Jobs › University of Wisconsin-Madison

Financial Manager, Administrative Regional Team

University of Wisconsin-Madison · Madison, WI · Full time

Posted Sep 21, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you managed a team of finance staff. How did you support their growth?

What they are checking: Whether they develop their staff, not just supervise them, since the posting asks for leadership that helps people grow.

What does applying equitable practices mean to you in a finance role?

What they are checking: How they put the posting's stated values into daily work.

Tell me about a process improvement you led in finance.

What they are checking: Innovation and results, which the team is meant to deliver.

What would you do

This is a new team as Letters and Science rolls out the Administrative Transformation Program. How do you work in a role that is still being defined?

What they are checking: Whether they work well while the role is still being shaped, since this new team is forming during a large organizational change.

How would you build trust with department administrators who are used to handling finances themselves?

What they are checking: Relationship-building with people who may feel they are losing control.

A department administrator disagrees with your recommendation. How do you handle it?

What they are checking: Whether they advise firmly while respecting the administrator's role, since good working relationships make advice more likely to be followed.

How do you keep the Associate Dean informed without overwhelming them?

What they are checking: Whether they keep leaders informed with focused, useful updates, since too much detail buries what the Associate Dean needs to know.

About the work

How do you make sure spending complies with Universities of Wisconsin, state and federal rules?

What they are checking: Whether they understand the overlapping university, state and federal rules, since spending has to satisfy all of them at once.

How would you help a department make better use of its financial resources?

What they are checking: Whether they can turn numbers into practical advice, since departments need help making their limited resources go further.

How would you standardize processes across several departments with different habits?

What they are checking: Whether they standardize sensibly while respecting real differences, since forcing one process on every department can backfire.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at University of Wisconsin-Madison from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

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The full job description

As published by University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process. Job Category: Academic Staff Employment Type: Regular Job Profile: Financial Manager Job Summary: Join the College of Letters & Science (L&S) for an exciting role as a Financial Manager with a team of other finance champions. You'll have an opportunity to make a positive impact by supporting department administrator(s) towards the best utilization of financial resources while ensuring compliance with all relevant Universities of Wisconsin, State of Wisconsin and federal regulations and policies and procedures. This is a new initiative with an evolving team as the college implements Administrative Transformation Program (ATP) within L&S. The role is perfect for trailblazers passionate about building effective relationships while applying equitable practices that foster a community of belonging. There are multiple openings on the new team and we encourage you to review and apply to all of the positions. Under the general direction of the Associate Dean for Innovation and Strategic Budgeting, the Financial Manager will have the following key functions: • Manage the efforts of a team of finance in a collaborative way that fosters innovation and supports team development and success. • Provide expertise, facilitate training, coordination, and workload management across the team. • Serve as key point of contact and partner for department administrators Following an initial onboarding period, this position will have remote work flexibility up to 3 days per week and will work onsite a minimum of 2 days per week. Key Job Responsibilities: • 20% Facilitating and sharing unit or organizational budgets and large budget projections including budget planning, policies, controls, procedures, forecasts, and analysis • 10% Recommends, interprets, disseminates, and implements unit-focused fiscal policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with established rule, regulations and financial guidelines • 20% May exercise supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 FTE or equivalent employees • 10% Identifies, verifies, and audits financial charges, credits, and authorizes payments • 5% Participates in the development, maintenance, and monitoring of automated financial information systems • 5% Serves as a subject matter expert to unit leadership regarding financial operations, status and reporting, and recommends process improvements • 20% Plans, directs, and engages in financial and/or accounting operations for multiple areas; coordinates data management, budget preparation and management, and financial reporting efforts • 10% Analyzes financial information and makes recommendations to unit leadership Department: College of Letters & Science, Administration - Finance L&S is the heart of UW-Madison and home to a tremendous breadth and depth of departments and degree-granting programs in the humanities; natural, physical, and mathematical sciences and the social sciences. Learn more at ls.wisc.edu. Compensation: The expected salary range for this position is $80,000 up to $106,000 for highly experienced candidates. Actual pay within this range will depend on experience and qualifications. Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; and retirement benefits. Please review the summary of benefits for more information. Required Qualifications: • 4 years of experience in accounting, finance, and/or budgeting/forecasting including experience using financial systems software and tools • Experience fostering and maintaining collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, such as department administrators, supervisors, staff and college & campus partners • Advanced Microsoft Excel skills with an ability to interpret, analyze, and summarize financial data • Strong verbal and written communication, administrative and organizational skills • Demonstrated commitment to customer service excellence and a history of offering responsive and solution-oriented assistance • Evidence of using sound judgement and discretion in applying and interpreting laws, rules, policies, and procedures • Experience with improving processes, managing change and/or applying systems thinking to work Preferred Qualifications: • Direct supervisory experience or equivalent experience leading/managing a team • Experience offering guidance, outreach and monitoring for compliance regarding complex fiscal policies in higher education, governmental or other highly regulated setting • Experience with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, such as PeopleSoft or Workday Education: Bachelor’s Degree preferred; Accounting, Business Management or a related field preferred How to Apply: For the best experience completing your application, we recommend using Chrome or Firefox as your web browser. To apply for this position, select either “I am a current employee” or “I am not a current employee” under Apply Now. You will then be prompted to upload your application materials. Important: The application has only one attachment field. Upload the following documents in that field, either as a single combined file or as multiple files in the same upload area. All listed application materials must be submitted for your application to be considered. Please submit only the materials specified; additional materials will not be reviewed. To be considered for this recruitment, you must upload: -Resume/Curriculum Vitae -Cover Letter The materials should address your experience relating to the qualifications referenced above. Specifically, applicants should describe why they are interested in this position and how their previous experience makes them qualified. Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. The application deadline is 11:59pm on October 11, 2026. Contact Information: Maria Antezana, maria.antezana@wisc.edu Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information. Institutional Statement on Diversity: Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website . To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you. Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department .

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