Shangaza Walcott
3010 Harding Street,NY
Summary
Seasoned Budget Director with 12 years of experience working collaboratively with Business Partners, Executives and associated Administrative staff to optimize adherence to policies, procedures, standards and regulations. Well-versed in operational activities related to budgeting, decision support, reporting and financial planning. Furthermore, collaborative and personable with a clear understanding of budget requirements and optimization strategies. Well-organized and systematic with excellent communication and planning abilities that allow for smoothing, streamlining and enhancing operational activities.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Director, Budget (working Title - Assoc. Director)
Pratt Institute
Brooklyn, NY
04.2021 - Current
- Direct and lead all functions related to the creation and administration of the Annual Operating budget; which includes but are not limited to, planning, budgeting, forecasting, and trend/variance analysis.
- Provide analyses, interpretation, assumptions, projections and presentations of financial data, including the budget submissions to the Board.
- Monitor budget submissions, analysis and preparation of budget statistics, enrollment, revenue, budget and expense reports to assist in preparation of the annual operating budget.
- Maintain quarterly and monthly variance reporting packages related to budget performance and other key financial metrics for presentation to Finance Committee and Board of Trustees.
- Develop and maintain critical databases and reports to compare and contrast prior year budget submissions with proposed allocation(s).
- Support the Controller and VP of Finance and Administration and other business unit leadership in development of long-term & short-term financial goals.
- Serve as a lead in process improvement related to budgetary & reporting matters.
- Provide collaborative and consultative support to VP's, Deans, Chairs, Department Head(s) and other business administrators with day-to-day budget matters.
- Collaborates with Human Resources regarding position control and recruitment efforts.lead a high performance culture and budget team to be valued asset to the campus community.
Director Capital Funding and Compliance
New Jersey Transit
Newark, N.J.
02.2019 - 02.2021
- Collaborated on the development and execution of NJ TRANSIT’s strategic/legislative capital program of $1.4B annually with external parties, including federal legislative staff, NJDOT and other federal and state agencies such as FRA, USDOT, DHS; and transportation policy organizations.
- Assured the fulfillment of all NJ TRANSIT reporting responsibilities to all outside agencies, including monthly and quarterly reports to FTA, DHS, PANYNJ and three (3) metropolitan planning organizations.
- Successfully oversaw and directed the grant development, application, administration and closeout processes for all capital and planning projects.
- Created a separate off-line database maintained within the Grants Administration & Compliance (GAC) division that is the authoritative source for the management of NJ TRANSIT’s capital funding and documentation of all capital funds awarded to NJ TRANSIT.
Associate Director of Budgets
Kean University
Union, N.J.
10.2016 - 02.2019
- Collaborated on the development and execution of the institution’s annual operating budget of ~ $250 million, which includes planning, developing and implementing measures that effectively manage the overall coordination of the University funds to assure compliance with state appropriation and universities budgeting/accounting principles and practices.
- Amended budgetary policies and procedures as means to identify effective ways to administer institutional funds within schools and departments.
- Developed an annual budget model that hypothesized budgets mockups based on projected revenues with the resources needed to operate academic and nonacademic units.
- Established/Executed strategic policies between the Budget Office & Procurement Office to streamline processes.
- Developed trackers to correctly reconcile FTE’s within departments.
- Trained and developed department leaders and management staff for specific projects and ongoing operational needs.
Budgets and Grants Manager
International Center For Transitional Justice
New York, N.Y.
06.2015 - 07.2016
- Led a team of financial officers and grant coordinators in several countries to develop, analyze, propose, direct, implement, monitor and evaluate agency financial positions within a number of international and domestic restricted/unrestricted grants at ICTJ.
- Identified strategic goals for all country sites and quantified each mission in efforts to develop annual consolidated budget.
- Overhauled and implemented budgetary tools and procedures in efforts to clear measure strategic goals and monitor expenditure throughout the fiscal year.
- Participated in the development of strategic plan for country offices and developed funding plan for multiple years.
- Collaborated with Human Resources and Department leads with the cultivation of a strong core competencies within the team across Europe and Asia and African region. Including recruitment and/or training to team members.
Grant Manager
New York University
New York, N.Y.
01.2014 - 05.2015
- Managed a team responsible for the following: prospect research, proposal review, submission, award acceptance, financial monitoring, and closeout and reporting of sponsored project accounts. Which included training and policy development; policy and procedure implementation; committee service; and resolution of elevated issues.
- Effectively formulated policy and/or developed new or alternative procedures for both Pre and Post award administration of sponsored projects within Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at NYU..
- Effectively acted as one of the leads on transitioning the Pre and Post award administrative departments to a blending model of administration.
- Partnered with the Director to streamline initiatives to improve grant process and create budget templates.
- Successfully developed guidelines for several departments on how to rectify accounting/budget errors, which includes how to track effort, monitor and reallocate available funding, and submit appropriate journal requests to address accounting errors.
Divisional/Grant Administrator
New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College
New York, N.Y.
06.2011 - 01.2014
- Provided administrative support to the division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology by organizing, coordinating, and supervising daily unit operations.
- Coordinated the administration of programs, projects, and/or processes. Prioritized and supervised work resolves routine conflicts and issues. Identified administrative shortfalls and developed and implemented administrative guidelines and procedures.
- Successfully established a robust financial tracker within Excel that identified funding source by Principal Investigator.
- Increased the number of awarded proposals by 30% by actively participating in the application design and operational phase of all Long/Short Term funded programs.
- Developed a financial tracker that identified all funding deficits within a given fiscal period to safeguarded unit assets.
Education
MBA - Business Administration
Kean University
Union, N.J.2023
BBA - Economics, Psychology
Baruch College
New York, N.Y.2007
Skills
- Leadership
- Budgeting and Financial Management
- Performance Management
- Finance & Reporting
- Grants Management
- Quantitative Analysis
- Operational Efficiency
- Database Management
- Administrative Support
- Microsoft Suite
Affiliations
- Member of the National Association of College & University Business Officers (NACUBO)
- Member of the Eastern Association of College & University Business Officers (EACUBO)
Timeline
Director, Budget (working Title - Assoc. Director)
Pratt Institute
04.2021 - Current
Director Capital Funding and Compliance
New Jersey Transit
02.2019 - 02.2021
Associate Director of Budgets
Kean University
10.2016 - 02.2019
Budgets and Grants Manager
International Center For Transitional Justice
06.2015 - 07.2016
Grant Manager
New York University
01.2014 - 05.2015
Divisional/Grant Administrator
New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College
06.2011 - 01.2014
MBA - Business Administration
Kean University
BBA - Economics, Psychology
Baruch College