The Business Manager provides leadership and oversight for fiscal management, human resources, and office operations within the unit. This position ensures compliance with university, state, and federal policies while maintaining sound business and administrative practices. Responsibilities include financial approvals, budget management, personnel oversight, and coordination of data and reporting used in accreditation, audits, and academic reviews. The Business Manager serves as the primary resource for financial and HR policies and assists faculty and leadership with sponsored project activities and data management processes.

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The purpose of this position is to assist the Applied Engineering department head in overseeing and administering the fiscal, office operations, human resources, publications, and data management responsibilities. As delegated by the department head/director, this position carries full signature authority for specific fiscal and human resource matters. The breadth of responsibilities impacts the unit’s ability to meet fiscal objectives, maintain administrative integrity, and support faculty in sponsored research and financial management.

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Required Qualifications

Education:

• High School diploma or GED

Experience:

• Six years of accounting and business management or HR management experience
• Minimum of two years of experience supervising regular employees

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Knowledge of standard accounting principles.
• Professional integrity, including a thorough understanding of confidentiality.
• Communication and interpersonal skills sufficient for effective interactions with a broad range of individuals, including faculty.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Excellent writing, grammar, and proofreading skills.
• Decisiveness and extensive problem-solving skills.
• Competence with common office and database software.
• Ability to multi-task.
• Ability to lead a small office team.

Preferred Qualifications:

Education:

• Associate’s degree with four years of accounting/business management experience, OR

• Bachelor’s degree with two years of accounting/business management experience in a related field.

Experience:

• Project management or administration of federally funded projects, including experience with project budgets, financial reporting, and forecasting.

• Financial work history at a comprehensive research university.

• A minimum of 2 years of supervisory experience.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Experience with Oracle/DASH (ERP), Award Management software (Research Admin), Student Information System (SIS)

Work Location

• Location: Knoxville, TN
• Onsite

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: MR 11
• Anticipated hiring range: $80,000-$85,000
• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments.

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• List of 3 Professional References

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Finance (60%):

This position is the lead for overseeing unit-level financial and accounting operations, including approval of financial transactions, budget development, and ongoing monitoring of expenditures. The role leads the preparation of annual budgets, submission of required data files, and analysis of financial activity to support strategic planning initiatives. It represents the unit in budget hearings and related meetings, ensures accurate financial reporting, and supervises accounting and bookkeeping functions.

The position also serves as a subject matter resource on financial policies and procedures, providing guidance in complex areas such as labor distribution, accounts receivable, and cash management. Assists with the development and submission of research project budgets. This includes preparing and reviewing budget proposals and justifications, providing recommendations to ensure compliance with unit guidelines and funding agency requirements, supporting online proposal submissions, and assisting principal investigators with post-award financial reporting. The position collaborates closely with the Office of Research, as necessary, to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant financial management of grants and contracts.

Operations (20%):

This role maintains a professional and well-organized office environment that reflects positively on the department. Responsibilities include overseeing daily office operations, assigning and prioritizing work to ensure balanced workloads, and implementing cross-training to promote teamwork and operational continuity. The position trains and develops staff, ensures compliance with university policies related to performance and conduct, and supports performance management activities, including evaluations and corrective actions in collaboration with department leadership. Additionally, the role assists with recruiting and hiring office staff and ensures effective coordination of facilities, housekeeping, furnishings, and maintenance needs in partnership with Facilities Services.

This position also plays a central role in the acquisition, management, and reporting of complex data and information critical to unit operations, accreditation, and academic program review processes. Responsibilities include coordinating and maintaining accurate financial, student, and research data for accreditation reviews, surveys, and benchmarking activities. The role prepares analytical reports on budgets, expenditures, projections, research productivity, and project costs to support leadership decision-making and external sponsor requirements. Additionally, the position supports annual budgeting, audit assessments, space inventory reporting, and manages scholarship and fellowship data, including award criteria and student award records.

Human Resources (20%):

As the lead point of review and approval for all unit-level HR actions, this position is responsible for ensuring alignment between personnel decisions and budgetary requirements. Responsibilities include approving personnel actions for faculty, staff, and students; serving as a subject matter resource on HR policies and procedures; supporting department leadership with recruitment and hiring; and supervising staff and student assistants. The role also coordinates HR-related training, conducts performance evaluations for office staff, and provides effective solutions to a wide range of HR-related issues to support compliance, efficiency, and workforce effectiveness.