General Summary: 

The School for the Environment (SFE) integrates the natural and social sciences, liberal arts, governance, and business to generate and apply new knowledge about the quality of our environment and the sustainable use of its resources. The Assistant Dean will serve as the School's chief financial, business, and research operations officer reporting directly to and acting as signatory to the Dean of the School for the Environment (SFE). The incumbent will be responsible for managing all fiscal responsibilities related to budgeting, needs assessment and resource allocation; all personnel policies and paperwork, recruitment and payroll-related systems for the college; and will advise the Dean regarding budgetary and personnel matters. The incumbent will be responsible for maintaining and supporting all operations within the School, including the Business Office, research, academic programs, Stone Living Lab, Nantucket Field Station, Urban Harbors Institute, Mass Bays, Living on Earth, and other affiliated institutes, and faculty support needs; and will serve as liaison between the Dean's Office, centers, and institutes, as well as major University departments (Provost's Office, HR, Controller's Office, Procurement and ORSP) on budget and personnel matters. The Assistant Dean will work closely with the Department Research Administration (ORA) Team to allow them to effectively prepare grant/contract proposals and manage all awards, while ensuring the School has the appropriate structure and staffing in place to provide all expense transactions and operational support for the research and externally funded projects of the School. The Assistant Dean will represent the college and/or Dean regarding strategies planning issues and external relations; and will manage the Deans' Office ensuring customer-focused, professional and efficient operation throughout the School.

Examples of Duties: 

Budget and Finance

• Serve as the chief financial, business and research operations officer for the School for the Environment (SFE); responsible for the compliance, payroll, accounting, planning and reporting efforts for the School including its Centers, Institutes, and satellite campus activities; develop financial control systems and provide oversight and monitoring of expenditures and resolution of problems resulting from over-expenditures; advise the Dean on budget strategies, new faculty start-up accounts and faculty development;
• Oversee the daily operational budget of the SFE and prepare the SFE spending plan and annual budget utilizing the Beacon Budget Model; work closely with the Office of Budget and Financial Planning (OBFP), the Office of the Provost and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) on various School budgets, including endowment distribution, faculty salaries and benefits, externally funded grants and centrally managed budgets; manage the budget of the college for all funds and maintain a systematic record of all college accounts; prepare fiscal and payroll projections and reports on expenditures to assist in long range financial planning for the college;
• Responsible for all budgeting and funding requirements for part-time, non-tenure track contracts;
• Manage additional compensation and course buyout processes for the College;
• Oversee year-end and quarterly close process and ensure the School's financial position is accurately reflected; follow university interim reporting requirement and approve year end and quarterly flux analysis;
• Make recommendations to the Dean for the allocation of subsidiary accounts; manage fiscal functions related to budgeting, needs assessment, resource allocation and analysis of resource use;

Personnel

• Oversee and coordinate all staff and faculty recruitment and hiring for the school; manage the faculty/staff search and hiring process to ensure that the school is following university policies and procedures; oversee the processing of all SFE human resources paperwork, as well as serve as the Dean's signatory on all SFE human resource actions; supervise and troubleshoot payroll activities, as needed;
• Supervise and lead the staff within the SFE Business Office to maintain and execute all operational tasks associated with the School's programs with specific attention on staff execution of day-to-day operational support for academic programs; maintain the Human Resources Direct and Financials electronic system, review and approve electronic personnel actions, requisitions, purchase orders and travel reimbursements submitted by department administrative staff;
• Process and maintain records of all fiscal, personnel and procurement transactions for the college and assure compliance with university and state regulations, troubleshoot payroll activities as needed;
• Hire and supervise SFE Business office personnel, including work study students; coordinate compliance with performance management program, staff evaluations and merit distribution calculations for all staff and faculty; monitor the progress of part-time faculty and coordinate and oversee the preparation of all full-time and part-time faculty contracts; ensure effective communication with the SFE DRA team.

Operations

• Serve as liaison between the SFE Business Office and other administrative offices across the university related to budget, grants and personnel matters; advise the Dean regarding budgetary and personnel matters, as needed; represent the School and its interests on new and/or revised accounting and budgeting procedures and policies; responsible for communicating such changes to the SFE community;
• Oversee the strategic leadership for the School's payroll and procurement operations; ensure that faculty and staff have appropriate access to financial information and that financial integrity is maintained in the Schools' chart of accounts;
• Conduct monthly SFE administrative meetings to provide the Dean and staff with university and/or school updates; participate in monthly Assistant Dean meetings, as well as other administrative and financial meetings as appropriate;
• Plan and manage all IT needs for SFE; collaborate and consult with the Office of the Provost regarding the school's office space needs and inventory;
• As needed, oversee SFE international safety travel for faculty, students and staff; implement travel policies and security; ensure that all required forms from the Office of Global Programs are completed and all procedures are met;
• Inform, interpret, update and implement policies and procedures of the University and train all SFE personnel on such;
• Assist the Dean on assignments/project requests and take proper actions toward completion of tasks requested for the Dean's office;
• Oversee and be responsible for college communications, including the College's web site marketing materials, social media, annual reports and other forms of alumni, community, and recruitment communication and commencement materials;
• Keep data/files/information about SFE in terms of finance, faculty, students, staff; a quarterly update a fact sheet about SFE, including topics such as publications, enrolment, school activities, budget expenditures, grants, news.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications: 

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree and a minimum of five-seven (S-7) years of experience in higher education administration, budget development/management, policy development, project management and/or human resources is required. Master's Degree in higher education administration or closely related field preferred, Experience in budget and fiscal management, accounting and personnel management is required. Knowledge of university administrative systems, policies and procedures preferred. Ability to work occasional evening and/or weekend hours, as programming requires.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience in a large-scale research university preferred;
• Extensive knowledge of university policies and procedures preferred;
• In-depth understanding of GAAP and regulatory requirements and reporting requirements, as well as how these relate to higher education preferred.
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and other standard administrative software and financial reporting and human resources systems;
• Ability to analyze data and other information utilizing and maintaining spreadsheets and databases;
• Ability to develop and interpret information through automated accounting systems;
• Ability to develop and bring to completion multiple assignments concurrently;
• Ability to work independently and to respond flexibly to changing events;
• Ability to effectively manage complex administrative situations;
• Ability to handle and uphold the confidentiality of the Dean's Office and the college;
• Ability to understand college academics programs, policies and procedures;
• Ability to interact with others in a variety of roles and positions;
• Ability to supervise the work of others;
• Strong quantitative and budget skills;
• Strong oral and written communication skills;
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the capacity to work cooperatively with a wide range of individuals;
• Strong analytical, organizational, problem solving and decision-making skills;
• Strong project planning skills;
• Strong commitment to customer service.

A.    Supervision Received:

The incumbent will report to the Dean, School for the Environment.

B.    Supervision Exercised:

The incumbent will directly supervise the Administrative Assistants I and II.

Number of non-student employees directly supervised: 2

Number of non-student employees indirectly supervised: 0

Average number of student employees supervised at any given time: 0-6. varies

Application Instructions:

Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three references. 

Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date.

Salary Range: Commensurate with experience

This is a non-union exempt position. 

All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HRDirect@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.