departments. In conjunction with the College HR Director, approves the employment and hiring process for full-time and part-time staff and faculty, enforcing AA/EEO policies and procedures for the college; coordinates the processing of adjunct and/or graduate assistant contracts.
• Acts in the absence of the Dean, on administrative matters; reviews, interprets, recommends, and/or implements college policies; identifies and resolves issues regarding administrative and fiscal matters; develops systems to monitor academic and administrative deadlines; regularly evaluates college administrative systems and services.
• Researches, reports, analyzes, compiles, and/or completes information for surveys and accreditation such as fiscal data, operational expenses, salaries, student profiles/assessments, enrollments, student costs, and/or curriculum.
• Serves as the initial point of contact for College-wide legal matters. Works closely with the UD General Counsel’s Office for resolving matters with potential legal ramifications.
• Oversees the College-wide implementation of systems (e.g., Concur, UD Exchange).
• Serves on various college or University committees; participates directly in the formulation of college policy, ensuring that administrative and human resources practices are in compliance with University regulations, policies, and appropriate regulations.
• Ensures that all shared-service teams function collaboratively and that they provide consistent high levels of service to all units across the College.

Chief of Staff

• Represents the Dean to senior University leaders, faculty members managers and other key stakeholders.
• Facilitates communication with faculty, staff, administrators, students, and alumni and work closely with the Dean and college leadership team to respond to a range of requests.
• Serves as senior advisor to the Dean, follows up on pending issues needing response or action, and works with the necessary staff, faculty, or administrators to execute on the Dean’s behalf.
• Creates materials necessary for meetings and ensures that presentations by the Dean are drafted and finalized.

Budget & Planning

• Oversees the management and stewardship of financial resources for all units within CEHD.
• Manages fiscal affairs of the college including budget planning, expenditure and cost analysis, procedures for expense payments, and financial projections; coordinates account reconciliation and financial reporting activities; develops systems to improve fiscal control and processing; participates in the development of new projects and/or programs; may prepare proposals for funding of equipment, remodeling, courses, or other needs of the college.
• Provides strategic consultation to the Dean on financial issues, to include financial analysis and projections, cost identification and allocation, and revenue and expense analysis.
• Analyzes, prepares and presents long-term financial and operational projections and plans.
• Identifies and assesses revenue growth opportunities for CEHD, and closely monitors and contains costs.
• Manages financial and operational risk through the development, implementation and maintenance of a comprehensive system of internal controls and associated measures.
• Ensures compliance with applicable government rules and regulations pertaining to accounting procedures and related business operations.
• Leads the College business intelligence efforts using advanced analytics software (e.g., Tableau) to create dashboards and reports to ensure that strategic decisions are data-informed.
• Reviews and approves contracts including delegated authority and external vendors.
• Liaises with appropriate University offices to ensure CEHD financial and business-related policies and practices are compliant with University goals and regulations.

Human Resources

• Collaborates with the College HR Director and University HR on management of human resources related activities for the college and adherence to policies and procedures.
• Fosters and promotes a strong culture of collegiality and respect for all.
• Stays current with applicable government rules and regulations pertaining to faculty and staff personnel matters.
• Liaises with University Human Resources and Employee/Labor Relations in faculty and staff matters to ensure CEHD policies and practices are aligned with University goals.

Information Technology

• Determines appropriate funding strategy for technology initiatives necessary to meet the teaching, administration, and research needs of CEHD.
• Leads technology governance alignment within the Dean’s Office and across the College, participating in discussion with central units accordingly.

Facilities Management

• Establishes and maintains policies and procedures affecting the operation and support of CEHD buildings and related facilities services.
• Develops and maintains an asset management system to effectively oversee space inventory and space planning within CEHD.
• Liaises with Chairs and Directors to ensure appropriate space allocation among the College units.
• Provides direct oversight for CEHD capital projects and other renovation activities.
• Liaises with University Facilities Management to ensure appropriate maintenance and upkeep of all - CEHD-assigned instructional, research, and office space.
• Responds to and represents CEHD during facilities emergencies including weather and maintenance issues.

Research Administration

• Works with the Director of Research and faculty to foster a cooperative environment conducive to obtaining funds for sponsored research and entrepreneurial activities.
• Oversees research administration operations relating to CEHD faculty as provided by CEHD’s Financial Services Unit.
• Oversees the development and implementation of procedures related to research administration matters across CEHD, including proposal development, post-award management and strategic research support.
• Stays current with applicable government rules and regulations pertaining to research administration matters.
• Liaises with University Research Office on research administration matters to ensure CEHD policies and practices are aligned with University goals.

Staff Development

• Recruits and develops a high-performing finance and administrative team.
• Sets clear objectives and success metrics for those on the finance and administration team.
• Identifies skill gaps and create development plans to address as appropriate.
• Assesses overall satisfaction across the CEHD community to ensure optimal delivery of services.
• Liaise with the College units to determine appropriate staffing is available to meet the service deliverables.
• Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Business, Finance or other job-related field and eight to ten years of progressively responsible professional management experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Higher education experience, including knowledge of university policies and procedures, accounting procedures involving procurement, travel, and/or employment preferred.
• Strategic vision and operational knowledge, with integrated planning skills and the ability to remain flexible and adaptable, revising strategies as necessary. Ability to translate vision into actionable, quantitative plans with targeted outcomes. Must be able to drive projects and plans to successful conclusion.
• Effective interpersonal, communication, and analytic skills. Ability to develop and manage key relationships and create networks of people to accomplish objectives.
• Commitment to issues of diversity and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
• Ability to adjust rapidly and effectively in a constantly changing job environment.
• Ability to gather data, compile information, and prepare reports, investigate and analyze information and to draw conclusions, perform complex tasks and to prioritize multiple projects, make administrative/procedural decisions and judgments. Ability to apply advanced techniques in spreadsheet, database, and presentation software.
• Skill in examining and re-engineering operations and procedures, formulating policy, and developing and implementing new strategies and procedures.
• Unquestioned personal and professional integrity.
• Knowledge of contracts and grants management and government regulations regarding the use of federal funds.
•  Knowledge of human resources concepts, practices, policies, procedures, and systems.