Fiscal Analyst

Major Duties and Responsibilities

•    30% Coordinates data collection, data entry, validation, and data reporting associated with various required reports for the higher education system, across both operating and capital submissions
•    20% Leads and conducts financial analysis for public universities and agencies across various higher education financial policy areas, including revenue and expenditure analysis
•    20% Coordinates and performs key components of the annual operating budget development process, including collecting and validating historical data and budget requests from universities and agencies; conducting analysis; and preparing tables, materials, and recommendations for annual Board items and the Budget Book
•    20% Coordinates and conducts analysis supporting the annual capital budget development process, including review of RAMP submissions from universities and agencies, data validation, tracking, analysis, and reporting
•    5% Develops, maintains, and analyzes various institutional databases related to tuition and fee charges and student financial aid
•    5% Other duties as assigned within scope of position

Education and Experience

Required:
Any one or combination totaling four (4) years (48 months) from the categories below:
•    College coursework comparable to that in a field related to financial analysis/planning such as accounting, business administration, economics, finance, statistics, or a closely related field
•    30 semester hours equals one (1) year (12 months)
•    Associate degree (60 semester hours) equals eighteen (18) months
•    90-semester hours equals two (2) years (24 months)
•    Bachelor’s Degree (120 semester hours) equals three (3) years (36 months)
•    Master’s Degree equals four (4) years (48 months)
•    Work experience in developing financial or economic analyses, research designs, strategic plans, or data models
•    One (1) year (12-months) of professional level progressively responsible financial work experience

Preferred:
•    Knowledge of IL higher education system
•    Knowledge of IL budgeting process
•    Experience supporting a recurring statutory reporting cycle

Required Skills

•    Strong project management and time management skills
•    Proficiency in Microsoft products including Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint
•    Expert level Microsoft Excel skills: Demonstrated experience working with large and complex workbooks, proficiency in developing complex formulas and functions, conditional logic, PivotTables, reconciliation techniques, and deep analysis of large datasets, experience auditing and troubleshooting workbooks including identifying formula and data inconsistencies, validating results, maintaining data traceability, and improving data collection templates
•    Knowledge and experience in preparation and analysis of various financial reports
•    Knowledge of federal, state and university policies including accounting practices
•    Knowledge of financial systems and its relationship and interactions with other systems both internally and externally
•    Excellent interpersonal skills, with a strong focus on collaboration and teamwork; ability to build and maintain positive working relationships with all stakeholders; responds to inquiries with courtesy and timeliness
•    Skill in assessing organizations/institutions to propose improvements or take corrective action
•    Ability to prioritize tasks and functions.
•    Ability to work independently to accomplish goals.
•    Ability to design and implement solutions to complex problems.
•    Ability to exercise discretion with confidential and pre-decisional materials

Organizational Relationship

Position reports to the Director of Higher Education Finance Policy.
This position does not have any direct reports.