Financial Administration Specialist

Department

ARTS & SCIENCES; DEAN (BL-ARSD-IUBLA)

Department Information

The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest academic unit at Indiana University Bloomington. It is composed of 40+ departments, 50+ Centers, Programs, and Institutes, while also including the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture and Design, the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and The Media School. Faculty in the College teach over 50 percent of the Indiana University (Bloomington) credit hours and the College occupies about 1.3 million square feet of space in 80+ buildings on the Bloomington campus.

Job Summary

Department-Specific Responsibilities

• Serves as a key administrative and financial operations lead within the College Finance Office.
• Responsible for overseeing personnel transactions, instructional budgeting, and financial compliance activities across the College.
• Ensures accuracy and adherence to University and College policies through the review and approval of faculty, staff, and hourly appointment transactions, while actively managing instructional budgets and supporting faculty hiring and recruitment processes. It plays a central role in Budget Construction, financial reporting, and account reconciliation, partnering closely with other in the Executive Deans Office, College Enrollment Management, and departmental staff to align resources with academic needs.
• Supports strategic financial planning efforts and contributes to the development and implementation of College policies, procedures, and systems.
• Oversees and approve academic faculty, staff, and hourly appointment transactions, ensuring accuracy and compliance with university and College policies and practices.
• Manages payroll processing for Deans Office units, including biweekly timesheet audits, voucher approvals (biweekly/monthly), payroll adjustments, and employee support to resolve timesheet errors.
• Serves as backup payroll processor for all other College units as needed.
• Manages and monitors instructional budgets using enterprise and College-specific systems, including auditing faculty FTE, leaves, course buyouts, and non-core instructional appointments.
• Leads coordination of Visitor, Adjunct, and Academic Overload budgeting, partnering with Enrollment Management to align hiring and instructional needs with funding.
• Plays a central role in Budget Construction, including entering and validating salary data, managing staffing changes, and ensuring alignment with KFS and campus guidelines.
• Serves as fiscal officer for a limited portfolio of accounts, including monitoring transactions, reviewing financial activity, and assisting with budget tracking.
• Partners with the Deans Office and departments on general fund faculty hiring, including position setup, budgeting, and tracking of recruitment activity.
• Monitors and manages financial compliance activities, including NIH Summer Salary Cap tracking, course buyouts, and related fund transfers.
• Performs monthly reconciliation and financial reporting for College accounts, and generate auxiliary reports to support leadership decision-making.
• Serves as a key point of contact for the College Finance Office, managing shared communications (COLLBUD) and contributing to the development of policies, procedures, and financial systems.

General Responsibilities

• Applies knowledge to accepted procedures and standards, performs financial and administrative tasks related to managing the daily and long-term financial and/or administrative operations of an organizational unit or an academic, research, and teaching department within a school or college.
• Makes recommendations on policies and guidelines for division/department activities.
• Monitors expenditures and statement of accounts to ensure regulatory compliance and fiscal integrity.
• Manages general appropriation, endowment, federal and non-federal grants and contracts, and gift funds.
• Develops, plans, and makes recommendations on special projects, which may include space allocations, staffing, equipment purchases, and long-range plans.
• Prepares operating and project budget drafts independently and/or in coordination with other finance staff. Regularly explains financial concepts to non-financial employees.
• Monitors division/departmental budgets and resolves or recommends resolutions for any significant deviations from approved budgets.

Qualifications

Combinations of related education and experience may be considered. Education beyond the minimum required may be substituted for work experience. Work experience beyond the minimum required may be substituted for education.

EDUCATION

Required

• Bachelors degree in finance, business, or related field.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Preferred

• 2 years of relevant administrative work experience, preferably in a higher education environment is preferred. Fiscal or accounting experience is also a plus.

SKILLS

Required

• Proficient communication skills.
• Maintains a high degree of professionalism.
• Demonstrates time management and priority setting skills.
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality.
• Possesses flexibility to work in a fast paced, dynamic environment.
• Seeks to acquire knowledge in area of specialty.
• Intermediate understanding of technology; experience using electronic platforms to perform various tasks.
• Demonstrates experience solving problems with independent thought.
• Proficiency in computer systems, including standard Office software; advanced Excel and database skills, including familiarity with complex formulas and Pivot Tables.
• Ability to use standard office equipment such as phone, fax, scanner, etc.
• Experience managing workflows, processes, and/or data entry.
• Intermediate accounting skills; ability to spot obvious errors; ability to develop a budget.
• Demonstrates ability to interpret and apply concepts and policies to daily work functions.
• Ability to clearly present material and make it accessible to a variety of audiences.
• Ability to interpret financial documents from an accounting, policy, and practice perspective.

Preferred

• Knowledge of IU policies, procedures, and systems, including HRMS, KFS, SIS, IUIE, ELVIS, ELVIRA, PeopleAdmin, etc. is preferred.
• Strong analytical skills are required.
• Attention to detail, the ability to set priorities, and excellent problem-solving skills are critical.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are required for working collaboratively and strategically within a shared space.
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of business operations and process improvement required.
• The ability to train, present, and explain financial information and processes to non-financial audiences is essential. Must be able to lead and manage multiple departmental projects at once, managing competing priorities and deadlines.

Working Conditions / Demands

This role requires the ability to effectively communicate and to operate a computer and other standard office productivity equipment. The position involves sedentary work as well as periods of time moving around an office environment and the campus. The person in this role must be able to perform the essential functions with or without an accommodation.

Work Location

Bloomington, Indiana

Advertised Salary

$53,000 - $55,590 annualized wage (paid monthly)

Benefits Overview

For full-time staff employees, Indiana University offers a wide array of benefits including:

• Comprehensive medical and dental insurance
• Health savings account with generous IU contributions
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• Basic group life insurance paid by IU
• Voluntary supplemental life, long-term disability, critical illness, and supplemental accidental death & dismemberment insurance
• Base retirement plan with generous IU contributions, subject to vesting
• Voluntary supplemental retirement plan options
• Tuition subsidy for employees and family members taking IU courses
• 10 paid holidays plus a paid winter break each year
• Generous paid time off plans
• Paid leave for new parents and IU-sponsored volunteer events
• Employee assistance program (EAP)

Learn more about our benefits by reviewing the IU Benefit Programs Brochure.

Job Classification

Career Level: Core

FLSA: Exempt

Job Function: Finance

Job Family: Financial Administration

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Posting Disclaimer

This posting is scheduled to close at 11:59 pm EST on the advertised Close Date. This posting may be closed at any time at the discretion of the University, but will remain open for a minimum of 5 business days. To guarantee full consideration, please submit your application within 5 business days of the Posted Date.

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Equal Employment Opportunity

Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer and provider of ADA services and prohibits discrimination in hiring. See Indiana University Notice of Non-Discrimination here which includes contact information.

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