Financial Systems Delivery Lead

Department Marketing Statement:

There is a reason UCSB has been named the Best Place to Work by our local media for several years running. Whether our employees are on our stunning campus, or working remotely or hybrid, they tell us they value the flexibility, stability and rich benefits we offer. Come join us as we support the mission of one of the finest public institutions in the nation. UC Santa Barbara is consistently recognized for excellence across broad fields of study. Set alongside the glorious California coast, our dynamic environment inspires scholarly ambition and creativity. Information Technology Services (ITS), the Campus' central IT unit, contributes to UC Santa Barbara's mission of research, teaching, and community service by partnering with the Campus community to efficiently deliver IT infrastructure and enterprise application services to faculty, students, staff, and affiliates. Join us in supporting the technology making world class research possible!

Benefits of Belonging:

Working at UC means being part of this vibrant institution that shines a light on what is possible. People make UC great, and UC recognizes your contributions by making this a great place to work. Excellent retirement and health are just one of the rewards.

Brief Summary of Job Duties:

The Financial Systems Delivery Lead is responsible for the strategic and operational management of UC Santa Barbara's Oracle Financial Cloud system, which includes but is not limited to the General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Fixed Assets, Tax, Procurement, Projects and Grants Management, Enterprise Data Management, Enterprise Performance Management, and Fusion Data Intelligence, as well as Jaggaer and Concur.

Core responsibilities include managing and leading the delivery and development of the financial system support services across the campus; serving as the primary point of escalation and IT expertise on all matters relating to Oracle Financial Cloud, Jaggaer, and Concur support and development; setting the strategic direction of the campus financial system in conjunction with key stakeholders; conducting formal communications across the campus related to the financial system; leading the testing and organizational change management activities for system software updates and enhancements; ensuring the campus is optimizing its investment in financial systems through the adoption of new functionality, features, and best practices to ensure the continuous development and maturity of the products; leading and managing the planning, delivery, and development of the Oracle Financial Cloud, Jaggaer, and Concur systems; managing contractual relationships (e.g., scope, pricing, change orders) with vendors; owning the operating and support model for the campus financial system; tracking key metrics, service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) across the financial system environment and presenting status reports to stakeholder groups; and working closely with business and technical unit leads to track, assess, and resolve cross-functional issues related to application management and end user support.

The Delivery Lead works in collaboration with all central office functional and technical offices, campus departments, UCOP, vendors, and consultants. This role demands excellence in strategic thinking, strong leadership, driving for results, operational excellence, and cross-group collaboration. The incumbent must be self-motivated, proactive, and possess a demonstrated ability to maintain depth of expertise in new business processes and technical domains. Excellent interpersonal communication skills, written communication skills, and the ability to work well in a team environment are very important.

The Delivery Lead uses experience and ample skill in building dedication and commitment to the delivery of financial system application management and support services with the many subject matter experts (SMEs) from across campus. These SMEs most often have primary reporting responsibility to persons who have no reporting relationship to the Financial Systems Delivery Lead. The Financial Systems Delivery Lead ensures that defined SLAs and KPIs are met, even as priorities are likely to shift frequently and anticipated workloads grow or shrink on a daily basis.

Administratively, the position reports to the Associate Director, PMO Business Transformations, who will ultimately evaluate the performance of the Financial Systems Delivery Lead.

Required Qualifications:

• Degree/Experience: Bachelor's Degree in related area and / or equivalent experience.
• 4-6 years: Demonstrated excellence in problem analysis and creative problem solving, especially interpreting customer requirements and devising the best solution within given constraints.
• 4-6 years: Managing concurrent and multiple large-scale ERP software implementations and business process/delivery redesign projects to ensure policy, internal control, and procedural issues are addressed.
• 4-6 years: Demonstrated knowledge and experience with secure software development concepts and practices, in alignment with policy and legal requirements.
• 4-6 years: Demonstrated knowledge and recent experience with design and hands-on technical implementation of complex multi-tier applications.
• 1-3 years: Demonstrated skill in managing technical staff.
• 4-6 years: Excellent oral, written, and verbal communication skills, including experience in tailoring presentations for diverse technical backgrounds.
• 4-6 years: Team-focused individual motivated by providing high quality service to customers, partners, and coworkers.
• 7-9 years: Strong customer service and relationship management experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 7-9 years experience at University of California.
• Demonstrates strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• Ability to successfully manage IT projects from initiation through delivery, including system integration, communications, and risk management.
• Ability to successfully manage IT services by tracking and prioritizing incidents, issues, defects, and changes.
• Highly skilled in facilitation and relationship building with a diverse customer base.
• Strong ability to communicate, present, and influence effectively at all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated strong skills in conflict resolution to diffuse difficult situations.
• Interpersonal skills to effectively interpret and communicate complex information in a clear and concise manner.
• Ability to persuade through both logic and appeal to positive motivations.
• Business process knowledge of human capital performance management and talent recruiting/acquisition.
• Knowledge of Higher Education Payroll, Benefits, Workforce Administration, and Payroll General Ledger.
• Ability to assess campus and customer needs and design services to meet those needs.
• Proven ability to work in teams and successfully lead teams.
• Strong political acumen and ability to influence staff toward a common goal or vision.
• Significant experience in Project Management demonstrating leadership and knowledge of compliance requirements across HR/Payroll functions.
• Ability to translate long-term vision into work plans that align priorities with broader goals.
• Working knowledge of UCPath.

Special Conditions of Employment:

• Satisfactory conviction history
• This position does not include sponsorship for new consular H-1B visa petitions. H-1B change of employer petitions will continue to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Misconduct Disclosure Requirement:

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

Job Functions and Percentages of Time:

40% Program Management

• Oversees the strategic design, execution, and supervision of application management, user support, and governance frameworks to facilitate the effective provision of campus financial system services.
• Collaborates professionally with senior leadership and key partners to contribute meaningfully toward achieving departmental and university-wide goals.
• Provides expert leadership to ensure operational excellence, including the strategic management of personnel and resources. Directs the onboarding, training, and offboarding of specialized technical contractors from external consultancies.
• Directs a sophisticated portfolio of functional and technical modules within Oracle Financials Cloud, Jaggaer, and Concur, prioritizing system resilience and modernization.
• Partners with business and technical stakeholders to lead the development and delivery of the campus financial system's long-term roadmap.
• Champions organizational change by fostering a results-driven environment that minimizes technical resistance and addresses ambiguity during transitions.
• Ensures financial systems are optimized for their intended purpose, properly utilized, and protected against cybersecurity threats through stakeholder consultation.
• Refines and manages the governance and support models, including critical processes for environment management, release cycles, and change control. Coordinates with ITS teams for regression testing, incident management, and vendor oversight.
• Supervises third-party vendors to ensure seamless service delivery, managing contractual obligations, licensing, and service level agreements.
• Coordinates with internal teams and external partners to oversee the deployment of sanctioned new features and system functionality.

30% Project Management

• Serves as a technical authority in project management, utilizing advanced methodologies and professional concepts to deliver complex IT services.
• Advises management on issue resolution and organizational priorities. Develops comprehensive work plans that integrate best practices with campus objectives to ensure exceptional customer service.
• Project Planning and Controls: Utilizes industry-standard tools to manage project timelines, budgets, and human resources. Develops detailed estimates, schedules, and resource plans to deliver quality work on schedule.
• Scope Management: Constructs clear scope statements and work breakdown structures. Implements robust project change control and ensures vendor compliance with all contractual terms and deliverables.
• Issue and Risk Management: Directs the identification and resolution of project issues, utilizing appropriate escalation p