Associate Director, Finance & Operations, VTSI

The Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative (VTSI) promotes STEM pathways and STEM PhD growth for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The Initiative is a $150 million effort established through a gift from the Bloomberg Philanthropies. Led by the Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Diversity and Partnerships (AVP), the VTSI is located within the Office of the Provost, which is part of Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

The Initiative is seeking an Associate Director, Finance & Operations, VTSI for this groundbreaking project. In collaboration with the AVP and colleagues across JHU, the Associate Director, Finance and Operations will be responsible for the overall fiscal and budgetary management for VTSI program activities and adjacent initiatives; lead financial planning and analysis for VTSI activities; lead VTSI data and administrative operations; and manage reporting requirements for the Initiative, all in support of the VTSI mission to nurture, mentor, and connect the exceptional talent that exists at HBCUs and MSIs for transformative impact across the nation and the globe. The Associate Director, Finance and Operations also will provide financial and administrative management of external partnership agreements made under this Initiative.

The position is a full-time role and reports to the AVP.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

Administrative Operations

• Lead administrative operations for the Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative.
• Lead operations for planning and execution of VTSI events, including those with JHU leadership, Bloomberg Philanthropies, JHU divisional stakeholders, and external partners.
• Lead strategic operations for dedicated cross-program JHU activities for VTSI supported PhD and pathways scholars and other affiliated scholars.
• Direct administrative operations for recruitment and outreach activities.
• Lead administrative management of VTSI partnership agreements.
• Work closely with VTSI staff and other JHU stakeholders to coordinate evaluation, management, and disbursement of funds to VTSI partners.
• Serve as liaison for financial and administrative operational oversight of activities under partnership agreements.
• Lead and oversee processing, review, disbursements, and financial and administrative monitoring for other external financial allocations made under the purview of the VTSI and adjacent initiatives.
• Assist VTSI leadership with hiring and human resource needs of the initiative.
• Support the central VTSI admissions operation's function.
• With the AVP, develop and revise policies and standard operating procedures for administrative activities of the VTSI, and maintain documentation.

Financial Management, Accounting & Reporting

• Coordinate and assume a leadership role in the development of VTSI budgets.
• Lead monitoring of operational budget for VTSI program activities and adjacent initiatives.
• Work with VTSI staff and other JHU stakeholders to present financial reports to Bloomberg Philanthropies and University leadership.
• Prepare and maintain complete and accurate supporting information and documents for all financial transactions.
• Develop and implement business plans that promote growth and sustainability for the VTSI and associated initiatives.
• Develop and maintain financial reports to aid in the launch and management of new initiatives and programs.
• Manage and oversee A/P and A/R for VTSI and adjacent initiatives to include creating and submitting invoices, processing payment requests and expense reimbursements, depositing checks and gift donations, sponsored projects, and ordering/procurement.
• Create and oversee management of contracts and other financial commitments.
• Ensure that expenditures for budgets are monitored and that reports are prepared to maintain balanced accounts.
• Develop tools for financial forecasting and trending to assist VTSI leadership in planning new educational programs and concurrent infrastructure needs and to improve operational and financial effectiveness.
• Analyze and interpret fiscal patterns to project future expenditures and revenue streams, when considering external partnerships for VTSI.
• Analyze complex financial data and extract relevant information across the range of JHU accounting systems and communicate necessary information to VTSI leadership.
• Collect and use data to determine fiscal year performance and accuracy of past trend prediction.
• Perform complex statistical, cost, and financial analysis of data reported in the various accounting systems.
• Use various software applications, such as spreadsheets, relational databases, statistical packages, and graphics packages to assemble, manipulate and/or format data and/or reports.
• Support the writing of the financial sections of grant proposals and support other fundraising efforts.
• Support development and maintenance of timely and accurate financial reports to the donor and JHU central administration.
• Develop, implement and ensure compliance with JHU internal financial and accounting policies and procedures.
• Interpret and review financial data to evaluate and determine financial performance and financial projects.
• Analyze budget patterns, project expenditures and prepared approved budgets.
• Determine cost and financial results of activities and improve the operational and financial effectiveness of the Initiative.
• Complete monthly and quarterly financial reporting requirements and annual budgets.
• Meet regularly with the JHU Finance Office for financial review.

Data

• Lead collection, maintenance, analysis, evaluation, and management of data that will be used in progress reports, presentations and publications to internal and external stakeholders.
• Serve as primary liaison to JHU stakeholders for data requests to support JHU partnerships with HBCUs/MSIs.
• Lead compilation and reporting on VTSI admissions metrics for primary stakeholders.
• With the Assistant Director, manage academic data metrics for VTSI scholars.
• Lead creation and maintenance of a complete database of students in the VTSI to satisfy reporting requirements.
• With the AVP and other JHU stakeholders, monitor and develop processes to assess the effectiveness of programs, analyze the results and recommend actions to better achieve desired outcomes.
• With the VTSI team, create and manage systems to track participation in VTSI activities.
• Manage program database and student records; create reports on nomination, selection, admission, matriculation, academic progress, retention, graduation, participant attendance records; fulfill approved external data requests.
• Design complex reports and assist in the dissemination of information in various formats to VTSI stakeholders.

Other

• Maintain ongoing professional expertise in all financial and administrative management areas to ensure compliance with University policies, regulations, procedures, and restrictions.
• Participate in meetings with senior leadership at JHU and external partner institutions to advance the work of the VTSI and adjacent initiatives at JHU.
• Lead operations for other key adjacent Provost Office initiatives directed at advancing graduate and professional education and graduate diversity and inclusion efforts at JHU.
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Special Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Demonstrated ability to evaluate data, identify patterns, and formulate predictions used to make recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data for budgeting, operations, and planning purposes.
• Demonstrated experience working positively and collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders, including executive leadership, faculty, students, and inter-institutional partners.
• Demonstrated ability to set priorities in a complex, fast-paced environment and represent the institution’s perspective to external entities.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Self-motivated and demonstrated success in implementing new initiatives.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Analytical problem-solving ability.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).

Note: This position will require some work outside of normal business hours and/or weekends.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Business, Accounting, or related field.
• Five years of related experience.
• Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

• Master’s Degree preferred.
• Experience with finance and administrative operations in a higher education or comparable environment preferred.
• Experience working in an environment that supports graduate programs and/or graduate students preferred.
• Experience with supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives preferred.
• Experience with data analysis preferred.
• Experience with SAP preferred.

Classified Title: Sr. Financial Project Manager 

Job Posting Title (Working Title): Associate Director, Finance & Operations, VTSI   

Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PF  

Starting Salary Range: $85,500 - $149,800 Annually (Commensurate with experience) 

Employee group: Full Time 

Schedule: Monday-Friday ;8:30 am - 5:00 pm 

Exempt Status: Exempt 

Location: Hybrid/Homewood Campus 

Department name: ​​​​​​​Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative 

Personnel area: University Administration