• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $180,000 - $200,000

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Dean for Finance, Strategy and Operations, the Executive Director for Budget and Finance assumes a leadership role in the financial, operational decision-making, and policy formation of the Law School. This position prepares and monitors the Law School?s annual operating and capital budget in the context of a multi-year financial framework; provides oversight of the Law School?s procurement, accounts payable, sponsored projects finance, and cash management functions; delivers quarterly and ad hoc financial reporting to senior leadership; and manages eight staff within the Law School Business Office. The incumbent works closely with University Finance, ensuring strong fiscal stewardship and compliance with institutional policies.

Responsibilities

Budget and Planning (35%)

• Lead development and management of the Law School?s annual operating budget and multi-year financial forecasts, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and financial sustainability.
• Develop and implement short- and long-term unit budgets, including for research centers and programs, designed to achieve strategic goals and objectives. 
• Identify opportunities to improve fiscal and budgetary operations and help managers across the School fully utilize budgeting and reporting systems and best practices.
• Develop analytics to guide decision-making and to provide a strategic view of department, center, and institute budgets as well as the School?s overall financial position.
• In consultation with the School?s academic leadership, develop financial policy related to Law School travel and business expense policies, events, faculty research support, and staffing models to ensure competitiveness against peer institutions.
• Ensure compliance with University budget submission, variance analysis, and reporting requirements; prepare presentations for leadership, Board committees, and faculty advisory groups.
• Align financial planning with enrollment management, tuition strategies, and financial aid commitments.

Reporting and Controls (25%)

• Ensure integrity of financial data through oversight of reconciliation processes and internal controls.
• Supervise financial reporting to stakeholders and external agencies, ensuring timely, accurate, and transparent information.
• Ensure propriety of balances by confirming that all assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses are accurately recorded and disclosed in conformity with University policies.
• Oversee accruals and deferrals, ensuring significant purchases, services, prepaid expenses, and deferred revenues are properly recorded.
• Oversee and review reconciliation of all accounts, including cash, bank, receivables, inventories, prepaid assets, accrued expenses, deferred income, and deposits.
• Ensure timely clearance of suspense accounts and material transactions.
• Monitor spending on funds with restrictions, ensuring compliance with donor terms, sponsored project guidelines, and grant agreements.
• Ensure compliance with University financial, regulatory, and tax policies; consult with Controller?s Office when issues arise.
• Ensure compliance with University payroll, property, equipment, and service center policies, including timely reporting of asset disposals, transfers, and damage claims.
• Oversee compliance with cash handling, credit card acceptance, bank account, and treasury policies, ensuring proper internal controls.
• Ensure adherence to Sponsored Projects Handbook requirements, including effort certification and compliance with grant terms and federal regulations.
• Enforce compliance with University?s Administrative Code of Conduct and ethical standards, including policies on conflicts of interest.
• Establish and monitor fraud prevention and detection controls, ensuring all allegations of fraud or suspected violations are reported to the Controller?s Office or General Counsel.

Procurement and Accounts Payable (15%)

• Oversee all Law School procurement and accounts payable processes, ensuring compliance with University policies and regulatory standards.
• Establish and maintain controls for purchasing, contracts, and disbursements to support operational efficiency and fiscal integrity.
• Partner with University Procurement to negotiate agreements and ensure adherence to competitive bidding.
• Implement process improvements and technologies to streamline purchasing, payments, and vendor management.

Sponsored Project Finance (15%)

• Provide financial oversight for externally funded grants and contracts.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and sponsor-specific requirements, including effort reporting, cost allocations, and expenditure monitoring.
• Develop tools and reporting structures for PIs and administrators to track sponsored project budgets and balances.
• Coordinate with the University?s Sponsored Projects Administration to ensure timely proposal submissions, invoicing, and closeouts.

Cash Management (5%)

• Oversee cash flow management, bank account reconciliations, and merchant account activities in compliance with University Treasury policies.
• Ensure internal controls for handling cash, checks, credit card transactions, and petty cash funds.

Endowment and Gift Stewardship (5%)

• Manage stewardship of restricted, endowed, and gift funds in compliance with donor terms and University policy.
• Partner with Development and Alumni Relations to develop fundraising objectives and ensure proper allocation, documentation, and reporting of funds.
• Provide oversight of spending distributions, endowment performance monitoring, and compliance with donor restrictions.
• Support multi-year gift and endowment proposals, aligning long-term resources with programmatic needs.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor?s degree required; Master?s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, or related field strongly preferred.
• At least 7-9  years of progressively responsible financial management experience, preferably in higher education or nonprofit organizations.
• Demonstrated expertise in budgeting, forecasting, fund accounting, sponsored projects, and compliance.
• Proven ability to lead teams, implement policy, and manage change using data-driven approaches.
• Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to present complex financial concepts clearly to diverse audiences.
• Must be able to work with diverse constituencies and support an inclusive work environment.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.

About Columbia University

Columbia University is one of the world's most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. It expects all areas of the university to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world.

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