Job Description

The Assistant Director of Finance at the Virginia Tech National Security Institute will play an integral role within the finance team, performing complex financial analysis and forecasting, overseeing business operations, and ensuring fiscal and business compliance for purchasing, travel, payroll, and internal controls. This position involves supporting the implementation of university-adopted business systems, monitoring fiscal activities for compliance, and streamlining and documenting business processes. Additionally, the Assistant Director will focus on enhancing decision-making and adopting best practices in accordance with university, state, and federal guidelines. This role will contribute to the design of advanced data visualization tools and dashboards to provide actionable insights to VTNSI leadership and stakeholders for the analysis of business data and trends.

In coordination with the Program Management Office, this role will manage the process of Level of Effort (LOE) funding, manhour and financial reporting, the planning, allocation, and tracking of seed funding, payroll transactions, and personnel activity reports (PARs).

The Assistant Director will support critical decision-making and collaborate closely with the Director of Finance and division directors to coordinate finances, personnel support, carryover, and annual NSI budget allocations. This role involves supervising fiscal staff, overseeing daily task execution, and managing a large financial portfolio. Additionally, the Assistant Director will assist the Program Management Office and division directors in managing operating and salary funds, staying informed of relevant issues within the divisions and bringing them forward for discussion. Emphasizing teamwork and a high commitment to customer service, the Assistant Director will foster a collaborative environment while effectively supervising the fiscal staff.

Required Qualifications

- Master’s degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, or related field, or a Bachelor’s degree with significant training and/or experience equivalent to an advanced degree.
- Demonstrated experience in budgeting and finance in higher education, including fund accounting, budgeting, payroll, and accounts receivable.
- Demonstrated experience in developing and optimizing businesses.
- Strong analytical skills; ability to conduct research, perform complex calculations, analyze accounts, and create reports.
- Previous supervisory experience with demonstrated leaderships skills.
- Proven independent judgment, initiative, discretion, problem-solving skills, and the ability to learn necessary software; strong communication skills; ability to work collaboratively and independently.
- Proficiency with office software suite, such as spreadsheets, presentation, and word processing.
- Understanding of and commitment to proper financial ethics and internal controls.
- Ability to cultivate positive working relationships, foster teamwork, and support collaboration.
- Commitment to and experience in promoting diversity.
- Due to the nature of work conducted in the organization, the successful candidate must be a US Persons (US Citizen or Permanet Resident)

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with large enterprise-wide systems processing travel, generating financial resports, procurement, and payroll activities.
- Familiarity with federal and nonfederal regulations and guidelines in a university or research funding agency.
- Professional designations such as Certified Research Administrator (CRA) or Certified Federal Contracts Manager (CFCM).
- Experience developing process solutions and best practices.
- Ability to handle ambiguity and adapt to change.