Director of Finance (7709U) 79460 (Berkeley)

Director of Finance (7709U) 79460 About Berkeley
At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty and staff.
As a world-leading institution, Berkeley is known for its academic and research excellence, public mission, diverse student body, and commitment to equity and social justice. Since our founding in 1868, we have driven innovation, creating global intellectual, economic and social value.
We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice. Please consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles , Principles of Community , and Strategic Plan .
At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups (staff organizations). Our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. Find out more about how you can grow your career at UC Berkeley.
Departmental Overview
The Department of Ethnic Studies holds the responsibility to present, through its programming and curriculum, the critical and interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color within and beyond the United States. Since the emergence of ethnic studies as an academic field in the late 1960s, scholars have analyzed the ways in which race and racism have been, and continue to be, powerful social, cultural, and political forces and their connections to other axes of stratification, including gender, class, sexuality, and legal status. The Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley was one of the first in the nation and has produced some of the most dynamic and influential scholarship in the field. Our faculty utilize a range of humanities and social science methodologies to analyze the production and effects of race and indigeneity. Some of our faculty focus on one racial group and geographic area while others work comparatively and transnationally. Collectively our research and teaching provide a comparative framework for understanding particular racialized and indigenous groups as well as the relationships among them. The Department offers undergraduate majors and minors in Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, Chicanx Latinx Studies, Native American Studies, and Comparative Ethnic Studies, as well as a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies.
Please note: The Department of Ethnic Studies is administratively clustered with the departments of African American Studies and Gender & Women's Studies to form the AGES Cluster. Though this position FTE resides in the Department of Ethnic Studies, it supports Cluster-wide financial analysis, management, and oversight.
Application Review Date
The First Review Date for this job is: July 16, 2025
Responsibilities
Fiscal Analysis and Budget Management:

• Construct and assemble data for budgeting and decision making; develop conclusions, and present high-level summary of recommendations. Include annual resource allocation approaches, trend analysis to assess future requirements, operating forecasts and sources. Create and manage new financial/resource reports.
• Create and analyze monthly and ad hoc budget and financial reports, often generated from multiple financial systems and dashboards. Track expenses, and provide cost projections and analysis for the following: staff, faculty and temporary academic staff salaries, gifts and endowment income, revenue and endowment income, graduate fellowship funds, etc. Provide reporting as follows: quarterly budget analysis, custom Cal Answers reports, payroll exception reports, and encumbrances reports, as needed.
• Provide research and reporting for various internal department constituents including regular faculty budget reports.
• Perform reconciliation functions for AGES' non-contract and grant funds, including analyzing payroll expense reports, CalAnswers reports, L&S commitments database, and CalPlanning/Human Capital Planning.
• Oversee and maintain all department funds, resolve deficits, and manage the correction of all chartstring and allocations errors.
• Manage records and process financial transactions related to faculty hiring and retention.
• Manage unit budgets, student awards, gift and endowment funds.
• Oversee Procurement Card program.
• Maintain department commitment tracking in L&S commitments database.
• Maintain compliance with SAS 115 requirements, completing and documenting required reviews for assigned department IDs on a monthly basis.
• Supervise Finance Assistant 3.

Budget Forecasting:

• Independently gather information, analyze, develop, prepare, forecast, and summarize future revenue, expenses and financial trends for AGES. Work with faculty, the Department Chair, the Department Manager, and the Dean's Office to plan, propose and update future years budgets.
• Generate analyses for complex summaries and proposals relative to a diverse range of topics to include new financial procedures and/or services, changes to department policies.
• Analyze and forecast staff /faculty salary budgets, current and future faculty commitment allocations, gifts, endowments, or other revenue sources, in order to create as accurate a financial model as possible.
• Participate in the annual CalPlanning budget and forecast process and quarterly forecast updates.
• Coordinate with colleagues, the Dean's office, and the Campus Budget Office to enter data, run reports, and meet deadlines related to the forecast and budget processes.

Financial Control:

• In coordination with the Director of Administration and Department Chair, implement department budget allocations.
• Maintain department chart of accounts, other data management tools, and related business processes.
• Ensure that the appropriate internal controls are addressed, maintained and strengthened to protect University resources to minimize risk and to comply with legal regulations and tax implications.
• Coordinate department-wide monthly reconciliation and signs off on financial controls.
  Ensure fiscal close goals are met.
  Prepare, review, and/or approve various financial transactions, such as financial journals, BearBuy requisitions, blucard transactions, UCPath templates, IST requests, and more.

Fund Manager for Special Projects:

• Manage oversight of graduate student funding budget in collaboration with Director of Administration and GSAOs in African American Studies and Ethnic Studies; budgets funding from Block Grants, Department funds, Gifts and Endowments, Dean's Office and Graduate Division in order to maximize all available resources.
• Temporary Academic Staffing (TAS) management and oversight, ensuring that spending projections are on track and that sources of funding are reconciled each academic year.
  Collaboration and Communication:
• Act as liaison with various campus units (Berkeley Regional Services, Dean's Office, Disbursements, Account Receivables, Business Contracts and others) on issues related to purchasing, bluCard transactions, travel and entertainment, reimbursements, independent contractor, and external service agreement contracts.
  
• Advise, train, review, and coach the finance and budget related work of faculty, staff, and students throughout the department.
  
• Communicate with department faculty and staff, or external clients and vendors to resolve matters needing an escalated level of resolution.

Business Process Management:

• Provide department support in the areas of business process analysis and design, documentation, and workflow. Continuously assesses departmental financial processes to ensure that standards, fiscal control and accountability are considered.
• Recommend and implement procedures to affect various constituencies, including department, students and external vendors.
• Streamline workflows for efficiencies and high-quality service.
• Document procedures for financial activities.
• Review and update web-based tools and self-help resources. Provide training as needed to staff and create and maintain a set of departmental training resources for faculty and students.

Required Qualifications

• Thorough knowledge of finance policies and procedures supporting research and educational activities, preferably in a university environment. Familiarity with various business and financial data management and reporting systems.
• Utilize organization and prioritization skills to manage a high volume workload, balance complicated long-range projects and proposals with short-term/immediate tasks, ensure priorities and other deadlines are met, and maintain flexibility to redirect efforts when priorities change.
• Ability to independently gather required information to organize and perform complex financial analysis and customized reporting. Analyze expenditures, recognize trends, and support budget justifications consistent with funding requirements.
• Strong v