Manager, Corporate Finance

Manager of Strategic Financial Planning and Budget

Duke University Health System is seeking an experienced finance professional to serve as the Manager of Strategic Financial Planning and Budget within Corporate Finance, reporting directly to the Director of Strategic Financial Planning and Budget. This position manages enterprise-level annual budgeting, financial planning, forecasting, and related decision-support processes for a complex, multi-billion-dollar academic health system.

The Manager will lead a team of financial analysts, coordinate with finance and operational leaders across DUHS and Duke University as necessary, and ensure budget assumptions, submissions, analysis, and reporting are accurate, timely, well-controlled, and aligned with organizational priorities. This role requires a highly analytical, collaborative, and process-oriented leader who can translate complex financial information into actionable insights for senior leadership.

Core Responsibilities (Work Performed)

• Manage the annual operating budget, financial planning, and forecasting processes at the corporate level for all of DUHS, ensuring timelines, deliverables, assumptions, and submissions are completed accurately and on schedule.
• Lead the preparation, review, and interpretation of financial analyses that support strategic planning, budget development, resource allocation, performance improvement, and executive decision-making.
• Oversee recurring budget reporting, forecast updates, variance analyses, and trend reviews. Identify key drivers of financial performance, communicate risks and opportunities, and recommend actions to improve alignment with budget and organizational goals.
• Partner with finance, operations, clinical, and administrative leaders across the Health System and University to gather inputs, validate assumptions, resolve issues, and communicate financial guidance, expectations, and results.
• Strengthen budgeting and planning processes by improving templates, workflows, controls, reconciliations, documentation, and data integrity. Promote standardization and efficient use of financial planning systems and analytical tools.
• Manage and perform complex ad-hoc analyses, scenario modeling, and special projects related to financial planning, strategic initiatives, productivity, expense management, growth assumptions, and organizational priorities.
• Supervise, coach, review the work of, and develop assigned financial analysts. Establish clear expectations, support professional growth, recommend personnel actions, and foster a high-performing, service-oriented team.
• Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (Candidate Profile)

To be successful in this role, the ideal candidate must possess the following profile:

• Demonstrated experience managing budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and decision-support processes in a large, complex organization. Experience supporting a multi-billion-dollar operating budget is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of healthcare financial operations, including revenue, expense, labor, productivity, volume, and service-line drivers. Experience in an academic medical center or complex health system is strongly preferred.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to synthesize large data sets, identify trends, evaluate risks and opportunities, and translate findings into clear recommendations.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent deliverables, coordinate cross-functional work, meet strict deadlines, and maintain accuracy and attention to detail in a fast-paced planning environment.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex financial concepts clearly to leaders at all levels of the Health System and University.
• Proven ability to build effective relationships, facilitate alignment across departments, and work collaboratively with finance, operations, clinical, and administrative stakeholders.
• Strong proficiency with financial planning, budgeting, reporting, and data analysis tools. Familiarity with systems such as Strata, Axiom, SAP, EPSi, or similar enterprise planning and reporting platforms is strongly preferred. Experience using automation, advanced analytics, or artificial intelligence tools to improve process efficiency is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and develop financial analysts while promoting accountability, customer service, continuous improvement, and high-quality work products.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Economics, or a related field is required.
• Master's degree in Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a related field is strongly preferred.

Experience

• Generally requires five (5) years of progressive financial planning, budgeting, accounting, financial analysis, healthcare finance, or related financial management experience.
• Experience must include developing budgets, forecasts, variance analyses, financial reports, and executive-level decision-support materials.
• Strong traditional and modern IT skills are important, with an emphasis on a demonstrated expertise for detailed analytical and presentation materials.
• Experience and interest in developing AI skills strongly encouraged.
• A Master's degree in Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a related field may be substituted for two (2) years of experience.
• Experience in an academic medical center or complex healthcare system is strongly preferred.

Degrees, Licensures, Certifications

• Master's degree, CPA, HFMA certification, or other relevant finance certification preferred.