Queen’s is introducing a new approach for delivering finance support to faculties and shared service units. The new administrative structure is designed to provide the Queen’s community with consistent, coordinated finance support while strengthening connections among the university's finance staff.  

These changes build on improvements made over the past two years, as some faculties and shared service units brought finance work together into dedicated teams and strengthened coordination at the unit level. The new model supports this progress through a coordinated, university-wide structure.  

Previously, finance work was often organized within individual departments and units, with each area managing its own staffing and coverage. By bringing finance teams together under shared leadership, the new structure will allow Queen’s to coordinate existing staff capacity more effectively. This will help the university respond to evolving operational needs and sustain cost-effective finance support over the long term.

Finance work across faculties and shared service units will be brought together into coordinated hubs within a new Integrated Finance Services team. The hubs will be organized as follows:

• Two hubs supporting shared services
• One hub supporting the Faculty of Arts and Science
• One hub supporting Queen’s Health Sciences
• One shared hub supporting Engineering, Law, Education, and Business

The Integrated Finance Services team will be overseen by an Executive Director who will report to Heather Woermke, Associate Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration). Each hub will have a dedicated leader responsible for day-to-day oversight of finance staff and delivery of finance services across the area it serves.  

Faculty-based finance staff will remain located in their current units, where they are already working as part of dedicated finance teams. Shared service finance staff, many of whom currently work as the sole finance employee within their unit, will relocate to 355 King Street West to work together as two larger, better-connected teams, though in most cases they will continue supporting their current units. 

This work is part of the Queen’s Renew Program, a university-wide effort to strengthen professional services so they can provide effective support, operate sustainably over the long term, and advance Queen’s academic mission of excellence in teaching and research.
 

Strengthening finance support across Queen’s

The new model is intended to provide specialized, well-coordinated finance support across faculties and shared service units. Clear accountability and consistent service standards will help ensure units receive knowledgeable, timely support, while a coordinated approach to staffing will make it easier to balance workloads and arrange backup coverage when needed.

Working within a broader network of finance professionals will also create opportunities for finance staff to learn from colleagues and collaborate across teams, strengthening both individual development for Queen’s finance staff and the university's overall finance capacity.

“Queen’s finance staff bring valuable expertise and a strong understanding of the faculties and units they support. The Integrated Finance Services team builds on that foundation by connecting finance staff across the university, creating new opportunities to collaborate, share knowledge, and deliver stronger, more resilient finance support to the Queen's community," says Donna Janiec, Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration).
 

Supporting employees through the transition

Most staff will continue supporting their current faculty or shared service unit, helping maintain continuity for finance employees and the units they work with. Heather Woermke, Associate Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration), Human Resources, and the Renew Program Office will work closely with employees transitioning to the Integrated Finance Services team to support them through this change.  

“In the coming months, my priority is to guide this transition thoughtfully, listen to employees’ questions and concerns, and make sure they have the information and support they need throughout the process," says Woermke.
 

What happens next?

The new Integrated Finance Services team is expected to be implemented in the first half of 2027. Further details, including any changes to how faculty and staff access finance services under the hub model, will be shared as implementation plans progress.

More information is available on the Queen’s Renew Program SharePoint communication site. Regular updates will be provided throughout the implementation and transition period.