Academic Business Specialist

Southern Connecticut State University is a diverse and student-centered university dedicated to academic excellence, access, and service for the public good. Southern provides a supportive and welcoming environment for all members of its community through a campus wide commitment to social justice. Founded as a teacher’s college in 1893, Southern has evolved over the past century into a comprehensive public university of more than 9,000 students, offering graduate and undergraduate programs in the liberal arts and professional disciplines. It is one of four universities in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System. The University is located in New Haven, a city rich with arts and culture, and less than 90 miles from New York City and 140 miles from Boston.

The Academic Business Specialist assists the assigned college(s) with the administration and monitoring of the budget (including grants), and the effective execution of business, HR, and other administrative processes.

Position Responsibilities

Meets regularly with the dean, chairs, program directors and other college leaders to ensure budgetary compliance. Provides guidance, data, forecasting, analysis and strategic assistance as needed. Assists in administration of the college’s ongoing internal budget planning, development, compilation and publication process, and all budget monitoring and reporting systems for all funding sources.

Assists with financial analysis of academic programs and initiatives, including revenue projections for new programs, and cost-benefit analysis of proposed or existing offerings to inform academic program management, enrollment, resource allocation, and other programmatic decisions, class fill rates, instructional cost and utilization, and other needed analysis.

Confers with budget authorities to gather appropriate background information and explain budget process format, guidelines, and goals. Serves as a resource person to divisional and departmental budget managers in understanding, administering, and monitoring budgets. Creates and maintains policies and procedures pertaining to budget as directed.

Provides financial and other relevant information to college leadership on projects and initiatives that have college-wide financial impact. Helps develop solutions to achieve the strategic objectives of the college.

Assists with the training of university personnel with budget responsibilities in the use of budget documents and the process. In coordination with the budget office, creates, develops, documents, and monitors the budget process, procedures, and timeline.

In consultation with campus partners in relevant areas, provides guidance for the assigned college(s) on procurement/purchasing activities, human resources activities, inventory and facility management activities, grants management, effort certification, financial reporting, etc. Acts as point of contact between the college and central administration (HR, Sponsored Projects Administration, Budget, Provost’s Office, etc.) for problem resolution. May serve on various campus-wide committees and working groups in an effort to streamline university processes and gain efficiencies.

In consultation with campus partners in HR and finance, relays information and provides operational and procedural assistance on finance, human resources, and other administrative functions. Provides HR and finance-related reports and information internally or to campus partners as needed. Provides assistance to HR and the Provost’s office as requested or needed on a range of faculty-related administrative processes.

Develops and maintains reports from Banner, Argos, Core-CT, and other applications, as required. With assistance from budget, finance, and other campus partners, develops and monitors systems to budget and track all personnel, salary, and fringe at the department level. Reconciles records periodically as needed. Tracks and reports overload and lecturer costs at the department level.

Performs other duties related to those above which do not alter the basic level of responsibility of the position.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree, preferably in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration. Three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in the development, implementation, and management of effective fiscal and administrative procedures. Knowledge and use of MS Office applications such as Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Ability to prepare and interpret analytical reports and to research intensively on associated subjects. Demonstrated effectiveness in oral, written, and interpersonal communication. Knowledge of and experience with Ellucian Banner, Argos, and Core-CT (Oracle PeopleSoft) strongly preferred. Public budgeting experience preferred. Experience in a university setting preferred. Must be able to foster positive working relationships with individual colleagues, groups, departments, and constituencies. These requirements may be waived for individuals with comparable education, skills, and experience.