VISION: Transform the university through the power of generosity.
MISSION: Unite donor passions with university priorities to elevate the impact of Oklahoma State University.
DEPARTMENT PURPOSE: The Administrative Services team contributes to the mission by modernizing and streamlining financial, operational, and stakeholder systems and processes—ensuring compliance, efficiency, and strategic alignment across departments to support the OSU Foundation’s mission and maximize donor impact.
PRIMARY PURPOSE: This position serves as the senior functional analyst and business liaison for financial, gift administration, and related administrative systems. The position is responsible for evaluating business processes, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and controls through technology, documenting and prioritizing business requirements, and partnering with Information Strategy and external vendors to implement and optimize solutions. The role combines strong financial and administrative operations knowledge with technical aptitude to ensure systems effectively support organizational objectives while remaining aligned with OSUF technology, data, security, reporting, and governance standards.
KEY AREAS OF FOCUS:
Financial Systems Functional Administration & Optimization (45%)
Serve as the functional administrator for financial and related systems, with responsibility for evaluating, optimizing, and ensuring system effectiveness, integration, and alignment with business needs.
Key Responsibilities:
- Conduct ongoing analysis of financial systems and related platforms (e.g., CRM, financial system integrations, fund accounting systems, budgeting applications, procurement systems, cash management, investment management, reporting tools) to identify redesign, improvement, and efficiency opportunities.
- Initial evaluation of emerging technologies and software solutions that may improve financial and administrative operations; participate in software selection, implementation support, configuration, testing, and adoption activities.
- Evaluate system configurations, workflows, and integrations to ensure optimal performance and alignment with organizational objectives.
- Lead or support system enhancement initiatives in partnership with Information Strategy, including requirements gathering, testing, implementation support, and post-implementation review.
- Serve as the primary liaison between Finance and Accounting, Gift and Record Management, Advancement Operations, Information Strategy, and external vendors to troubleshoot issues and support implementation of solutions in collaboration with the Information Strategies team.
- Partner closely with Information Strategy to ensure business requirements, technical solutions, system integrations, and data structures align with administrative and financial organizational standards and priorities.
- Ensure financial and business system controls, data integrity, and audit readiness are maintained across platforms.
- Lead or support cross-functional administrative projects focused on process redesign, system integration, and operational scalability.
Business Process Analysis, Design & Continuous Improvement (35%)
Drive cross-functional process improvement initiatives by translating administrative services needs into scalable, efficient, and compliant workflows.
Key Responsibilities:
- Map & maintain current-state processes across finance, gift and record management, facilities and related administrative functions; identify gaps, redundancies, and control risks.
- Facilitate stakeholder discussions, document business requirements, develop process maps, and assist in translating operational needs into functional specifications.
- Evaluate manual and resource-intensive processes to identify opportunities to automate, streamline, and modernize operations through enhanced use of system capabilities, workflow tools, reporting solutions, artificial intelligence tools, and emerging technologies in the areas of:
- General ledger processes
- Budgeting processes
- Financial reporting processes
- Accounts payable workflows
- Payroll workflows
- Investment and endowment reporting workflows
- Gift and pledge administration workflows
- Design and implement future-state processes that improve efficiency, strengthen internal controls, and enhance user experience.
- Ensure all processes align with IRS, GAAP/FASB, CASE standards, and internal policies (consistent with expectations noted in analyst roles).
- Track and measure process improvement outcomes (efficiency gains, error reduction, cycle time improvements).
- Develop and maintain administrative system documentation, process workflows, and configuration standards.
- Monitor administrative and financial system performance metrics and proactively identify and resolve inefficiencies or risks.
Financial Data Analytics, Reporting & Business Decision Support (15 %)
Provide data-driven insights and reporting to support leadership in decision-making and strategic initiatives.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop and maintain dashboards, reports, and analytical models that support Finance and executive leadership in collaboration with the Business Intelligence team, where appropriate.
- Analyze financial, operational, and system data to identify trends, risks, and business opportunities.
- Support forecasting, budgeting, and long-range planning through data analysis and scenario modeling.
- Partner with stakeholders to define business reporting requirements and ensure data accessibility and usability across administrative platforms.
