Business Manager (Manager III, Business Administration)
Company: University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL)
Location: St. Louis, MO, United States (On-site)
Employment Type: Full-time (40 hours/week, Monday through Friday)
Seniority Level: Mid-Senior level
Estimated Salary: $60,944 - $76,000 per year (The university provides this anticipated hiring range and includes a comprehensive University of Missouri System benefits package.)
Industry: Higher Education / Education Management / Financial Services
Company Overview
The University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) stands out as a leading public metropolitan research university, offering transformative educational experiences to a diverse range of students.
As one of the four campuses making up the University of Missouri System, UMSL focuses on academic excellence, community involvement, and impactful research.
The Division of Finance & Operations plays a key role here, keeping the university financially sound, transparent, and equipped with strong internal controls for both academic and operational units.
Key Responsibilities
Fiscal & Policy Administration: Maintain thorough knowledge of university fiscal policies and handle daily financial operations and technical challenges. Make sure resources align with the university’s strategic goals.
Accounting & Budget Governance: Take charge of structural accounting, yearly budgeting, strategic planning, payroll cycles, and contract oversight for the institution.
Performance Metric Tracking: Collect, analyze, and report business and non-academic metrics so departments stay on pace toward their performance targets.
Strategic Staffing & HR Liaison: Evaluate current and future HR needs across business units, start formal hiring requests, coordinate position changes, and manage payroll—all in line with the university’s staffing plans.
Financial Risk Mitigation: Enforce strict compliance, ensuring every transaction is documented, properly authorized, and protected by strong internal controls to keep university assets safe.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Act as the main business contact between academic units and University Shared Services, Human Resources, Information Technology, and other administrative partners across campus.
Budget Performance Monitoring: Forecast long-term budget patterns, monitor ongoing financial results, and help design standard financial tools and processes with other managers.
Professional Development & Guidance: Train and support campus employees responsible for budget work, offering hands-on mentoring and ongoing guidance.
Experience & Qualifications
At least 5 years of progressive professional experience in business administration, financial management, accounting, or similar institutional operations.
Strong track record working well under pressure, juggling multiple priorities, and hitting firm deadlines.
Exceptional teamwork, people skills, and conflict resolution abilities—a genuine talent for building consensus in complex organizations.
Excellent communication skills, comfortable interacting with top administrators, Academic Deans, Department Chairs, faculty, and staff at every level.
Visa Restriction: You must be fully authorized to work in the United States. The university will not sponsor employment visas for this position.
Academic Baseline: A Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent mix of education and relevant experience.
Technical Skills Required
Financial Controls Architecture: Solid understanding of general ledger accounting, public or corporate budgets, payroll processes, and resource allocation systems.
Enterprise ERP Infrastructure: Hands-on knowledge of integrated enterprise software like PeopleSoft, SAP, or similar campus ERP systems.
Data Presentation: Skilled in using office suites like Microsoft Office or Google Workspace to create reports, budget documents, and manage confidential records.
How to Apply
To apply, combine your cover letter and recent resume into one PDF or Microsoft Word file (keep the file name under 50 characters and avoid special characters). Upload this file directly through the official UMSL Careers portal.