Penn State Job Catalog

Additional levels that exist for this job profile can be seen below.

The defined natural career progression within or between job profiles.

Finance (F&B)

The Strategic Finance Partner serves as a trusted adviser to academic and administrative leadership, aligning financial strategy with institutional goals; provides forward-looking financial insight, supports resource allocation decisions, and drives financial planning and performance across one or more units; operates at a strategic level, with administrative and transactional finance functions fully supported by centralized finance hubs.

• Partner with budget executives and senior leadership to align financial strategy with academic, research, and operational priorities
• Lead the development of multi-year financial plans and annual budgeting processes, providing insights to support long-term sustainability and growth
• Deliver proactive financial analysis and scenario modeling to support strategic decision-making
• Provide input on labor planning and staffing models in alignment with unit goals and the academic mission (with transactional support provided by each of the finance hubs)
• Identify and lead process improvement initiatives to enhance financial effectiveness and efficiency within the unit operations
• Serve as a financial steward and advocate for strategic investment, ensuring optimal allocation of resources
• Collaborate closely with central finance functions (i.e., budget office, controller, research administration) to ensure financial integrity and policy alignment
• Serve as a change agent to promote a culture of financial transparency, accountability, and innovation within the unit(s)
• Monitor key financial indicators and communicate risks and opportunities to leadership on an ongoing basis
• Ensure compliance with policies, procedures, and restricted fund regulations/guidelines
• Keep abreast of changing regulatory requirements and organizational demands impacting research
• Support institutional initiatives, providing financial expertise to cross-functional projects and planning efforts
• Manage a team of staff including hiring, assigning work, managing workflow and deadlines, ensuring quality of service, and identifying development opportunities

Level:

– Principal Manager

Base Description:

– Manages direct reports where primary duty is the management of a working unit.

Level Summary:

– Demonstrates awareness of broad issues and management trends. Applies exemplary management principles. Evaluates impact of policy and adjusts accordingly. Ensures appropriate skills are developed and maintained within team/unit. Realigns staff responsibilities to meet desired changes. Provides administrative and policy direction. Develops and articulates broad goals. Fosters collaboration between units. Engages in written and verbal communications that reach a university-wide and/or broad external audience. Develops and implements solutions to highly complex and often controversial problems.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

– Oversees teams of other supervisors/managers
– Leads a business unit

Fiscal Responsibilities:

– Plans, forecasts, develops, and/or approves budgets
– Typically has final signature authority for business unit

Problem Solving:

– Encounters highly varied and complex problems that may have a significant impact on multiple units and/or the University
– Regularly develops creative and/or novel approaches to resolve the most difficult problems
– Creates an environment that encourages imaginative solutions to problems

Independence of Action:

– Work results are not clearly defined and may be frequently changing
– Sets own goals and determines how to accomplish results with few or no guidelines to follow
– Oversees completed work of others and is accountable for unit results
– Delegates advanced tasks to others and provides guidance to team members

Communication and Collaboration:

– Communicates with both internal and external audiences
– May represent the University externally
– Collaborates closely with team members and other leaders across the University
– Communicates a compelling vision that inspires and motivates others

• Comp Grade – 15
• Minimum – $109,300.00
• MidPoint – $136,600.00
• Maximum – $164,000.00

• Accounting information systems
• Attention To Detail
• Conflict Resolution
• Consulting
• Data Analysis
• Forecasting
• Policy analysis
• Process management
• Resource management
• Risk Management
• Stakeholder management
• Strategic thinking