Senior Director, Financial Business Intelligence

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Posting End Date

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

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At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

The Senior Director, Financial Business Intelligence provides strategic leadership to the University's finance business intelligence unit and is accountable to establish a financial data analytics centre of excellence (COE) within the VPFO portfolio. This will include being responsible for the overall strategic leadership of the new unit and the COE while establishing a financial data driven culture across the University. In addition, this position is responsible for providing data analytics expertise to the VPFO's Comptroller team, ensuring that all strategic priorities are effectively executed and integrated to transform both VPFO and Comptroller organizational capabilities.

The Senior Director is responsible for transforming the financial business information to develop business strategy to maximize VPFO and Comptroller operational performance and achieve UBC's financial priorities. This role is critical to the VPFO and across Faculty's and Administrative units in creating new paths on their financial transformational journey to achieve organizational success over the next 10 years.

In supporting the University's Comptroller, the position will be responsible to advance the mission and vision of the University's budgeting, financial management and reporting. UBC's annual budget totals $3.5 billion in revenue in excess of four million transactions recorded annually and total assets over $6.0 billion.

Organizational Status

The Vice President Finance and Operations (VPFO) portfolio provides strategic leadership and support for UBC's academic vision through financial and operational management excellence and is accountable for the stewardship of UBC's physical and financial assets. Reporting to the Comptroller and working closely with the VP, Finance and Operations, this role is responsible to develop strategic partnering across the VPFO functions and with other key stakeholders of administrative functions across UBC to optimize VPFO financial data capabilities.

The Senior Director is part of the Comptroller leadership team, which is responsible for the strategic leadership of the VPFO portfolio. This position will work closely with:

• Vice Presidents, Associate Vice-Presidents, Deans

• Comptroller

• Treasury

• ED, Risk Management Services

• AVP, Finance and Operations, UBC Okanagan

• Senior Directors, Managing Directors, Directors, Program/Project Leads

Work Performed

Financial Data Intelligence

• Responsible for the VPFO data analytic centre of excellence leading the financial digital transformation to improve analytics and data driven decision-making

• Ensures that the COE achieves its mandate of responsibility with respect to excellence in performance management and reporting, financial reporting and data analysis and insights.

• Leads the strategic development of the VPFO financial data strategy and business intelligence practices to be in alignment with the VPFO's strategic vision, priorities and governance.

• Identifies opportunities for improvement for data analytics, data architecture and governance, BI tools and facilities the implementation strategy across VPFO

  • Oversees the financial data analytics COE to utilize data analytics ensuring its capabilities to extract insights, identify trends, and enhance decision-making within the finance domain.

  • Provides oversight for the development and implementation strategy of forecasting models, levering historical data for predictive analysis, and automate budgeting processes where possible.

  • Ensure effective design, implementation, operation, and management of financial data system, metrics and reports to ensure meaningful qualitative and quantitate analysis of key financial business priorities;

  • Provides leadership to the COE in the design and delivery of financial intelligence dashboards and metrics for the University to inform strategic decision making and planning.

• Establishes and develops strategy for key financial and strategic performance metrics for the VPFO.

Financial Data Governance and Financial Data Integrity

• Responsible for financial data governance practices and policies development to champion the proper utilization of financial data information throughout the University

• Assesses existing financial data governance, reports and infrastructure to make recommendations on potential business intelligence, policies, initiatives, and resourcing; ensures appropriate leadership, supports and technology are in place to execute these initiatives

• Ensures effective capability in data and information management capability across the VPFO and the finance functions within the university

• Responsible for adoption of best practices of the University's financial data quality, security and compliance with data regulations

• Collaborates with UBC IT and other departments to continually develop financial data governance best practices.

Team Leadership:

• Oversees, Leads, develops and maintains a strong and motivated team within the finance business intelligence unit

• Responsible for talent development, coaching, mentorship and career path development of assigned staff.

• Performs other duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

This position encompasses the leadership of and management of financial business intelligence risks for the VPFO and the University.

The position is critical to the success of the University in that it has accountability for the finance data strategy of the institution. The consequences of decisions could result in cost overruns, reputational, and legal exposure.

Supervision Received
Reports directly to the Comptroller. Under broad direction partners with key stakeholders to develop and implement financial strategies, initiatives and tactics.

Supervision Given
Leads a team of managers and specialists in business intelligence.

Minimum Qualifications
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one's own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one's own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's/Master's degree in business (accounting, finance), data science, management, information systems, statistics, computer science or a related field

• MBA, CPA or relevant designation/certification

• Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience including management or leadership experience or combination of education, training and experience.

• Tertiary education sector experience highly preferred.

• Experience in the following is highly preferred: strategic planning and execution, application development and SDLC

• Consulting skills, with change management concepts and strategies, including communication, culture change and performance measurement system design preferred

• Advanced knowledge of data lifecycle management standards and practices

• Knowledge of data governance practices, business and technology issues related to management of Finance data assets

• Knowledge of Finance data architecture and solutions, in particular, as they relate to government regulatory requirements, emerging trends and issues

• High level experience with data mapping and ETL solutions

• Knowledge of End-to-end life cycle of implementing reporting datawarehouse / datamarts, reporting packages and self-service analytic solutions

• In depth knowledge of business intelligence and data visualization solutions

• Corporate performance management suite of applications (consolidations, budgeting/planning & forecasting, enterprise cost allocations)

• Expert level of knowledge of project and change management, methodologies, techniques, processes

• Knowledge or resource management tools

Demonstrated Experience:

• Models strategic thinking to support an agile, accountable, respectful, teamwork environment. Specifically leads the way at the VPFO executive table to ensure the VPFO acts as one team for the University.

• Responsible for the leading, mentoring and performance management of the team through enhancing roles to ensure development and retention of highly skilled staff; building additional resources with considerations of consolidating resources from other areas; and continuously evolve professional financial support services, practices and standards;

• Mature judgment, ability to handle appeals, and make decisions under time-constraints, managing risk and uncertainty, multi-tasking to set priorities.

• Demonstrates professional tact and diplomacy at all times.

• Understanding of the larger strategic needs of the university.

• Works collaboratively and inclusively, fostering equitable experiences and a respectful environment for all faculty, staff and key stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to build, manage and maintain high-quality and productive relationships across professional and cultural differences.

• Extensive experience in preparing and presenting information at the Board and Executive level to assist in decision making.

• Excellent interpersonal skills to effectively represent issues and options to the campus community.

• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills, emphasizing listening, and negotiating; bargaining, compromising, and conciliation; ability to exercise tact and discretion; ability to work successfully with internal and external partners and stakeholder groups.

• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate and interact with empathy, understanding and, respect of diverse and divergent perspectives and behaviors.