Director, Finance & Operations

About Us

Western University’s vision is to be a destination of choice for the world’s brightest minds seeking the best student experience at a leading Canadian research university. Combining more than 1,400 faculty, 2500 administrative staff, and 35,000 students, Western has established itself as a globally recognized destination for academic excellence and leadership development achieved through learning and research. Western prepares future leaders to succeed, providing life-long opportunities for intellectual, social and cultural growth to better serve our communities.

Western Human Resources leads the development of proactive human resource strategies and delivering exemplary employment related services. As a team of innovative professionals, we encourage a productive and respectful work and learning environment through collaboration, partnership and technology.

About the Role

As a member of the Human Resources senior leadership team, the Director, Finance and Operations will provide leadership to the teams delivering comprehensive compensation program – including pay, benefits, pension, salary administration, and other services to all employees of the University. The Director will be accountable for the sound accounting and financial administration to support the University’s largest group of annual expenditures, including the University Pension Plans, the total payroll and benefits (approximately 700M), the Human Resource Operating Budget. The Director will work closely with other leaders in the development, review and implementation of business processes, partner with internal and external service providers to ensure required audits are completed and to ensure strong controls are in place for the operations. Working closely with the University negotiating teams the Director will participate in the evaluation of compensation proposals for all faculty and staff groups (12 unique compensation programs).

About You

As our ideal candidate, you are a strong people leader, with effective communication and influencing skills, enhanced by your experience in finance and budget management, supporting risk control evaluation and auditing. You show mastery in problem-solving, planning and budgeting, with exceptional attention to detail, and an ability to compile, synthesize and interpret relevant data from a wide variety of sources. You enjoy big-picture thinking, building and implementing strategy but also can engage in digging into the transactions to get an understanding of the operations. Your finely tuned organizational skills allow you to manage priorities and deadlines, applying resourcefulness and impeccable judgment to determine urgency and risk, and making decisions that are in the best interest of your team and organization.

These skills are complemented by a professional designation such as a Chartered Professional Accountant or a Fellow or Associate of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. A Masters in Business Administration or relevant field, or Chartered Financial Analyst would be an asset.

Applying at Western

Please visit: https://recruit.uwo.ca to apply online to job reference #33580 by 11:59PM on April 16, 2024.

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwo.ca or phone 519-661-2194.