Budget Analyst

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Budget Analyst

Job Profile Title

Budget Analyst

Job Description Summary

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School is one of the nation’s oldest and most distinguished law schools. The School offers a unique approach, incorporating cross-disciplinary legal education, a distinctly collaborative environment, and an innovative curriculum to enrich student learning. The small and highly interdisciplinary faculty achieves scholarly excellence while emphasizing a shared effort to advance understanding of the law. The result is an intellectual community that bridges traditional boundaries and disciplines within a renowned internal culture of collegiality, making the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School an extraordinarily supportive academic community for all its members.
Reporting to the Budget Director, this position will provide analytical, project support on business process redesigns and technical support for Penn Carey Law School Business Affairs activities, including support, development and maintenance of various reporting and management of data sources. The Budget Analyst will assist the Business Affairs team with defining business function needs, determining the most efficient technological tools, creating the necessary applications, and documenting the financial and transactional processes.

Job Description

The Budget Analyst will be expected to master and incorporate the latest technologies into the development of routine and non-routine reports and analysis in support of internal and external financial reporting initiatives for the Law School. This often requires integrating information from various enterprise management systems such as Oracle Hyperion, BEN Financials, Workday, SAP Business Objects (data warehouse), Pennant Student (NGSS) and other systems as needed. The Budget Analyst will support the execution of the Law School quarterly budget forecast planning cycles, delivery of monthly departmental management reports, perform variance analysis reporting, and reconciliations of key business transactions. This position will maintain collaborative working relationships with the Business Affairs team, a wide constituency of Law departmental administrators, and colleagues across the university.

Responsibilities/Essential Functions:

In all tasks, the Budget Analyst is expected to take a professional service orientation approach in facilitating success of Law School leadership initiatives and unique operational goals of departments. The Budget Analyst will contribute to the Law School’s success in the following ways:

Systems and Data Information Management

Develop knowledge of relevant data, how to access data, and maintain the data in a systematic form. The Budget Analyst will investigate, document, organize, and connect key financial data sources for internal and external reporting needs.

• Develop new tools and means to use data at the school level. Develop a ‘Data and Report Dictionary’ for relevant financial reports and associated financial input drivers.
• Identify and resolve required information flows and content issues.
• Maintain accurate and complete records and documentation in electronic filing system following guidelines for record retention, storage, compilation, coding, updating, and purging.
• Develop complex Excel and SAS macros [and/or SQL knowledge] for creating variables, cleaning, and preparing analytic datasets, reporting output, and quality assurance checks on the data.
• Lead in the design, development, and maintenance of appropriate data structures from multiple source systems.
• Implement and maintain a Law School chart of accounts database of revenue and expenses.
• Identify trends or patterns that result in data quality issues. Monitor administrative and financial data for accuracy, create audit reports. Make recommendations to improve system design, data entry and processes to ensure accurate data.

Financial Reporting and Analysis Support

Perform various financial and data analyses to support the vision and mission of the Law School. Analyses will be informed by expert use of Penn’s data warehouse collections, including financial, payroll, research, and student data.

• Manage the development, maintenance, analysis, and distribution of departmental monthly budget summary reports.
• Assist with the preparation and monitoring of executive-level financial summary reports and constructively analyze operating results.
• Perform data analysis and help design complex financial models based on business or research requirements.
• Identify, obtain, and perform in-depth analysis of appropriate data relevant to budget and planning issues and processes.
• Maintain distribution of departmental monthly open encumbrances reports.
• Lead budget summary reporting review meetings with a wide constituency of Law departmental administrators.
• Assist the Budget Director in improving the budget planning and reporting processes and enhancing the analytic capacity of the Business Affairs team.

Training & Knowledge Sharing

• Develop an expert understanding of current budget system needs, document and disseminate information to the Business Affairs team.
• Work with other members of the Business Affairs office to develop and deliver training modules incorporating best practices for unit budgeting and on-going monitoring.
• Ensure that the Business Affairs team is aware of the ‘Data and Report Dictionary’, can access, and how best to use recommended reports to inform their work.

Business Operations Planning & Processing

• Assist in the planning and execution of quarterly budget forecast process.
• Perform monthly reconciliations, processing, and reporting of key revenue and expenditure accounts including Cvent revenue journals and Law School faculty research accounts.
• Assist Business Affairs team in completing fiscal year-end account closing procedures.
• Process financial transactions as needed.

Other Duties as Assigned

• Special projects as assigned.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree with 3 to 5 years of related experience in accounting or budgeting in a university/corporate environment or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently and as a team member.
• High-level understanding of data structures and relationships; apply formulas to define business variables that are meaningful to the Law School; and ability to use query and reporting tools, such as SQL to navigate data from a variety of computer platforms and databases.
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and professional service oriented.
• Detail-oriented and demonstrates sound judgment, with ability to manage competing priorities.
• Must project a professional image and demonstrate the ability to diplomatically handle a wide variety of highly confidential matters.
• Must possess a strong understanding of sources and uses of funds and general budget procedures.
• Possess a team player attitude.

Preferred:

• Advanced skills in Microsoft Applications and on-line systems.
• Working knowledge of accounting, budgeting, other enterprise performance management systems, and data warehouses such as Oracle Hyperion, Workday, and SAP Business Objects.
• Understand the Responsibility Centered Management (RCM) model approach to budgeting in a large university or complex organizational setting.

Job Location – City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Law School

Pay Range

$51,824.00 – $85,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile. 

Affirmative Action Statement 
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements 
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition: Take advantage of Penn’s exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you’ll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay