North Carolina State University

Budget and Finance Manager

Education, Government & Non-Profit
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree with accounting coursework or equivalent experience.
  • Extensive knowledge of budgeting, accounting, and financial planning.
  • Demonstrated success in developing and implementing administrative or financial processes.
  • Proven relationship-building skills with faculty and staff.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

  • Lead budget planning and financial analysis for the college.
  • Oversee development and monitoring of college and departmental budgets.
  • Provide financial reporting, variance analyses, and recommendations for decision-making.
  • Ensure compliance with financial policies and maintain internal controls.
  • Serve as a strategic financial advisor to college leadership.

Benefits

  • Opportunities for professional development and skill advancement.
  • Engagement with a collaborative and supportive work environment.
  • Ability to influence and shape financial processes within the organization.
  • Participation in continuous improvement initiatives.
Full Job Description
Posting Details

Posting Information

Posting Number
PG194789EP

Internal Recruitment
No

Working Title
Budget and Finance Manager

Anticipated Hiring Range
Commensurate with education and experience ($86,000 - $96,000)

Work Schedule
Monday - Friday; 8AM - 5PM

Job Location
Raleigh, NC

Department
College of Natural Resources

Essential Job Duties

The Budget and Finance Manager serves as the College of Natural Resources' central resource for budget planning, financial management, and fiscal strategy within the Dean's Office. Reporting to the Assistant Dean for Finance and Business, this role provides leadership and oversight for the college's complex portfolio of state, federal, trust, receipts, sales and service, and other funding sources. Working closely with college leadership, department business offices, Human Resources, Procurement, and Research Administration, the Budget and Finance Manager ensures sound financial stewardship while supporting informed decision-making across the college.

In this role, you'll help shape the college's financial direction by transforming complex financial data into meaningful insights that guide strategic decisions. You'll serve as a trusted advisor to administrators and departmental leadership, balancing long-term planning with day-to-day fiscal oversight while identifying opportunities to improve financial processes, strengthen internal controls, and support the college's academic, research and extension mission.

Key Responsibilities fall within the following functional areas.

Strategic Budget Planning & Financial Management:
  • Lead college-wide budget planning, forecasting, and financial analysis across multiple funding sources to support strategic and operational priorities.
  • Direct the development, monitoring, and reconciliation of college and departmental budgets, ensuring resources are allocated effectively and funding commitments are maintained.
  • Provide comprehensive financial reporting, projections, variance analyses, and recommendations that support executive decision-making.
  • Oversee budget structures, including Department IDs, projects, phases, and funding allocations, ensuring financial integrity and accurate budget administration.

Position Budget Management & Workforce Financial Planning:
  • Provide financial oversight of position budgets and recurring personnel commitments to ensure alignment between HR position funding and college financial plans.
  • Review and approve salary funding changes, personnel-related budget actions, and workforce funding requests while ensuring budget availability and compliance with funding source requirements.
  • Monitor personnel expenditures, vacancy funding, reserves, and future-year salary commitments to support workforce planning and fiscal sustainability.
  • Coordinate salary release funding and other personnel-related financial activities in partnership with the College Research Office.

Financial Oversight, Compliance & Business Operations:
  • Provide fiscal guidance to departmental business and personnel staff, promoting consistent financial practices and sound stewardship across the college.
  • Ensure compliance with federal, state, university, and college financial policies while maintaining effective internal controls and responsible use of institutional resources.
  • Exercise financial approval authority for budget revisions, journal activity, procurement transactions, and other financial actions within delegated authority.
  • Monitor financial activity to identify potential risks, resolve issues proactively, and ensure expenditures remain within authorized funding and spending guidelines.

Financial Leadership & Operational Excellence:
  • Serve as a strategic financial advisor to college leadership by interpreting fiscal data, evaluating financial impacts, and recommending practical solutions to complex budget challenges.
  • Lead continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen financial processes, enhance operational efficiency, and support consistent business practices across the college.
  • Foster collaborative relationships with campus partners, including Human Resources, Procurement, and Research Administration, to ensure coordinated financial and operational support.
  • Provide leadership and operational continuity for the finance function as delegated by the Assistant Dean for Finance and Business.

This role is ideal for someone who takes initiative, exercises sound judgment, responds quickly and communicates effectively communicates with confidence, and is committed to responsible stewardship of university resources while helping others succeed. If you are a strategic financial leader who enjoys solving complex challenges, building collaborative partnerships, has a passion for accuracy and turning data into informed decisions, we encourage you to apply.

Other Responsibilities

In addition to the core responsibilities of this role, there will be occasional opportunities to take on additional duties. Some of those responsibilities include:

  • Acting on behalf of the Assistant Dean for Finance and Business during periods of absence.
  • Developing or revising business practices and procedures as organizational or regulatory needs evolve.
  • Assisting with special financial analyses, projects, or initiatives assigned by college leadership.


This offers an opportunity to build on your skills, explore new areas, and gain a deeper understanding of the department's operations.

Qualifications

Minimum Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree with 12 credit hours of accounting coursework; or Associate's degree in Accounting; or Associate's degree in Business or related discipline with 12 credit hours of accounting coursework; or equivalent combination of training and experience. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

Other Required Qualifications
  • Extensive knowledge of business administration, budgeting, accounting, financial planning, budget development, and fiscal management principles
  • Demonstrated success developing, implementing, and evaluating administrative programs, financial processes, or business operations that improve effectiveness and support organizational goals.
  • Proven relationship-building skills that foster effective collaboration with faculty, staff, administrators, and campus partners to resolve complex issues and support sound financial decision-making.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with experience presenting complex financial information and recommendations in a clear, concise manner to a variety of audiences.


Preferred Qualifications
  • Extensive experience in higher education finance, with broad knowledge of university funding models and the financial management of state, federal, trust, auxiliary, receipts, grants, contracts, and other funding sources.


Required License(s) or Certification(s)

N/A

Valid NC Driver's License required
No

Commercial Driver's License required
No

Recruitment Dates and Special Instructions

Job Open Date
08/06/2026

Anticipated Close Date
8/19/2026; if posting is still active, we are accepting and reviewing applications.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Candidates will be required to submit the following:

  • Cover letter: In your cover letter, please highlight your experience with financial management, budgeting, and account oversight, including the scope of responsibilities and types of accounts managed. Please also describe your experience advising faculty, students, or other stakeholders on financial and budget-related matters.
  • Resume
  • Contact information for three (3) professional references. (References will not be contacted without prior knowledge and approval of candidates.)


Position Details

Position Number
00109448

Position Type
EPS/SAAO

Full Time Equivalent (FTE) (1.0 = 40 hours/week)
1.0

Appointment
12 Month Recurring

Mandatory Designation - Adverse Weather
Non Mandatory - Adverse Weather

Mandatory Designation - Emergency Events
Non Mandatory - Emergency Event

Department ID
150101 - College of Natural Resources

About North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land-, sea-, and space-grant institution. The university forms one of the corners of the Research Triangle together with Duke University in Durham and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Enrollment is over 36,000 students. NC State was founded in 1887 as a land-grant institution.
Learn more about North Carolina State University

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