Director for Budget Administration

Job Summary The Budget and Fiscal Planning Department at CU Boulder invites applications for a Director for Budget Administration! This position reports to the Assistant Vice Chancellor. The Director serves as a primary point person for campus initiatives to provide budget expertise and represent BFP. As a Director, this position works independently on campus-facing projects while keeping the AVC informed of important developments. Primary functions of the director scope include management of the campus incentive-based budget model, facilitation of departmental budget support, and budget leadership on compensation planning for the institution. Under the management of the assistant vice chancellor, the Director implements campus wide budget allocations based on executive decisions, determines campus cost allocations, and facilitates allocation conversations. The Director links the campus vision, strategic priorities, and initiatives to action through data analysis, evaluation, implementation, and results in order to provide timely and data-driven support to their supervisor and other campus leaders. This work is achieved through strong partnerships across the university, clear understanding of the university's priorities and proactive planning that will effectively support the alignment of CU Boulder's resources with the strategic goals and core values of the organization. The Director has high-trust and collaborative relationships with campus partners and continues to build strong connections with those partners. Additionally, the Director identifies campus partners for training and relationship building efforts to ensure unit budget officers are equipped to maintain unit budgets and understand the various components of the CU Boulder budget process. CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Who We Are Budget & Fiscal Planning (BFP) partners with academic and administrative leaders, coordinates campus-wide budget and fiscal planning and identifies and facilitates the allocation of resources necessary for the Boulder campus to excel as a major educational and research university. Through collaboration, we connect ideas, resources and decisions that drive the university's success.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be Department Leadership:

Coordinate fellow department leaders to review, refine, expand, and build innovative practices that advance and grow services. Facilitate development of department-wide goals and issues management with department leaders and collaborate on forward-thinking solutions by providing a safe sounding board for ideas. Broaden department knowledge and experience by serving as back-up support to department leaders. Serve as a mentor to BFP staff and campus budget representatives, provide training as need to ensure team and campus unit representative are equipped to manage budgets. Present results-focused plans and projections to peers, supervisor, and department leadership. Translate AVC and departmental priorities into clear operational plans, deliverables, and team workflows.

Project Management and Support:

Provide leadership on budgetary and other resource planning matters, including regular review and analysis of financial information. Organize the development of material necessary to analyze, review, and support budgetary needs, discussions, and reporting including the maintenance of the campus budget model. Ensure timely distribution of financial reports to support decision-making and financial accountability at all levels of the institution. Coordinate the implementation of campus revenue sharing agreements, especially those that govern the collection and distribution of tuition revenue. Monitor institutional and department budget performance on a monthly basis and identify trends and solutions. Collaborate with appropriate budget and financial management to understand drivers of budgetary variances and to recommend actions to address budget shortfalls and other variances. Build collaborative relationships with CU Boulder colleagues and leadership in order to seek, identify, clarify, and encourage the communication of information necessary to improve processes and/or deliver project results with high degree of efficacy. Set or adhere to deadlines and assign project responsibilities to staff based on individual expertise. Prepare and present weekly updates to supervisor and prepare formal and informal reports and presentations for management. Coordinate with supervisor and other applicable departments to ensure deliverables are inclusive of input from affected units. Manage, track, document, and ensure timely delivery of cyclical, scheduled, and extemporaneous requests directed by supervisor. Review data inputs for the budget model to validate the data and ensure the budget model is accurate and clear to users Ensure alignment between budget model outputs, financial systems, and campus communications.

Cross-Department Partnerships and Engagements:

Serve as a link between centralized budget/financial analysts, supervisor, and campus constituents to define the problem/question, determine project scope, address problems, and ensure effective and timely project completion. Lead critical path and/or high-level projects and steward project members toward timely solution through the development, presentation, and interpretation of data-dense information tailored to meet the financial expertise of each audience member. Participate in job-related committees and engagements organized by partner departments, including the Campus Controller's Office, Data Analytics, Provost's Office, and Enrollment Management. Serve as BFP lead on campus-wide projects while developing modeling and analysis as needed. Provide budget expertise to critical campus projects while also serving as an individual contributor to campus conversations.

Supervision, Management, and Development:

Establish and monitor staff performance and development goals, set objectives, determine priorities, and conduct frequent coaching and annual performance appraisals. Organize and assign workflow and provide clear and direct communication to establish focus and ensure employees understand duties and delegated tasks. Monitor and manage daily activities of production; provide constructive feedback and support issue resolution. Foster teamwork and encourage open communication, curiosity, feedback, and involvement in decision-making processes. Build positive relationships with employees, provide motivational support, and nurture a work culture that challenges, respects, and engages staff. Ensure business and service continuity by identifying and assigning back-up project leads for all cyclical and major deliverables; assess knowledge gaps to coordinate training and skill development opportunities for cross-trained personnel. What You Should Know This position offers a hybrid work modality. What We Can Offer The annual salary range for this full-time position is $150,000 - $170,000. A one-time hiring bonus allowance may be available within applicable guidelines for Business, Finance and Infrastructure department. Benefits At the University of Colorado Boulder , we are committed to supporting the holistic health and well-being of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuition assistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for local transit. As one of Boulder County's largest employers, CU Boulder offers an inspiring academic community and access to world-class outdoor recreation. Explore additional perks and programs through the CU Advantage program. Be Statements Be ambitious. Be inspired. Be Boulder. What We Require Bachelor's degree from a four year accredited institution. At least four years of relevant experience within higher education budget and finance OR related experience required, including at least one year of experience supervising others. Equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute. What You Will Need Ability to foster teamwork and work cooperatively with others on a team, whether serving as the project manager, team leader, or member. Experience managing change and supporting leadership initiatives to enhance revenues, reduce expenses, and improve efficiencies. Flexible mindset, willing to listen to others and consider options and ideas that may take additional effort but have significant potential. Ability to coach and encourage team members and stakeholders—from entry-level analysts to leadership— through complex data, processes, and forms. Proactive relationship builder genuinely interested in enabling the success of others to strengthen CU Boulder's internal partnerships. Attentive and ethical communicator with excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to explain complex financial processes and reasons behind decisions customized to the audience. Thorough analytical thinker, excited and able to tackle problems through a logical and systematic approach and committed to ensuring complete, accurate, and carefully prepared documents. Forward thinker with results orientation, relying on data and institutional knowledge to forecast issues and opportunities and prepare appropriate options for numerous outcomes. Technical expertise and demonstrated depth of knowledge and skill in the field of public higher education budget modeling, including advanced skills in the use of relevant applications such as the Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook. Ability to manage and wrangle large data sets, bringing them into formats understandable by a wide array of constituents. Experience as an independent and team contributor, with the ability to identify what must be done and the initiative to address the task/issue before being asked. Self-confident and willing to take an independent position, speak truth to leadership, and professionally advocate for a position. What We Would Like You to Have Master's degree preferred. At least six years of relevant experience in higher education budget and finance preferred. Two years of supervisory experience preferred. Extensive experience with university financial modeling, rate setting and related university financial management and reporting. Special Instructions To apply, please submit the following materials: 1. A current resume. 2. A cover letter that specifically tells us how your background and experience align with the requirements, qualifications, and responsibilities of the position. We may request references at a later time. Please apply by May 28th, 2026 for consideration.

Note:

Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, please apply through CU Boulder Jobs. In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Posting Contact Information Posting Contact Name:

Boulder Campus Human Resources Posting Contact Email:

Recruiting@colorado.edu