- Ensure consistency and reliability of data across administrative and leadership reporting processes, partnering closely with Business Intelligence, where appropriate.
- Support audit, compliance, and external reporting requirements through accurate and timely data analysis.
Other duties as assigned (5%)
JOB COMPETENCIES AND EXPERIENCE:
Education & Certifications-
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Business Analytics, or related field required.
- CPA, CMA, PMP, CBAP, systems certification or comparable professional credential preferred.
Experience and Business Functional Skills-
- Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience in financial systems administration, business analysis, process improvement, or financial technology support.
- Demonstrated understanding of accounting operations, budgeting, financial; reporting, payroll, investment accounting, or non-profit fund accounting processes.
- Demonstrated experience working with financial or non-profit accounting systems, CRM platforms, and reporting tools preferred.
- Experience leading or supporting software selection, implementation support, upgrades, or business transformation initiatives.
- Experience with system implementations, upgrades, or integrations.
- Proven ability to analyze complex data, identify issues, and implement solutions.
- Strong understanding of accounting principles, internal controls, and nonprofit compliance (IRS, FASB, CASE) aligns with existing OSUF analyst expectations.
Technical Skills-
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft applications including Teams, Excel, Word, CoPilot or other AI platforms, and other financial/data analysis tools.
- Experience with reporting tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, SQL preferred).
- Familiarity with enterprise systems (CRM, fund accounting, integrations, APIs).
Core Competencies-
- Critical analytical thinking and problem solving.
- Strong attention to detail and data integrity focus.
- Build trusted relationships across business, advancement and technical teams.
- Effectively communicates financial and administrative business needs to technical stakeholders and effectively shares technical solutions or opportunities to business and advancement stakeholders.
- Identifies opportunities to modernize processes through technology and automation.
- Guides organizational change through collaboration and relationship building.
Organizational Competencies-
- Effective Communication: Proactively ensures effective communication throughout the organization; makes relevant contributions to discussions and meetings, giving clear and concise explanations and sticking to the point; chooses language and communication method to suit the audience, reframes and articulates to help others understand; asks questions to check understanding when disseminating information.
- Execution & Initiative: Motivates self and others to achieve the best results, displaying energy, drive and a desire to succeed; enlists the support of others as necessary to overcome resistance; supervises cross-functional project team execution on tasks to meet stated objectives; helps other employees’ gain the skills and experience they need to contribute; proactively outlines milestones, outcomes and deliverables and effectively communicates them to internal and external stakeholders.
- Teamwork/Interpersonal Skills: Develops and nurtures formal & informal relationships with a wide circle of people beyond those involved in current activities, including potential donors, stakeholders, and information links; encourages collaboration among colleagues, departments and entire organization to achieve results; compromises, handles conflicts, seeks common ground, articulates own and others goals; stays focused on positive win-win outcomes; seeks input on how to leverage existing processes to improve the donor experience; translates ideas into action.
- Problem Solving/Judgment: Gains understanding of how to apply approved policies and procedures; when and why escalation of issues is needed and to whom and communicates decisions and desired outcomes to others; anticipates the outcome of a single decision; recognizes problems in advance, systematically gathers information to define the root cause, breaks down complex information into component parts, develops alternatives, seeks input from others, selects and recommends the best solution.
- Adaptability/Flexibility: Embraces complex or first-time problems as opportunities to learn and incorporate new skills; flexes style based on immediate needs; accepts responsibility for implementing change; evaluates and manages resources needed to implement change; personally supports (in words and actions) organizational direction and change agenda.
- Courage & Conviction: Takes responsibility for individual & project outcomes regardless of success and learns from all results; encourages candid responses, feedback, new ideas and conflicting opinions.
- Donor Centered: Takes time to actively learn about the stated needs by asking questions, exploring how to unite the donors and university’s passions and priorities; anticipates customer needs and proactively makes recommendations.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Ability to communicate effectively in person, by phone, and via video conferencing. Requires frequent repetitive motions when operating computers, telephones, and standard office equipment. Ability to sit or stand for extended periods while working at a computer or attending meetings. Ability to lift, carry, push, or pull materials weighing up to approximately 20 pounds.