Director of Budget & Finance

Financial Services

Lead a high-performing team responsible for hospital system budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, strategic analysis, labor planning, and enterprise decision support. As the Hospital System Finance and Budget Director, you will direct the development of operating and capital budgets, long-range financial plans, executive reporting, financial models, and performance analyses for hospital locations, joint ventures, and affiliates.

This role serves as a strategic financial resource to executive and operational leadership by providing recommendations related to financial stewardship, resource allocation, capital deployment, organizational growth, workforce planning, and enterprise financial performance. You will collaborate with Finance, Clinical Operations, Accounting, and other stakeholders to strengthen accountability, support cross-functional financial governance, and advance UCLA Health’s strategic, operational, and financial objectives.

In this role, you will:

• Direct the development of the Hospital System’s annual operating budget, capital budget, forecasting, and long-range strategic planning processes, including timelines, deliverables, executive presentations, financial targets, and planning assumptions.

• Lead month-end close, financial performance reporting, variance analysis, budget-to-actual analysis, cash flow reporting, and other financial activities that support organizational and operational objectives.

• Oversee the preparation and delivery of executive financial reporting materials, including Management Operating Reviews, Management Forum reporting, financial results, and leadership presentations that support strategic and operational decision-making.

• Champion financial stewardship, resource allocation, asset and investment management, and enterprise financial performance by using internal, benchmarking, and industry data to guide best practices, strengthen accountability, and develop recommendations grounded in sound financial analysis.

• Guide leadership and operational teams in evaluating key performance indicators, financial trends, operational drivers, risks, and opportunities, and recommend actions that improve financial and operational performance.

• Oversee the development and review of financial models, scenario analyses, pro formas, business plans, and strategic analyses that evaluate growth opportunities, reimbursement changes, capital investments, acquisitions, affiliations, business development initiatives, operational efficiencies, and enterprise transformation efforts.

• Lead the development and maintenance of UCLA Health’s long-range financial plan, including multi-year operating, balance sheet, capital, cash flow, and forecasting projections.

• Provide executive leadership with analyses and recommendations related to financial sustainability, capital deployment, investment opportunities, resource allocation, organizational growth strategies, and enterprise financial outcomes.

• Lead the enterprise capital planning process and establish methodologies for evaluating, prioritizing, and allocating financial resources across competing strategic initiatives and investment opportunities.

• Provide financial leadership to governance committees responsible for capital investments, business planning, resource allocation, enterprise investments, and other significant financial decisions.

• Oversee enterprise forecasting processes, financial planning tools, decision-support frameworks, reporting methodologies, and performance analyses that provide leadership with visibility into financial trends, risks, opportunities, and investment outcomes.

• Provide financial oversight of managed care arrangements, joint ventures, affiliations, and other strategic business activities, including performance monitoring, financial reporting, and executive review.

• Partner with operational, finance, and accounting leaders to support accurate financial reporting, audit and regulatory requirements, and the development of financial methodologies, assumptions, and analytical frameworks that inform business and resource allocation decisions.

• Champion financial reporting methodologies that strengthen financial stewardship, enhance decision-support capabilities, and promote organizational accountability.

• Lead labor planning and workforce financial management across the Hospital System, including workforce forecasting, productivity frameworks, staffing governance, position management, staffing reviews, labor cost management, resource utilization, and workforce investment decisions.

• Partner with operational leaders to evaluate staffing strategies, workforce productivity, labor costs, resource utilization, and opportunities to improve financial and operational performance.

• Build trusted partnerships across Finance and Clinical Operations, facilitate cross-functional financial governance, and participate in operational, strategic, capital, and finance committees to deliver actionable recommendations.

• Lead and develop a team responsible for budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, strategic analysis, labor planning, and decision support by establishing departmental priorities, performance expectations, and professional development goals.

• Support employee relations, recruitment, retention, succession planning, and staff development while promoting accountability, collaboration, innovation, service excellence, continuous improvement, and consistent adherence to organizational policies and procedures.

• Ensure effective stewardship of departmental resources, financial planning functions, and operational priorities.

Salary Range:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in a business-related field.

• 10 or more years of financial management experience within an academic medical center, hospital system, or consulting or accounting firm specializing in academic medical centers, hospital systems, healthcare finance, strategy, or transactions.

• Demonstrated management experience with the ability to attract, build, develop, and lead a high-performing management team.

• Ability to establish high standards of leadership, performance, quality, credibility, integrity, and accountability.

• Demonstrated understanding of the financial elements of healthcare delivery, including organizational strategy, business planning, operations, and management.

• Demonstrated experience preparing monthly, quarterly, and annual budgets, forecasts, long-range financial plans, executive presentations, and detailed variance analyses.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to evaluate complex financial data, identify issues, assess variable factors, and recommend effective solutions.

• Demonstrated ability to develop advanced data queries using financial systems and reporting software.

• Functional knowledge of large-scale integrated enterprise resource planning, budgeting, planning, reporting, and other financial systems.

• Ability to lead process-improvement initiatives, establish priorities, assess performance systematically, implement improvements, and sustain achieved results.

• Ability to influence outcomes, integrate financial functions with business plans, and collaborate with operations on new technologies and more effective or efficient processes.

• Ability to consistently promote quality, customer service, productivity, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Strong written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to work effectively with physicians, senior management, managers, technical staff, and diverse stakeholder groups.

• Ability to exercise sound judgment when addressing highly complex issues that require an in-depth evaluation of variable factors and coordination among multiple stakeholders.

• Self-motivated and results-oriented, with demonstrated initiative and the ability to manage priorities, meet deadlines, and work accurately with detailed information.

• Ability to build collaborative relationships that promote trust, respect, cooperation, problem-solving, and achievement of organizational objectives.

• Ability to orient and work at all UCLA locations.

Preferred

• Advanced degree in a business-related field is preferred.

• Degree emphasis in Finance or Accounting is preferred.