Financial Specialist III

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 Specialist III

Job Summary:

The Financial Specialist III serves as a key member of the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences administrative team, providing advanced financial and administrative support to faculty and staff. Reporting directly to the Department Administrator, this position is responsible for reviewing, approving, processing, and advising on a broad range of complex financial transactions while ensuring compliance with university, UW Foundation, state, and regulatory policies and requirements. The position plays a critical role in monitoring fund balances, maintaining accurate financial records, and supporting the department's financial management and operational success.

Responsibilities include transaction processing, employee reimbursements, account reconciliations, funding string review and assignment, and other accounting-related activities. The Financial Specialist III serves as a primary resource for financial policies and procedures, providing exceptional customer service and guidance to faculty and staff. This position also identifies and recommends process improvements and internal controls, resolves complex financial issues, and supports effective business operations.


The successful candidate will demonstrate strong organizational skills, attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to manage multiple priorities while building collaborative relationships and meeting deadlines in a service-oriented environment.

Additional information:
• This is a full time position headquartered in the Nutritional Sciences building at 1450 Linden Drive
• This position is primarily onsite, however there is the possibility of working remotely 1 day per week after completing a one-year evaluation period
• A criminal background check may be required

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Drafts communications and reports and maintains organization of varied records to provide administrative support within a specified work unit

• Answers complex fiscal questions and provides information based on set materials and standards to various audiences

• Reviews transaction processing internal controls and recommends policies and procedures

• Serve as a unit liaison to leadership providing financial advice, recommendations, and financial status updates

• Monitors financial transactions and fund balances and generates and reconciles complex reports and statements in accordance with established rules and regulations

• May train staff on financial processes and best practices

• Reviews and approves complex transactions and assigns funding codes in accordance with established rules, regulations, and policies

• Reallocates expenses to appropriate funding strings

Department:

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Food and Nutritional Sciences, Administration

Compensation:

The minimum salary for this position is $65,000. Actual salary will depend on experience and qualifications.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Additional benefits information can be found at:


Required Qualifications:

• Experience initiating and monitoring financial transactions, performing reconciliations, and maintaining financial records
• Experience working independently to complete assigned financial tasks and collaborating with a team to resolve issues or support shared workflows
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects, deadlines, and competing demands
• Experience using spreadsheets (e.g., Microsoft Excel) to analyze financial data, create forecasts, prepare budgets, and produce reports


Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands on experience with UW System financial systems and workflows, such as Workday, ShopUW+, Assetworks, Smartsheets, or Qualtrics, including creating or processing procurements, invoices, internal billing, or expense transfers
• Proficiency with accounting and budget analysis demonstrated through preparing, reviewing, or reconciling financial reports for grants, projects, or departmental funds

Education:

Associate Degree in Finance, Accounting, or closely related field preferred


How to Apply:

To apply for this position, please click on the "I am a current employee" button or "I am not a current employee" button under "Apply Now". You will be prompted to upload the following documents.
• Resume (required) - Detail your educational and professional background
• Cover letter (required) - Address each of the required and preferred qualifications as they relate to your work experience

It's important that your cover letter and resume reflect your experience for this position related to the Qualifications section. Your application materials will be used during our evaluation to determine your qualifications as they relate to the job. The most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the next step of the selection process.

There is only one attachment field; please upload all application materials here. Please submit only the materials specified; additional materials will not be reviewed.

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 the appointment. University sponsorship is not available for this position.

References: Finalists will be asked to provide contact information (phone and email) for three references, one of which must be a current or former supervisor. References will not be contacted without prior notice.

Contact Information:

Hong Zhang

View email address on click.appcast.io


Work Phone: View phone number on click.appcast.io

Fax: View phone number on click.appcast.io

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.