Vice President and Chief Budget Officer

Role of the Vice President and Chief Budget Officer

The Vice President and Chief Budget Officer (VP/CBO), a critical executive position, serves as the principal architect and steward of the University’s budget strategy and resource allocation model across five campuses, with an annual operating budget of approximately $5 billion. In this role, the VP/CBO is also a highly visible institutional leader who represents, explains, and communicates the University’s budget strategy, process, and decisions to internal and external stakeholders, including faculty, staff, and students, the Board of Regents, state leaders, and the broader public.

The VP/CBO serves as the strategic thought partner to the President, Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations, Executive Vice President and Provost, and other senior leaders, and is expected to bring judgment, candor, and creativity to complex decisions that balance academic excellence, affordability, compensation competitiveness, and long‑term financial health. This role requires a dynamic leader capable of navigating a complex, distributed, and highly collaborative environment, and translating strategic vision into multi‑year operational plans.

In addition to technical and strategic leadership, the VP/CBO plays a central role as the University’s authoritative budget educator and communicator. This includes serving as a trusted resource to faculty, staff, and shared governance bodies, ensuring that budget decisions and trade‑offs are clearly articulated, and representing the University’s budget priorities credibly and transparently to state policymakers and external audiences. The ability to communicate complex budget information with clarity, nuance, and integrity is an essential dimension of this role.

• Architect and govern the University’s comprehensive budget model, advising executive leadership on resource allocation, financial policy, and long‑term fiscal sustainability.
• Drive continuous improvement in financial planning processes and lead the identification and practical implementation of new financial strategies to optimize resource deployment.
• Consult with the Board of Regents, executive leadership, Deans, and governing bodies to ensure budget principles and the President’s recommended annual operating budget reflect institutional priorities.
• Develop and maintain Board and administrative policies related to budget management.
• Direct the preparation and articulation of the University’s external operating budget requests, serving as the primary operating budget liaison to the State of Minnesota.
• Consult on the planning and execution of the annual capital improvement budget to incorporate relevant impacts into development of the annual operating budget.
• Consult on the development and execution of capital financing strategies and provide support to the issuance of University debt.
• Serve as a member of the Executive Budget Committee with the Executive Vice Presidents of the University to lead all University units through a robust annual operating budget development process culminating in detailed recommendations to the University President on all components of the annual budget.
• Collaborate with the Vice President of Finance / Assistant CFO and the University Chief Investment Officer to develop institutional financial strategies and exercise oversight of University financial assets.

• Lead the development, preparation, and presentation of all internal and external operating budget materials, ensuring clarity, transparency, and strategic alignment.
• Oversee institution‑level financial forecasting, analysis, and reporting activities, providing actionable intelligence to manage University resources effectively.
• Work with the Chief Financial Managers of all five campuses and administrative units to develop, deliver, and implement the University’s annual operating budget.
• Partner with the Vice President of Finance / Assistant CFO to ensure rigorous internal controls and coordinate interfaces with the Controller’s office, HR/Payroll, and Benefits and Student Finance, and others to safeguard data integrity and…