Details
Posted: 29-Mar-22
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Salary: Open
Department: Schar School of Policy and Government
Web Announcement:
Executive Director of Finance and Operations
The Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, seeks an Executive Director of Finance and Operations who will take a leadership role to grow the funding streams of the school such that Schar has the necessary resources to continue to invest in its future.
George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason's academic and culturally inclusive environment.
About the Position:
This position will (1) seek out creative and effective ways to allocate resources and make spending decisions that most enable the Schar School to achieve its growth objectives, (2) oversee all E&G, grant, and GMU Foundation (GMUF) accounts, and (3) ensure that faculty and staff throughout the school have the financial data and wherewithal to make effective decisions. Part of the role will be helping senior leadership to conceptualize and realize a strategic vision for allocating personnel and building a team for the future. The position will need to balance strategy, day-to-day fiscal management and oversight, and training responsibilities. This position reports to Doug Goldstein, the Senior Associate Dean for Administration, will have a senior leadership role within the dean's offices, and will work closely with the Dean and with a wide group of faculty and staff throughout the Schar School and Mason more broadly. The three direct reports to the position are the Director of Human Resources & Planning, Senior Research Administrator, and Fiscal Specialist.
The Schar School and George Mason University:
The Schar School is a dynamic, fast-growing institution. Strengths include daily media hits by faculty in the nation's top newspapers, $9 million in annual grant expenditures, and over $1 million in annual funding for PhD students. Enrollments of incoming master's students increased by 60% in Fall 20; enrollments of incoming undergraduates increased by 22% in Fall 21. Our 62 tenure-line faculty currently serve over 2,000 students on the Arlington and Fairfax campuses. Much of the work of the school is interdisciplinary, and area strengths include immigration policy; illicit trafficking and trade; healthcare within the criminal justice system; AI equity and policy; and national intelligence and security.
George Mason University was named the top young university in the United States in the Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings. Mason is Virginia's largest public research university, the largest producer of tech talent in the State, and the 25th most diverse public university in the country.
Responsibilities:
1. Strategic Planning
- Work closely with the Sr. Associate Dean for Administration and serve as a member of the leadership team of the Schar School in conceptualizing, developing, implementing and tracking long-term goals and plans, including growth projections and financial objectives to meet larger strategic goals;
- Propose ways to allocate funds and investments so as to maximize growth opportunities for the School; and
- Help to design the workforce for the future, including determining hiring needs, fostering inter-office collaboration, providing team members with growth opportunities and pathways, and promoting collaboration and community in a hybrid work environment.
2. Oversight and management of E&G, grants, and GMU Foundation Accounts
Oversee day-to-day management of the Schar School's budgets, including but not limited to:
E&G
- Develop, manage, and track E&G annual operating budgets at the School level and for various units/faculty within the School;
- Prepare detailed analysis of budget, including variances and projections, at various points throughout the year;
- Ensure that all Schar units/employees are effectively using, managing, and reconciling their own budgets;
- Ability to discuss aspects of the budget, with a wide variety of people within the Dean's Office, the Schar School, and Mason, in a clear and comprehensible manner;
- Develop and maintain appropriate internal controls for Schar School finances and fiscal policies;
- Ensure compliance with Federal, State, and University policies and procedures; and
- Responsible for oversight and management of workflow for all fiscal activities.
Pre- and Post-Award Research Administration
- Provide necessary inputs to OSP and faculty members when they develop budgets for proposals to be submitted. Assist others in a timely and proactive way, enabling them to oversee and manage the pre-award process;
- Create processes and policies to ensure most effective use of grant funding;
- Provide oversight and support of research grants and financial management for compliance with sponsor, university, state, and federal guidelines;
- Set up accounts for awards and coordinate with OSP to arrange subawards and make necessary payments to subcontractors and consultants;
- Review and approve funding for personnel reallocations and track project cost-share and PI effort requirements;
- Review awards that are projected to be overspent and work with PI to mitigate financial risk; and
- Manage reconciliations for PI review and approval. Ensure annual payroll certifications are reviewed, verified by PI, and submitted to OSP.
GMU Foundation
- Track and ensure that GMUF accounts are being spent appropriately, as to maximize their impact and to facilitate future gifts while also complying with gift agreements and all university and foundation rules and policies.
Contracts
- Review all proposed contracts prior to submission to central procurement.
3. Professional Development of Schar Community
- Through ongoing consultation and support, ensure that senior leadership of the School fully understands the budget, how it can be used most effectively, potential financial risks facing the school, costs and benefits of various initiatives, and creative ways (from a financial perspective) of approaching and addressing challenges; and
- Provide staff and faculty throughout the Schar School with an understanding of the budget enabling them to maximize growth opportunities and do their jobs effectively and efficiently. This will require many one-on-one conversations as well as joint training sessions.
4. Communication and Collaboration
- Effectively communicate short- and long-term fiscal data, objectives, challenges and opportunities with wide range of stake-holders within Schar and within the broader Mason community, including Fiscal Services, Budget and Planning and the Provosts Office; and
- Collaborate with offices within Schar and within the broader Mason community to respond effectively to challenges, take advantage of opportunities, and achieve short- and long-term fiscal goals.
