Manager, Financial Support

**Classification & Regular Hours**: Hours per Week: 35 Salary Grade 15: $69,180 - $81,370; commensurate with experience **About Western**: Since 1878, Western University has been committed to serving our communities through the pursuit of academic excellence and by providing students, faculty, and community members with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social, and cultural growth. We seek excellent students, faculty, and staff to join us in what has become known as the "Western Experience" - an opportunity to contribute to a better world through the development of new knowledge, new abilities, new connections, and new ways to make a difference. **About Us**: The mission of the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) is to support Faculties and programs in providing high quality, innovative graduate programs, attracting high quality graduate students and postdoctoral trainees, and expanding graduate education and graduate professional development at Western. The professional staff serve as a comprehensive resource on graduate matters, accountable to all graduate programs and students. **Responsibilities**: The Manager, Financial Support leads the strategic administration of graduate student funding, ensuring equitable, transparent, and effective allocation of internal and external awards in the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS). This role is instrumental in advancing Western’s reputation for graduate excellence by optimizing funding opportunities, enhancing student success, and ensuring compliance with institutional and external funding policies. The Manager is responsible for maximizing funding opportunities for graduate students and administering a complex process for graduate student funding and awards across the entire graduate student population. Reporting to the Director of Administration, this role ensures the development and implementation of effective strategies, policies, and processes for scholarships, fellowships, and donor awards. The Manager oversees the financial support team in SGPS, ensures accurate student records, and collaborates with various stakeholders to enhance the financial stewardship and support mechanisms offered by SGPS. This role plays a pivotal part in maintaining Western’s competitive standing among Canadian research institutions. By overseeing millions in annual funding and leading a team dedicated to financial support, the Manager ensures that graduate students receive timely, fair, and impactful financial assistance. The role also contributes to donor stewardship, policy development, and system optimization, aligning financial support with institutional priorities and student needs. **Qualifications**: **Education**: - Undergraduate degree in Business Management/Administration, Finance, Public Administration, or relevant field - Graduate degree preferred **Experience**: - 5 years of progressive experience in financial administration and/or with student funding within a post-secondary institution - Experience managing staff and projects - Experience managing internal/external scholarship programs at a post-secondary institution is preferred - Experience working with donor-funded awards, including stewardship and reporting preferred - Experience in policy development, process improvement, and cross-functional collaboration is preferred - Experience using data and metrics to inform decision-making and improve service delivery preferred Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: - Familiarity with Tri-Council and provincial funding programs (e.g., Vanier, NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR, OGS) would be an asset - Advanced computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite and with financial systems and student funding platforms (such as PeopleSoft, student information systems) with the ability to train others in system usage - Knowledge of financial systems, policy interpretation, and organizational operations in a post-secondary environment - Knowledge of general office procedures, best practices for assessing, developing and implementing new business processes and procedures - In-depth knowledge of financial budgeting and principles, Human Resources principles and practices, Employment Standards Act and other relevant legislation - Knowledge of best practices in building a strong collaborative team and leading people - Project management skills to champion a project from conception to completion, and to ensure that team roles are clear, milestones are communicated and deadlines are met - Ability to organize and effectively manage financial and human resources needed to achieve results - Strong leadership skills with the ability to develop a shared vision to lead and coach employees to excellence - Results-oriented with the ability to motivate and coach employees to meet high performance standards, while working effectively as a member of the leadership team - Ability to quickly re-allocate resources and adjust priorities in response to unexpected events or chang