Manager of Academic Affairs Budget and Operations

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Manager of Academic Affairs Budget and Operations

Dept/Division: Academic Affairs

Bucks County Community College seeks a financially sophisticated and detail-oriented professional to join our team as Manager of Academic Budgets and Operations. This is a new position reporting directly to the Vice President for Academic Affairs with a secondary reporting line to the Chief Financial Officer. This individual will serve as a trusted partner to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, a liaison to the CFO, a financial guide for the academic deans, and a supervisor and mentor to administrative staff across the division. This individual will manage the budget of the entire division and perform revenue, expenditure, and costs analyses to inform decisions by senior leaders. In addition, this individual will supervise and mentor the administrative support staff across the division to ensure consistency and efficiency of operations. The ideal candidate brings fluency in budget management and financial analysis, experience managing administrative systems and personnel, and the judgment necessary to handle complex financial and sensitive personnel situations professionally.

The Manager of Academic Budgets and Operations supports the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) in the management of financial and administrative functions of the Academic Affairs division and management of the Academic Affairs office.

This individual will manage the finances of the entire division and perform revenue, expenditure, and costs analyses to inform decisions by senior leaders. This will include budget preparation and allocation, enrollment-driven resource planning, analyses of costs, and preparation of reports. The position requires the capacity to work with autonomy, exercise judgment, and communicate effectively with senior leadership. This individual also will supervise the administrative staff in the division office and will mentor and guide administrative support staff across the division to build a sense of community and ensure consistency and efficiency of operations.

This position reports to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who provides day-to-day direction, sets priorities, and evaluates performance. The dotted-line relationship to the Chief Financial Officer ensures alignment with institutional financial policies, budget development timelines, and audit requirements. The incumbent is expected to maintain close working relationships with both offices and to serve as a reliable liaison between the two divisions.

Essential Functions

Budget Development and Management

Lead the annual budget development process for Academic Affairs, coordinating with deans to compile, analyze, and justify budget requests

Develop and maintain multi-year budget projections and financial models to support strategic planning and resource allocation decisions

Monitor and analyze budget performance throughout the fiscal year, providing regular variance reports and forecasts to the VPAA and divisional leadership

Manage the allocation and reallocation of divisional resources, including personnel lines, operating budgets, and capital equipment funds

Prepare budget narratives, justifications, and supporting documentation for presentation to the President, Board of Trustees, and external stakeholders

Ensure compliance with all institutional, state, and federal budget policies and procedures

Coordinate with the Finance & Budget office on budget transfers, journal entries, and year-end closing activities

Monitor divisional budget lines funded through external sources, providing expenditure tracking and financial status updates to divisional leadership

Financial Analysis and Reporting

Conduct financial analyses to inform academic program decisions, including cost-benefit analyses for new programs, course section economics, and resource utilization studies

Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting tools to track key financial and operational metrics across the division

Analyze enrollment trends, faculty workload data, and instructional costs to support data-informed resource allocation

Prepare financial reports and analyses for accreditation and institutional effectiveness initiatives

Provide cost projections and budget data to support grant proposals when requested by the Grants Office or program administrators

Provide financial projections and scenario modeling for strategic initiatives and program development

Analyze cost-per-credit, cost-per-completion, and program-level financial performance to inform decisions about program viability and investment

Track and reconcile revenue and expenditure streams associated with clinical partnerships, workforce development contracts, and dual enrollment agreements.

Operational and Administrative Leadership

Develop, document, and improve administrative processes and internal controls within Academic Affairs to enhance efficiency, accountability, and transparency.

Coordinate space, facilities, and technology requests originating from academic schools.

Coordinate equipment inventory and asset management for academic departments

Provide guidance, mentorship, training, and professional development for all administrative support staff across the division

Supervise two administrative support staff in the VPAA office, ensuring efficient, timely, and accurate functioning of the office

Serve on institutional committees and task forces as designated by the VPAA

Faculty Workload, Compensation, and Scheduling Support

Administer faculty overload, adjunct pay, stipend, and supplemental compensation processes in coordination with the offices of Human Resources and Payroll

Maintain and analyze faculty workload data, including credit-hour production, release time assignments, overload patterns, and full-time/part-time instructional ratios

Support academic deans in schedule optimization, section-fill analysis, and enrollment-driven staffing decisions.

Produce regular and ad hoc reports on instructional costs, faculty deployment, and workload equity

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in business administration, accounting, finance, public administration, higher education administration, or a closely related field.

Three to five years of progressively responsible experience in budgeting, financial analysis, or operations management, preferably in a higher education setting.

Demonstrated knowledge of fund accounting, budget development, and financial reporting practices.

Proficiency with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and administrative systems, including spreadsheet applications and data analysis tools. The College currently uses Workday as its administrative and HR platform and is transitioning to Ellucian Colleague SaaS for student records.

Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial information for non-financial audiences.

Fluency with office technology.

Preferred Qualifications

Master's degree in a relevant discipline.

Five or more years of experience in higher education finance, academic administration, or institutional research.

Working knowledge of federal financial aid regulations, accreditation standards (including MSCHE and common specialized accreditor frameworks), and grant compliance requirements.

Experience with collective bargaining agreement administration as it relates to compensation and workload.

Experience with Workday, Ellucian Colleague SaaS, or comparable higher education ERP and student information systems.

Demonstrated capacity to w