Budget & Financial Planning Analyst

Job Description

Budget & Financial Planning Analyst | Auburn University

The Tone:
This is a full-time, continuing contract role at Auburn University, located in Auburn, AL. The university is a top employer in higher education, committed to a culture of excellence and making a lasting, life-changing impact through its research, instruction, and outreach programs. This Budget & Financial Planning Analyst role is vital for compiling and interpreting financial data to provide analytical support in budgeting, forecasting, and performance reporting, thereby assisting in informed decision-making across the entire University. The position directly contributes to the university’s long-term financial strategy and institutional priorities.

The TL;DR
• Role: Early Career
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person, Auburn, AL

• Team: Budget and Planning Services department
• Mission: To provide essential analytical support for budgeting, forecasting, and performance reporting by compiling and interpreting financial data to facilitate informed decision‑making across Auburn University.
• Tech Stack: N/A

What You’ll Actually Do
• Annual Budget Development: Assist and support the formulation of the University’s annual budget by coordinating inputs across various units, validating underlying assumptions, and ensuring comprehensive alignment with institutional priorities and the long‑term financial strategy.
• Campus Financial Collaboration: Participate in campus-wide discussions regarding budget development, financial reporting, and fiscal performance, meeting regularly with business officers and leadership to communicate trends, identify risks, and highlight opportunities.
• State-Required Financial Reporting: Assist in the meticulous preparation of all required financial submissions to the State of Alabama, including the Postsecondary Operations Plan, Legislative Budget Request, ACHE Needs Assessment, and additional ad hoc requests from external survey groups, Governmental Affairs, and other stakeholders.
• Advanced Analytics and Automation: Aggregate and analyze complex financial datasets using advanced analytical methods; build and refine predictive models to support strategic planning efforts; and lead automation initiatives to streamline Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) workflows and integrate disparate data sources.
• Performance Reporting and Benchmarking: Assist in the preparation of quarterly and ad hoc reporting packages, leveraging the planning platform’s analytical tools to benchmark performance, evaluate progress toward institutional goals, and present clear, actionable insights to leadership and other stakeholders.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s degree required. This is an early career role providing analytical support in budgeting and financial planning within a university setting.
• Experience: Entry-level experience assisting with financial modeling, scenario planning, long-range forecasting, and financial data interpretation.
• Skills: Proficiency in aggregating and analyzing complex financial datasets, building and refining predictive models, leading automation efforts, preparing detailed financial reports, and creating executive-level presentations, charts, and dashboards.
• Bonus: A Bachelor’s degree specifically in Accounting, Finance, Business, Analytics, Data Science, or a related field is desired. Alternatively, a CPA, CFA, or CMA designation may be substituted for the specific degree requirement.