Required Qualifications:
- Master's degree in finance, accounting, or related field, or equivalent work experience;
- Experience with managing budgets and finances in a university setting;
- Demonstrated experience in preparing, monitoring, reconciling, and analyzing past, current, and future budgets;
- Understanding of or experience with revenue and cost allocation models;
- Knowledge of accounting principles; and
- Deep understanding of federal and university grants management accounting politics and procedures.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with Elucian Higher Education Banner and Microstrategy software; and
- Advanced financial/accounting degree preferred.
Salary: Commensurate with education and experience.
Location: Arlington, VA
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About George Mason University
George Mason University is a public, comprehensive, research university established by the Commonwealth of Virginia located in Northern Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. Mason was initially founded as a branch of the University of Virginia in 1949, and became an independent institution in 1972. George Mason University is an innovative and inclusive academic community committed to creating a more just, free, and prosperous world.
George Mason University has 37,000 students from all 50 states and 130 countries and a residential population of more than 6,000 students. Mason is a vibrant and dynamic community of scholars. 80% of our students are employed within six months of graduation. Nearly two-thirds of the 140,000 Mason alumni live and work in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Mason is a young university that, in just a short time, has made impressive strides in size, stature and influence. Today, as Virginia’s largest public research university, we are setting the benchmark for a bold, progressive education that serves the needs of our students and communities. To that end, we have 10 schools and colleges devoted to a variety of study.
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...re Mason students for the demands of work, social responsibility, and life in an ever-changing global society. University Life's mission statement is core to our work. We support every student at Mason, from orientation through graduation.
George Mason: Patriotism Personified.
George Mason, for whom our university is named, was one of the greatest of the founding fathers of the United States. Mason drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which became a model for the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.
We Are in Virginia. But We Serve the World.
Mason is committed to creating a more just, free and prosperous world. Located in one of the most important political, economic and intellectual hubs in the world, we accept our responsibility to serve others: to help our students succeed, enrich the life of our community, and contribute to solving some of the most complex global problems of our time.
Washington, D.C.: Land of Opportunity.
Mason’s main campus is in Fairfax, Virginia, just 15 miles outside of Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital is easily accessible by car or public transportation.
At Mason, you can enjoy the best of both worlds: a beautiful wooded residential campus and outstanding college experience, as well as numerous internship and recreational opportunities that only a world-class urban setting like D.C. can offer.
You can intern with National Geographic or the Justice Department, visit the numerous museums with your Art History classmates, take a selfie in front of Lincoln Memorial, catch a Nationals baseball game, kayak along the Potomac, or check out the many neighborhoods where you’ll discover lots of great shopping, places to eat, art galleries, music venues, and much more. You can attend events and hear nationally recognized speakers. You’ll run out of time before you run out of things to do.
There’s more to explore. Students participate in a field trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., organized by the Office of International Programs and Services.
In just a short drive, you can be hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains or walking the boardwalk in either Ocean City, Maryland, or Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Our closest airports are Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan National Airport, and Mason is easily accessible by public transportation. Free shuttle buses help you get to the nearest Metro station in Vienna, Virginia, just a short distance from our Fairfax Campus. The Arlington Campus is within walking distance of the Virginia Square-GMU stop on the Orange Line.
Enriching Work Environment.
We will invest in recruiting, retaining, and developing talented and diverse faculty and academic and professional staff. We will create a vibrant campus life in which all members can grow and thrive.
Diversity.
Diversity is one of our core values; everyone is welcome here. Mason was recently named the most diverse university in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report.
We bring together a multitude of people and ideas in everything that we do. Our culture of inclusion, our multidisciplinary approach, and our global perspective makes us more effective educators and scholars.
While at Mason, you’ll be making your own decisions and forming your own view of the world. Engaging with diverse groups of individuals, including students, faculty, and staff, will enrich this experience. You will learn from them, and they will learn from you.
We have a variety of communities here, and you're sure to find a group of people who are like you. The great thing is you'll also be embraced by communities of people who are not like you. At Mason, you'll be in a place where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Interacting with people from a variety of backgrounds will:
•Widen your outlook of the world,
•Show you how to work and collaborate with people of differing views,
•Expose you to new perspectives from people with disparate life experiences, and
•Give you the social skills to interact with all kinds of people.
Diversity also enhances learning and creative thinking by prompting the study of new material and the awareness of fresh viewpoints. The power of many perspectives will boost your capacity to explore original ideas and solutions. Seeing issues in a new way heightens your creativity and problem-solving abilities.
Another benefit: As our nation becomes more diverse, students who learn in a diverse environment will be more competitive in an increasingly global economy. You’ll enhance your critical thinking skills and improve your ability to develop nuanced solutions to real-world problems.
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Our venues bring world-class performances to the community through vibrant concerts and events. Community members are invited to take part in many artistic and cultural offerings at Mason. Spaces are also available to rent for your next event.
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