Assistant Vice President of Resource Optimization (Finance)

Instructions:

All interested applicants should attach a resume and cover letter in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in a PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

About Rice:

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally, and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, courses, and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for the best quality of life and the best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff, and students share values essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice's culture. They come through in how we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name - RICE - Responsibility, Integrity, Community, and Excellence.

Position Summary:

The Resource Optimization Initiative (ROI) is a newly launched initiative at Rice to support the ambitions of the strategic plan (Momentous). ROI will help our campus realize value and bend the cost curve as Rice University strengthens and grows. This position will lead a dedicated team that will drive and support the initiative's projects, particularly the Strategic Value Enhancement workstream. This will ensure that the University can implement the process redesign, facilitate efficient processes, provide project management, and track effectiveness and savings across the initiative to achieve sustainable savings while improving service.

Workplace Requirements:

Hybrid position: "This position is offered as a hybrid role, combining both in-office and remote work to provide flexibility and support collaboration. [Insert hybrid schedule]. Per Rice policy 440 , work arrangements may be subject to change."

Hiring Range : $235,200 - $245,000

*Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, or related field.
• 6+ years of experience in resource management, reporting, and project management,
  • In lieu of the education/experience requirement, additional related education and/or experience, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.

Skills:

• In-depth knowledge of financial principles, regulations, and best practices.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong collaboration with multiple stakeholders across various disciplines.
• Ability to make sound financial decisions, manage complex financial scenarios, and drive data-driven results in a dynamic business environment.
• Experience creating and measuring key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Extensive project management experience with demonstrated management and target realization.
• Experience working with leaders to transform opportunities into actionable plans and establish the structure needed to implement and track progress.
• Experience developing and implementing change management and communication plans and ensure project communication with stakeholders.
• Experience creating dashboards to easily review high-level project progress, including timeliness and achieving goals and objectives.
• Experience managing up and focusing on when a project's objectives or timeline may be slipping.
• Experience identifying risks and issues and developing mitigation plans.
• Strong financial acumen and strategic thinking with a proven track record of developing and implementing successful financial strategies.
• Experience and ability to navigate complicated negotiations with care, thoughtfulness, and attention.

Preferences:

• Master's degree in business, finance, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in resource management, reporting, and project management.
• Proven experience managing a resource optimization project for a decentralized organization, preferably in higher education.

Essential Functions:

This new role will oversee the Resource Optimization initiative, ensuring projects are completed and providing leadership across the initiative, removing obstacles and prioritizing the projects for maximum impact for the University.

In addition, this role will be responsible (working with the team) for developing and managing a complex portfolio and project plans, coordinating with stakeholders, collaborating with university leaders, ensuring engagement and leadership alignment, fostering change management, facilitating lean processes, developing and monitoring KPIs, and preparing progress reports for leadership and the Board of Trustees.

This role will oversee data-driven insights and analysis to inform decision-making and track performance, including managing timelines, developing dashboards and reports, leading business case development, and directing project team members.

The AVP of Resource Optimization will be responsible for the development of a detailed implementation plan, coordinating stakeholder engagement, monitoring and reporting progress, facilitating problem-solving, fostering team collaboration, and preparing progress reports and dashboards for the project.

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits-overview

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity at all levels and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and the full inclusion of all qualified persons in the workplace. This commitment includes providing reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities. For applicants with disabilities who require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please contact Rice University's Disability Resource Center at 713-348-5841 or adarice@rice.edu for support.