Director, Finance and Operations, Daniels College of Business

Apply now Job no: 498481
Work type: Staff Full-Time
Location: Denver, CO
Categories: Accounting / Finance, Business Operations / Services, Admin / Executive / Office Support
Division: Daniels College of Business

DU is the oldest and largest private, independent university in the Rocky Mountain Region, welcoming approximately 5700 undergraduate and 8000 graduate students to campus either in-person or virtually each year. Our students complete a rigorous, comprehensive core curriculum in addition to a deep, hands-on immersion in their technical curricula. DU is a research university with high research activity and an exceptional commitment to its students.

Denver, the Mile-High City, consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in the United States. Denver’s economy is rapidly growing and diversifying, with strengths in the aerospace, healthcare, financial tech, telecommunications, and IT-software sectors. Our region features a dry climate with 300 days of sunshine annually and surprisingly mild winters. The nearby Rocky Mountains provide beautiful views and abundant recreational opportunities year-round. The city of Denver is home to several major league sports teams, diverse neighborhoods, and strong cultural and food scenes. Situated in this vibrant metropolitan community, the University is committed to building and sustaining faculty, staff, and student body. 

With a long tradition of excellence and innovation, the Daniels College of Business prepares students to succeed in a dynamic, changing world. We are a high-achieving community of students, staff and faculty that inspires one another to think in new ways, perform at higher levels, and transform organizations and communities. Daniels is ranked among the top business schools and is the only business school in Colorado to receive rankings and recognition from BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report and Forbes. The Daniels College of Business (DCB) offers a variety of baccalaureate, graduate, PhD and certificate programs which are detailed at https://daniels.du.edu/ 

Position Summary

The University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business (DCB) invites applications for the position of Director, Business and Finance.

The DCB Director of Finance and Business Operations partners with the Associate Dean of Finance and Business Operations (AD) managing financial, human resources, and general business operations functions for DCB and directing transactional processes associated with the college’s overall budget. The director serves as a college-wide business partner and ensures all current-year transactions align with the current-year budget and supports long-term strategies. In addition, the director is responsible for working with and advising the AD to establish financial policies and procedures; developing and monitoring the colleges budget; monitoring compliance and processes in the colleges human resources; and providing financial tools and research to facilitate planning to ensure the colleges economic sustainability and growth.

The director is also vital in assisting the AD with the overall efficacy of the college’s processes and function. The position reports directly to the AD and serves to provide comprehensive support to the college’s leadership team. Additionally, this position will work closely with college stakeholders, including faculty and staff while also serving as a point of contact for transactional processes for central offices across the university. The ideal candidate will have the proven skills outlined below and the ability to oversee financial, human resources, and operational projects from inception to completion.

Essential Functions

Financial

  • Leads current year forecasting for the college and collaborates on the process with the Controller’s Office.
  • Co-Leads the future year budget development process with the AD.
  • Assists the AD with planning strategic funding and general business operations.
  • Directs the processes for analysis of salaries, departmental salaries and expenses, and other areas as directed by the AD.
  • Oversees systems for auditing personnel expenditures, ensuring departments remain within budgetary limits or allotments.
  • Acts as a signatory for transactional processes in the absence of the AD.
  • Coordinate expense/P-Card review and approval.
  • Gift and Endowment financial management as applicable.
  • Grant financial management as needed.

Human Resources/Payroll

  • Leads human resources related transactions for benefited faculty and staff in DCB, including hiring, separations, and permanent and temporary position changes.
  • Partners with the AD to manage the faculty and staff hiring processes, ensuring compliance with university and unit policies.
  • Recommends and assists the Dean and AD with creating and implementing hiring procedures.
  • Assists departments throughout the hiring process, including ensuring representation from the dean’s office business and operations group on committees for staff positions with a financial/HR component in their job duties.
  • Advises the Associate Deans, department chairs and directors in faculty and staff hiring processes, providing department chairs with direction and ensuring departmental and college compliance with hiring protocols.
  • Provides status and analysis tools and information to the dean and AD regarding faculty salaries in the hiring phase and drafts offer documents specific to each hire for the dean and the Provosts office to review.
  • Provides data and specified reports to the dean and AD as required and on an ongoing basis.
  • Ensures that DU’s values of justice, diversity, equity, and inclusivity are installed within all hiring processes and maintained through personal management practices.
  • Coordinates with and prepares analysis for college leadership and the provosts office on cyclic and ad hoc projects.
  • Assists the dean and AD with the execution of the annual merit process and serves as DU liaison for yearly performance management processes.

Operations and Supplemental Support

  • Process general ledger entries related to human resources, finance, and other transactions as needed or directed.
  • Conduct training sessions and coordinates onboarding for new staff members with budgetary and HR responsibilities.
  • Work to review the college’s business process and their continuous improvement.
  • Provides and manages backup support for essential business functions in college departments during staff vacancies.
  • Other duties as assigned by the AD.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office.
  • Ability to develop, read, analyze, and interpret general business, financial documents, and budget reports.
  • Excellent computational and analytical skills in understanding budgets, calculating payroll, and making multi-year projections.
  • Excellent ability to work independently, solve problems, provide positive leadership, and demonstrate due discretion and excellent judgment.
  • Excellent skills in conflict resolution.
  • Proven ability to work with a high level of independence, maintain confidentiality, prioritize assignments and division needs
  • Ability to conceptualize, analyze and strategize numerous budgets, financial planning and outcomes as they apply to the financial health of the division.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Seven years of experience working in a financial role with human resources a plus.
  • Experience with budget forecasting and development, financial management, and accounting oversight.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in business, accounting, or related field.
  • 3-4 years of work experience with budget forecasting and development, financial management, and accounting oversight.
  • Higher education experience.
  • Experience working with state, federal and private grants, and gifts.
  • Advanced knowledge of Banner and Concur.
  • Past supervisory experience.

Working Environment

  • Standard office environment.
  • Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate to high.
  • Noise level is quiet to moderate.

Physical Activities

  • Ability to work in front of a computer for extended periods of time.
  • Occasionally required to move about the office/campus.

Work Schedule

Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

In accordance with the University’s flexible work policy, this position is eligible to be considered for partial remote work. Further details regarding this plan will be determined with the hiring manager and are dependent on the division and team specific needs.

Application Deadline

For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) November 30, 2025.

Special Instructions

Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number:

The salary grade for the position is 13.

Salary Range

The salary range for this position is $95,000-$105,000.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Benefits

The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:

  1. Resume
  2. Cover Letter

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.

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