Partner, Finance (Senior Financial Analyst)

The Finance team at the University of Calgary is currently seeking a Full-time Regular Partner, Finance Services.

Reporting to the Associate Director, Finance Services, the Finance Partner plays a key leadership role in the delivery of financial services to their assigned Faculty or Unit. The incumbent is responsible for supporting all aspects of the planning, budgeting and forecasting for their Faculty or Unit, in compliance with the university's policy framework. The position has comprehensive financial and budgetary responsibilities that require independent and sound judgment and decision-making ability in a complex environment.

This position involves an ability to manage multiple and often conflicting priorities, simultaneous deadlines, and a rapidly evolving environment. The incumbent must work well under pressure and be able to communicate effectively with all levels of the institution and with external stakeholders.

This key position coordinates the delivery of financial services to the Faculty or Unit stakeholders while adhering to and promoting internal control and best practices and policies. The Finance Partner is responsible for ensuring that all planning, budgeting, forecasting, monitoring and ad-hoc reporting responsibilities are delivered in compliance with policies, rules and regulations of the University, as well as other legal and accounting requirements.

The Finance Partner is responsible for coordinating the preparation of the Faculty or Unit's annual operating budget, monitoring and analyzing the actual financial results, and supporting accurate and insightful forecasts and variance analysis.  The incumbent will develop expertise in the institutions various software applications, and be able to present information in varied formats tailored to the audience, in order to facilitate understanding and support improved decision making.

The incumbent will work in partnership with process owners to continuously evaluate financial processes and procedures within the Faculty or Unit, making recommendations  for improvements and implement University processes and policy changes where necessary.

Position Description

Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):

• Act as the primary contact in the Faculty or Unit for all finance and accounting related activities
• Ensure management is appropriately apprised of all budgetary and financial issues affecting the Faculty or Unit
• Work in partnership with stakeholders to continuously seek to improve financial processes and procedures within the Faculty or Unit by working with the financial process stream owners
• Coordinate the Faculty or Unit's comprehensive annual planning and budget preparation process and review to ensure alignment and integration with the university's overall strategy and plans (e.g. Business Plan, Research Plan, Academic Plan, Enrollment Plan, etc.). Conduct quarterly updates as required
• Lead the preparation of the Faculty or Unit's operational forecasting and planning process, including regular budget-to-actual variance analysis and forecast
• Develop proposals and business cases as required for new initiatives, and continuously review existing activities for process improvement and sustainability
• Participate in and make contributions to the financial community  to review business processes and related requirements, introduce best practices, evaluate financial performance, and provide ongoing feedback for team and individual training and development opportunities
• Serve as a conduit to share the Faculty or Unit's perspectives and ideas to integrate into institutional level planning, policy and procedure development
• Support the Faculty or Unit's resource allocation decision making process (including financial, personnel, capital, information technology, etc)
• Assist with training and education team members in the Faculty or Unit on accounting, business process, budgeting, process and planning issues
• Stay current on trends and approaches to financial management and processes through continued professional development
• Lead all month/quarter/year end financial activities within the Faculty or Unit in accordance with the institutions policies and procedures
• Provide a wide variety of ad hoc reporting and financial analysis to enable timely and effective decision making within their Faculty or Unit

Relationship Management

• Through significant interaction and collaboration with internal and external partners and participants, influences the direction of strategies and initiatives related to Financial Services
• Creates and builds strategic and operational plans to deliver the vision for Finance within client environment
• Actively develops close partnerships with key client stakeholders, Financial Function Leader and service providers as well as other University of Calgary departments including Information Technology, Human Resources, Communications and operational management
• Fosters and builds collaborative, supportive relationships with assigned clients

People & Resource Management

• Recommends the strategic use of Finance resources in providing the most effective and efficient delivery of financial services
• Participates as a member of the Finance Partners Management team
• Provides input into the Faculty or Unit business plans to determine resource requirements

Change Leadership  

• Ability to initiate, implement and support new or modified approaches, practices and processes in the organization
• Continually analyzes the change process and makes necessary adjustments to maximize effectiveness

Risk Management

• Contributes to an environment that fosters quality improvement and a culture of safety, dignity and respect for staff
• Commits to continually improving health and safety performance through promotion of culture supporting hazard assessment, risk management, incident identification, reporting and correction, and compliance with applicable regulations, policies, and safe work practices

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Professional accounting designation (CA, CMA or CGA) with a related University degree, and/or an MBA
• 7+ years work experience in various accounting functions including, budgeting, and financial analysis
• Supervisory experience and the proven ability to provide direction and leadership to staff
• Excellent communicator with superior skills in building and maintaining productive and supportive working relationships
• Proficient user of computer software applications, including large integrated enterprise resource planning systems, data warehousing and business intelligence tools, and spreadsheets
• Knowledge of not for profit accounting, and a strong understanding of university structures and operations
• An equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and abilities can be acquired will be considered

Application Deadline:  July 9, 2019. Applications must include a cover letter.

We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.

Additional Information

This position is classified in the Professional Career Band, Level 3 of the Management and Professional Staff Career Framework.

To find out more about management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary and all we have to offer, view our Management and Staff Careers website.

About the University of Calgary

The University of Calgary is Canada’s leading next-generation university – a living, growing and youthful institution that embraces change and opportunity with a can-do attitude. Located in the nation’s most enterprising city, the university is making tremendous progress on its Eyes High journey to be recognized as one of Canada’s top five research universities, grounded in innovative learning and teaching and fully integrated with the community it both serves and leads. The University of Calgary inspires and supports discovery, creativity and innovation across all disciplines. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their professional success while they are here. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, however preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.