STARS Requisition number
94035BR
Posting Position Title
Director, Continuous Improvement & Transformation
Essential Duties
Finance Transformation & Process Optimization: Lead the assessment, design, and execution of strategic finance transformation initiatives to improve efficiency, accuracy, and automation. Identify opportunities to streamline finance processes, leveraging emerging technologies such as machine learning and automation to enhance financial closing, reconciliation, and reporting.Business Process Improvement & Automation: Drive continuous improvement initiatives by analyzing workflows, identifying inefficiencies, and implementing best practices to optimize financial operations. Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to develop and execute automation strategies that reduce errors, increase processing speed, and maximize system utilization.Data-Driven Decision-Making & Analytics: Utilize data analytics and performance metrics to assess finance operations, identify root causes of inefficiencies, and develop solutions that enhance financial reporting and decision-making. Ensure finance teams have access to accurate, timely, and auditable financial information.Project & Change Management: Lead and manage complex business process improvement initiatives using agile, lean, and waterfall methodologies. Build a pipeline of high-value projects and prioritize them based on clearly defined and quantified benefits. Guide teams through organizational change, ensuring alignment between business and technical objectives while fostering a culture of continuous improvement.Cross-functional leadership & Collaboration: Partner with finance, IT, and other university departments to align transformation efforts with strategic goals. Act as a key advisor to leadership, providing insights and recommendations on future-state finance models, operational improvements, and risk mitigation strategies.Governance & Compliance: Ensure all process improvements align with university policies, financial regulations, and audit requirements. Develop standardized guidelines, document best practices, and implement governance structures to support consistent and sustainable finance operations.Technology & Innovation: Stay ahead of industry trends and emerging financial technologies to drive innovation in finance transformation. Identify and implement tools that enhance reconciliation, reporting, metrics, and financial decision-making capabilities.Team Leadership & Development: Manage a team of process improvement professionals, fraud prevention specialists, and analysts. Provide leadership, mentorship, and professional development opportunities to build a high-performing team focused on continuous improvement and operational excellence.
Required Education and Experience
Bachelor's degree and ten years of progressively responsible experience, five of which are in a related role or an equivalent combination of education and demonstrated experience.
Duration Type
Regular
Work Week
Standard (M-F equal number of hours per day)
University Job Title
Director 3, Cont. Improvement and Transformation
Worksite Address
150 Munson Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Work Location
Central Campus
Drug Screen
No
Health Screening
No
Background Check Requirements
All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.
Searchable Job Family
Accounting/ Financial, Financial
External Gateway Posting Date
18-Mar-2025
Total # of hours to be worked:
37.5
Position Focus:
The Director, Continuous Improvement and Finance Transformation, will lead strategic initiatives to enhance finance operations, reporting directly to the Assistant Vice President and University Controller. This role drives process optimization, automation, and efficiency improvements across various financial functions, ensuring alignment with the university’s long-term objectives. By leveraging data analytics, best practices, and emerging technologies, the Director will identify opportunities for transformation, implement solutions to streamline workflows and enhance financial decision-making. This position will also lead cross-functional teams, manage process improvement professionals, and foster a culture of continuous improvement to maximize the value and effectiveness of the university’s financial operations.
Preferred Education, Experience and Skills:
Ten years of progressively responsible experience involving finance and administrative operations management within a higher education or related environment.
Posting Disclaimer
The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.
EEO Statement:
The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.
Inquiries concerning Yale’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).
Compensation Grade
Administration & Operations
Compensation Grade Profile
Leader (28)
Bargaining Unit
None - Not included in the union (Yale Union Group)
Supervisory Organization
Controller - Controller's Office
Time Type
Full time
Required Skill/Ability 1:
Strong analytical, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, assess complex finance processes & identify transformation opportunities. Skilled in developing & implementing strategies to reduce errors, boost efficiency & enhance system utilization. Proficient in data analysis, workflow optimization & root cause identification to drive process improvements.
Required Skill/Ability 2:
Demonstrated experience in finance process design, improvement and automation. Ability to leverage best practices, industry benchmarks, and technology-driven solutions to streamline financial operations. Expertise in using tools and machine learning to optimize financial closing, reconciliation, and reporting processes in the University’s Workday environment.
Required Skill/Ability 3:
Ability to lead cross-functional teams + drive organizational cultural transformation. Strong project management skills w/ experience in waterfall, agile + lean methodologies to ensure effective execution of finance transformation initiatives. Guide teams through organizational change, influencing stakeholders + embedding culture of cont. improvement.
Required Skill/Ability 4:
Excellent verbal & written communication skills to articulate complex financial and tech. concepts to diverse stakeholders. Ability to influence/negotiate w/ executives, finance professionals & tech teams to align business objectives w/ process transformation initiatives. Strong interpersonal skills, foster collaboration across all levels of the organization.
Required Skill/Ability 5:
Ability to assess current finance operations & recommend innovative solutions to enhance efficiency, accuracy & decision-making. Awareness of emerging financial technologies,industry trends to drive strategic improvements. Capability to identify, evaluate & prioritize project opportunities that align w/ org’s long-term vision for fin. transformation.
Note
Yale University is a tobacco-free campus
Wage Ranges
Click here to see our Wage Ranges
Work Model
Hybrid
Health Requirements
Certain positions have associated health requirements based on specific job responsibilities. These may include vaccinations, tests, or examinations, as required by law, regulation, or university policy.
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