Manager, Housing Finance

Overview:
The Manager, Housing is accountable to the Director of Housing to provide financial analysis, management, and strategic planning support to the department head, managers and key stakeholders across campus and within the Department of Housing and Residences. This role will analyze operational and strategic initiatives to ensure that the financial activities meet or exceed the university’s financial policies, procedures and objectives while ensuring that the residence program is set up to maximize value for students living in residence.

**This role is contingent on funding.**

**Responsibilities**:
Financial strategy and long-term planning
- Provides financial analysis in support of current and long-range planning, including but not limited to the department’s budgetary commitments related to special projects, new staff appointments, capital expansion and major renovations
- Provides an overall picture of the financial performance of the department
- Prepares multi-year projections of the department’s financial position, identifying concerns and potential solutions to bridge funding gaps
- Identifies financial consequences of long-term plans and proposals to facilitate effective strategic decision-making
- Identifies financial consequences in changes to enrolment/streaming patterns and their effect on residence occupancy
- Provides financial input including financial documentation to senior management and campus partners to support of decision-making

Financial planning, management and control
- Develops, improves, and promotes strong internal financial controls
- Ensures the department adheres to the university’s financial policies and procedures
- Conducts periodic audit and review of financial resources and procedures in the department to ensure financial accountability
- Exercises signing authority, as outlined in university policy, on all departmental operating accounts
- In cooperation with senior management, functional unit managers, and campus partners, plans, prepares, and submit the department’s annual operating budget
- Prepares and distributes monthly financial documentation to senior managers and managers
- Performs ongoing monitoring of budgets and financial transactions
- Meets regularly with staff, who have financial accountability, to ensure effective financial planning, management and control is maintained; to encourage sharing of best practices throughout the department and to provide training, coaching and development of staff on budgetary issues

Collaboration and management
- Creates and maintains productive working relationship with all functional areas in the department, external parties that provide accommodation or other services (e.g. London Property Corporation), the Finance Department and other University departments as required
- Participates and provides guidance on task forces as required
- Participates in external University audits as required
- Collaborates with Finance to ensure accounting policies and procedures are adequately documented and communicated within the department
- Regularly reviews financial procedures in the department to ensure strong internal controls and efficient and effective financial accountability
- Develops and delivers such financial training modules as may be needed within the department, for example for new staff, who have financial accountability, and at times of change in financial systems and procedures
- Trains, coaches and develops departmental staff on financial, reporting and budgetary issues
- Provides one on one guidance to staff as relating to their financial accountabilities
- Documents processes within department to ensure compliance and clarity

Qualifications:

- Relevant university degree or extensive practical experience required
- Completion of a professionally recognized accounting designation (e.g. CA, CMA or CGA) or working towards this designation with expectation of completion within one to two years
- 5-7 years of progressive experience with a proven track record of achievement and success in
a complex financial accounting environment
- Competencies will include advanced accounting, analytical, organizational skills
- Advanced Excel user
- Advanced experience with financial software and databases
- Intermediate user of Word and PowerPoint
- Must have highly developed communication skills
- Must have very strong attention to detail
- Must have experience interacting with staff who work at a variety of levels of an organization
- Criminal record check required

Equity Statement:
The University of Waterloo is committed to implementing the Calls to Action framed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.