Financial Analyst III

Welcome to Land, Buildings & Real Estate:

Land, Buildings & Real Estate (LBRE) is the operational core of Stanford University’s physical campus. LBRE constructs and maintains the Stanford campus, where advancements across the academic spectrum are made possible. Our work is founded upon the collective value of dedication, innovation, expertise, teamwork, and continuous improvement. We are committed to serving the university’s academic mission, as well as preserving and enhancing Stanford’s 8,180 acres, and pride ourselves on supporting the teaching and research of the university as “Caretakers of a Legacy."
The Financial Analyst 3 is a senior individual contributor responsible for complex financial planning, analysis, and advisory support for multiple operational units. This role partners closely with leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to inform decision-making, improve financial processes, and ensure strong stewardship of university resources.

Who we are:

Finance & Administration (F&A) provides the foundation for Land, Buildings & Real Estate (LBRE) operations including budgets, capital funding coordination and documentation, information technology systems, authority and approvals, internal controls, compliance, accounting and reporting for LBRE. We are the liaison with other university financial departments, Research Administration, the Cabinet and Board of Trustees.

Who you are:

You have a passion for all things math, systems and business. You realized that Finance perfectly blends these together and this is why you pursued a career in Finance! You are also a financial analyst who is highly analytical and communicates effectively with anyone within an organization. You possess strong interpersonal communication skills both written and verbal. You have a proven track record of using analysis to influence decision-making, and can successfully articulate insights and outcomes to executives and peers. That means that you can take financial data and translate that into a story that is understandable for our non-technical staff and leave the financial jargon out of it when necessary.

You’re highly comfortable working with a wide range of technologies, including both financial and non-financial systems. Experience with Adaptive Planning is a plus but not required, you’re a fast learner who can quickly pick up new tools and operate independently with minimal supervision. You actively embrace technology, recognizing its value as a powerful complement to financial analysis. You’re also open to leveraging emerging tools, including AI, to enhance efficiency, uncover insights, and drive smarter decision-making.

Proactive monitoring of transactions is second nature to you, not only that but you are able to interpret internal policies, rules and compliance along with external regulations to ensure that the proper action is taken. You understand the importance of strong internal controls and use that knowledge to make processes better.

You can Identify and resolve unique issues with substantial significance; recognize exceptions, conduct in-depth analysis using advanced technical knowledge and experience. You possess excellent excel skills and use it creatively to analyze data, develop complex budget and planning scenarios.

You like to share your knowledge with others because you thrive in a collaborative environment. While you may be new to a role or even new to using a system, once you learn it, you enjoy sharing that knowledge with team members.

You are meticulously detail oriented, insatiably curious, and full of integrity.

Who will you support:

There are many departments at LBRE, your primary focus will be on, but not limited to, Stanford Transportation, Department of Project Management, and University Architect.

What work will you do**:

• Perform highly analytical, complex finance and control functions; multi-dimensional and complex reconciliations and related analysis; prepare or review and approve complex transactions and higher level dollar value transactions.
• Develop complex budget and forecasting scenarios, long-range planning and analyses for financial reporting and presentations; design and run ad hoc reports.
• Financial planning and analysis for various departments; develop detailed annual budget, full-mid-year reforecast, capital plan, critically investigate and write up informative variance explanations.
• Lead and execute unit or cross functional projects and teams, make decisions regarding projects and programs affecting operational effectiveness, policies, or processes.
• Interpret, implement and ensure compliance with university policies and procedures (particularly as related to service centers and various fund types).
• Research and synthesize data; interpolate results from large amounts of data, identify trends in data, draw conclusions, develop solutions, present and implement recommendations, and create follow up analysis.
• Identify and resolve unique issues with substantial significance; recognize exceptions, and conduct in-depth analysis using advanced technical knowledge and experience. Recommend and develop solutions that may require policy changes or the development of new processes; maintain broader organizational and university perspective in decision making.
• Review, design, and implement appropriate internal control programs, research new regulations, and implement approved changes. Manage compliance program for area of responsibility, interpret internal policy and external regulations, and create and/or review complex compliance reports.
• Engage in continuous critical analysis of existing systems and processes; make recommendations to achieve greater efficiencies and improve internal controls. Define requirements, develop and implement complex test cases, perform testing and analyze results.
• Lead and support unit and organization strategy and change management initiatives.
• Provide training on new financial systems. Represent organization to client group(s) and external partners; serve as subject matter expert on matters that involve complex technical, financial, or subject matter expertise.
• Evaluate both client and business requirements, then make recommendations to decide on the best methods for managing and finalizing processes.
• May provide functional guidance, training, or knowledge-sharing support to other staff.

**Additional duties as applicable to the role