About
University Of Washington
Job Description
As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For detailed information on Benefits for this position, click here. As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. All of which has allowed the UW to be nationally recognized as a "Great College to Work For" for five consecutive years.
The UW is in the readiness/design phase of an enterprise-wide project that will replace its legacy finance systems with Workday. In support of this project, UW Finance seeks a Unit Readiness Manager to lead the critical effort of collaborating closely with the Academy units.
Acting as a strategic leader, project manager, policy analyst, business process architect, change champion, and end user advocate, this position will draw on many skills in leading UW Finance's Finance Transformation readiness effort. Above all, this position will act in a leadership position as it pertains to unit readiness, and will coordinate the unit readiness efforts to lead a consistent strategy. From researching and developing a detailed project plan and resource estimates to assessing and clarifying opportunities to partner with existing Finance and UWFT team members, this work will support a successful user experience by making it easy for employees and managers to gather current and consistent information about finance policies, services, and processes and use the new system to enter and complete appropriate transactions.
Major accountabilities for this position include collaborating on opportunities for consolidation of activities within and across units with minimal disruption in service or quality. There is an unprecedented level of change and financial pressure impacting the organization over the next few years and this is a resultant need to streamline and standardize processes, policies and systems. The unit side systems and processes will need to evolve with these changes. This position requires significant flexibility, strong collaboration skills and political savvy.
A high degree of complexity arises from the decentralized nature of the University, coupled with the overall systems environment and magnitude of transformation desired. There is a resultant need to streamline and standardize administrative systems and processes across a very diverse and historically relatively autonomous stakeholder base. Further, the transformation of finance systems is a highly visible project within the University, and touches every financial transaction at all levels of the institution.
Because this position is a campus-facing position for the UW Finance Transformation, there is significant impact to the ultimate outcomes for the program. This position is responsible for supporting unit-level readiness efforts, so success in this space correlates to a successful implementation. Additionally, this position will be responsible for providing supervision and direction to other program staff, so this position will have increased accountability for readiness deliverables.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Design and Implement Change Management Initiatives
Develop tools to assist a variety of UW Academy units in preparing an integrated project plan and structure to support unit readiness; develop detailed and integrated project plans to support project development and implementation.
Work closely with the UWFT Program and unit subject matter experts to organize, lead, and actively participate in identifying, documenting, prioritizing, and drafting design requirements for the Finance Transformation program. Provide tools and help support the units in mapping of current to future business process to identify change impacts.
Develop tools and timelines to help unit's map their readiness efforts; partner with units to ensure they are operational at launch.
Organize and facilitate work sessions and project meetings; develop agendas and coordinate documentation of decisions and issues.
Support continued development of future state operating model to support finance, procurement and supply chain activities - and work on strategy for timing/implementation and stakeholder engagement
Unit Readiness Strategy/Leadership
Participate in the development of the overall Unit Readiness strategy, and ensure ongoing efforts are coordinated and achieving strategic goals. Partner with the Enterprise Unit Readiness Director, UW Medicine and UW Finance Readiness Leads to collaborate on a strategy and approach for UW Unit Readiness; Provide strategic direction and guidance to the Unit Readiness Lead and other program staff
Gauge opportunities to partner with unit and UWFT resources to develop contributed labor plans/staffing strategies to support finance transformation.
Work with unit leadership and UWFT Unit Readiness Team to support development and implementation of unit's change management program that considers people, process, policies and technology.
Serve in a liaison and communication conduit capacity for purposes of assessing, communicating and resolving resource or activity sequencing issues across competing priorities and other projects
Prepare and deliver readiness reports for both UWFT program staff, unit leadership, executive heads, and UW executive leaders.
Assess, track, and lead the resolution of issues; assess strategies for mitigating risks; Work to respond to escalations from executive heads and negotiate solutions directly with stakeholders as needed.
Develop open communications channels with unit leaders across campus, subject matter experts, and UWFT partners; initiate ongoing collaboration in support of achieving programmatic success.
Other duties as assigned
Act in a leadership capacity with campus units - exhibiting subject matter expertise, and helping to lead the units through the change process
Supervise Unit Readiness Leads and Business Analysts and other positions as program grows
REQUIREMENTS:
Bachelor's Degree in Business, Change Management, or related field.
6-8 years of experience providing leadership and guidance to staff; building strategies and implementing strategic plans; and experience in business process redesign and process improvement
Successful leadership of a team involved in a cross-functional project
Ability to work effectively in a team environment including meeting facilitation and ability to motivate timely and effective participation by team members
Ability to view a project at a high level as well as get into the details
Flexibility and commitment to team work
A successful track record of planning and managing to move a project forward to timely completion against aggressive timelines
Ability to identify issues, resolutions, risks and mitigation
Ability to manage effectively in a heavily matrixed environment.
Excellent oral and written communications skills; demonstrated and committed to provide excellent customer service
Strong office and project organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines
Strong knowledge and experience in Microsoft products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint
Credible presence with a professional image; develops trust quickly; highly collaborative
Able to communicate complex information to diverse audiences
Commitment to completing tasks with great attention to detail and with a routine, critical self-review
Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
DESIRED:
Experience with UW finance operations preferred
Strong knowledge and experience in Microsoft Project, and Visio
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select "Apply to this position". Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your "My Jobs" page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.
Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, your experiences, perspectives and unique identities will be honored at the University of Washington. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable, and welcoming.
About University Of Washington
University of Washington is an educational institution that provides undergraduate, graduate, and research programs.