Finance Manager

5676

The University of San Diego, an engaged and contemporary Catholic institution, was founded by the Diocese of San Diego and the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1949. Governed by an independent board of trustees since 1972, USD remains committed to a liberal arts education grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition and the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. Inspired by this centuries old tradition of Catholic higher education, the University welcomes people of all faith traditions and any, or no, religious background. The future success of USD relies on the contributions of those who seek to foster the development of engaged global citizens and an earnest confrontation of humanity’s urgent challenges.

This is a part-time, temporary, non-benefit position with an anticipated end date of June 30, 2027. The appointment is renewable at the discretion of the University and dependent upon performance and continued funding. 

Under the general guidance of the Assistant Dean of Finance and Strategic Management, the Finance Manager oversees the fiscal operations of the Knauss School of Business to support student learning and faculty achievement. The Manager provides fiscal guidance to unit leaders and is responsible for an assigned portfolio of discretionary, restricted, endowed, gift, and grant-funded accounts, with primary responsibility for grants and/or gift funds, as assigned. The position exercises independent judgment in interpreting university policies, approving financial transactions, ensuring compliance with expenditure and procurement requirements, and supporting contract and agreement review processes. The Manager proactively identifies and resolves issues, handles confidential matters, and collaborates extensively with Knauss faculty, staff, administrators, and key campus partners to ensure sound financial stewardship and operational effectiveness.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Expenditure Oversight:

• Budget authority to independently approve Knauss School of Business expenditures, including reimbursements, OneCard expenses and payment requests.
• Uses independent judgment and knowledge of unit operations when reviewing and approving expenditures.
• Monitors university, state and federal expense policies to ensure compliance with administrative and financial policies and procedures and to safeguard fiscal resources and reduce risk.
• Ensures that fund restrictions on grants and gift accounts are adhered to when resources are utilized.
• Reviews all University expenditure requests including OneCard expenses, out-of-pocket reimbursements requests and payment requests for proper documentation, alignment with mission and, if within budgetary threshold, provides approval.
• Manages the submission of all requests to Accounts Payable and/or Procurement.
• Provides lead oversight of the Concur Travel and Expense platform, proactively identifies issues and provides suggestions to the Assistant Dean and, if applicable, the Finance Office.
• Designs and implements systems and processes to ensure proper coding and tracking of discretionary expenses.
• Collaborates with internal colleagues in order to train, inform and streamline expenditure procedures and processes.
• Implements and upholds budgetary organizational strategies and policies.
• Independently manages the fiscal aspects of internal initiatives including but not limited to faculty research funding efforts, strategic grants, extracurricular student opportunities, professorships, etc.
• Answers general fiscal inquiries regarding status of funding resources, outstanding payment requests, policies and procedures.
• Troubleshoots problems, makes recommendations, and handles highly confidential matters and materials with complete discretion in a time-sensitive environment.

Financial Recordkeeping:

• Ensures timely and accurate financial information, to monitor accounts and resolve problems, to ensure compliance and to safeguard resources and reduce risk.
• Conducts monthly discretionary audits of all Knauss School of Business accounts including operating, restricted, endowed, grant and club accounts and takes appropriate action to correct errors and discrepancies.
• Provides assistance in year-end fiscal reporting by auditing posted revenue and expenses, tracking and managing deadlines and, as needed, completing journal entries.

External Contract Administration:

• Centralizes and streamlines the independent contractor review process with Compliance.
• Works directly with the Office of General Counsel to review, draft, implement and cancel contractual agreements with external constituencies.
• Ensures signature authority policies are adhered to.
• Provides training to School of Business personnel regarding external contract administration topics including but not limited to signature authority policies and procedures, general counsel review process, use of DocuSign, etc.
• Handles contract details with confidentiality and diplomacy.

Travel and Purchasing:

• Educates and trains academic unit colleagues on purchasing best practices, which includes but is not limited to purchase order thresholds, competitive quote requirements, and vendor assessment.
• Initiates, streamlines and manages Knauss School of Business requisitions and purchase orders.
• Oversees and manages all school-wide blanket purchase orders.
• Main delegate for Concur Expense and Travel; oversees personnel training and utilization, unit implementation and analyzing usage reports to identify cost saving opportunities and efficiencies.

Other:

• Reviews information with discretion and diplomacy, in the strictest of confidentiality.
• Communicates extensively with Assistant Dean, faculty, staff and other campus colleagues and constituents.
• Works collaboratively with other Finance and Administration department employees.
• Other duties as assigned.

Background check:  Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Degree Verification Requirement: Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university with preference given to Business and/or related field of study.
• 5 years of progressively responsible experience working in budgeting, finance, accounting, and/or related field.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Masters degree in Business and/or related field of study from an accredited college or university.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in higher education budgeting, finance and/or accounting positions.
• Proven ability to collaborate with individuals of diverse backgrounds.

Performance Expectations - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated experience in finance and budget management.
• Proficiency and comfort with technology.
• Familiarity with Microsoft applications with intermediate to advanced Excel skills.
• Experience working with Concur Expense, Concur Travel, Oracle applications including Banner, Noetix and iProcurement, as well as WorkDay.
• Working in an institution of higher education.
• Performing in a changing technological environment and being able to learn quickly and adapt and reinvent procedures according to change.
• Interacting with the professional community.
• Presenting materials and training personnel.
• Clearly articulating policies and procedures.
• Using independent judgment to take appropriate action on inquiries.

Demonstrated performance in:

• Entrepreneurial mindset, self-motivated, and efficient.
• Working in an office setting managing budgets, accounting procedures, and tracking systems.
• Ability to assume responsibility and effectively resolve problems by exercising independent judgment in meeting challenges and implementing procedures.
• Excellent organizational and management skills.
• Ability to focus on technical details in an environment with many distractions.
• Ability to shift tasks easily.
• Ability to shift mental tasks from the minute and technical to interpersonal and creative at any given moment.
• Attention to detail and the ability to multitask while also working with minimal supervision.
• Serving as a collaborative team member with the ability to handle confidential information with tact and discretion.
• Exercising self-initiative and creativity.
• Working in a busy environment with high customer service standards.
• Maintaining a high level of accuracy developing work products and reports.
• Functioning with a high degree of autonomy.
• Time management and organization of multi-tasking work requirements.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Working with diverse personalities and backgrounds.
• Being flexible and versatile in coping with evolving work situations.
• Being able to handle the stress of last-minute deadlines and changes.

$37.50 - $45.00 per hour

In addition, the Knauss School of Business offers a hybrid option for those positions that can complete some work remotely.

The salary range provided in this posting reflects what we reasonably expect to pay for this position.  Actual compensation offered or earned is dependent on experience, education and other factors including departmental budget.

Click the 'Apply Now' button to complete our online application. In addition, please upload a cover letter and resume to your application profile for the hiring managers’ review.  If you have any questions or difficulties please contact the Employment Services Team at jobs@sandiego.edu.

20 Hours per week

Closing date: September 7, 2026

Note: External job postings will be up for at least three days. After that time, applications will be reviewed by the hiring manager/committee throughout the posting period. A candidate may be selected at any time which could then close this posting on a date earlier than listed.
The University of San Diego is a smoking and tobacco-free campus. For more information, visit www.sandiego.edu/smokefree.