Financial Specialist

Job Summary:

The Departments of Food Science and Nutritional Sciences seek a service oriented Financial Specialist to join our collaborative and supportive business office team. Under the Department Administrator’s direct supervision, this position serves as an essential team member providing financial support services for our faculty and staff. This position is entrusted with overseeing complex financial transactions, monitoring fund balances, and ensuring compliance with campus and UW Foundation policies, state law, and related rules and regulations.

Responsibilities will include transaction processing, employee reimbursement, procurement card site management, and other accounting functions. The position will enter, review, and assign funding strings, and approve and advise on a variety of financial transactions. In addition, they will reconcile transactions, maintain financial records including retention, and provide administrative processing support and customer services for faculty and staff. The Financial Specialist will also recommend controls and process improvements and troubleshoot complex financial errors. The position will serve as a key point of contact for financial inquiries related to campus policies and procedures while offering support and guidance.

The ideal candidate will have exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, accuracy and judgement. They will have outstanding collaboration, relationship building, and customer service skills and the ability to work independently on multiple tasks while meeting tight deadlines.

The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) is committed to maintaining and growing a culture that embraces diversity, inclusion, and equity, believing that these values are foundational elements of our excellence and fundamental components of a positive and enriching learning and working environment for all students, faculty, and staff. At CALS, we acknowledge that bias, prejudice, racism, and hate have historically occurred in many forms that cause significant and lasting harm to members of our community. We commit to taking actions each day toward a college that is inclusive and welcoming to all.

Responsibilities:

Primarily reviews, approves, and advises on a variety of complex financial transactions. Reconciles transactions. Maintains financial records, provides administrative processing support, and provides customer service for staff and customers in an assigned program area to support program financial management. Recommends controls and process improvements and troubleshoots complex financial errors. May be a lead or resource for others in the unit.

• 30% Monitors financial transactions and fund balances and generates and reconciles complex reports and statements in accordance with established rules and regulations
• 30% Reviews and approves complex transactions and assigns funding codes in accordance with established rules, regulations, and policies
• 5% Reallocates expenses to appropriate funding strings
• 5% Drafts communications and reports and maintains organization of varied records to provide administrative support within a specified work unit
• 15% Answers complex fiscal questions and provides information based on set materials and standards to various audiences
• 5% Reviews transaction processing internal controls and recommends policies and procedures
• 5% Serve as a unit liaison to leadership providing financial advice, recommendations, and financial status updates
• 5% May train staff on financial processes and best practices

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

Education:

Preferred
Associate’s Degree

Qualifications:

Work Type:

Full Time: 100%

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location. Remote work requests will be discussed at the time of hire but may not be implemented fully until after a training and evaluation period.

Appointment Type, Duration:

Ongoing/Renewable

Salary:

Minimum $50,000 ANNUAL (12 months)
Depending on Qualifications
Salary amount will depend on experience and qualifications. Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Additional benefits information can be found at: or https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/fasl.pdf

Additional Information:

Criminal Background Check may be required.
A 12-month Evaluation Period will be required.
The successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring eligibility for employment in the United States by the start of the appointment.
University sponsorship is not available for this position.

How to Apply:

Click on the “Apply Online” button to start the application process. You will be prompted to upload the following documents/application materials:

Resume (required) – Detail your educational and professional background
Cover letter (required) – Refer to your related work experience
References (required) – List contact information for three (3) references, including your current/most recent supervisor. References will not be contacted without prior notice.

It’s important that your cover letter and resume reflect your experience for this position related to the Qualifications section. Your application materials will be used during our evaluation to determine your qualifications as they relate to the job. The most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the next step of the selection process.

Contact:

Marcia Verhage
[email protected]
608-263-7033
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Official Title:

Financial Specialist III(FN008)

Department(s):

A07-COL OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES/ADM SVCS CTR/FOOD&NTR SCI

Employment Class:

Academic Staff-Renewable

Job Number:

302148-AS

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require you and your references to answer questions regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.