Associate Director – Research Finance

Role Overview

• Monitors and directs the activities and workload of the Research Finance Analysts.
• Assign, oversee, review and measure workload for assigned staff to support post award administration of grants and contracts, from research administration hand-off through the entire award life-cycle.
• Specific activities include but are not limited to the following: Directly supervise and coordinate the work activity of a team of Research Finance.
• Provide career development, support and performance evaluations.
• Ensure all grant accounts are in good standing.
• Participate in the interviewing, hiring and training of new Research Finance Analysts.
• Ensure Banner accounts are set up in a timely manner which include review of contracts/agreements with compliance reviews and checks.
• Serve on appropriate institutional committees and participate in industry conferences as approved and as necessary.
• Lead business process improvement initiatives such as system changes, implementations and overall business practices for the advancement of research finance goals and objectives.
• Develop policies and procedures in line with federal guidelines and communicate to research team and community.
• Maintain regular communication with each department/program; attend meetings with analysts and Department PI/s and Admins as needed.
• Continually assess needs and resolve issues of the Principal Investigator related to Research Finance.
• Monitor and manage deficits and closeouts of the whole portfolio by working with the analysts to complete reconciliations and escalate to ADFs when needed.
• Act as liaison between sponsors and PIs for problem resolution and information gathering.
• Attend and participate in local, state and national conferences related to research administration.
• Communicate the knowledge gained at conferences and seminars to staff.
• Assist with audits including Uniform Guidance, NSF and other sponsored agency requests/audits.
• Ensure Reconciliations and Closeout’s are completed within 4 months of budget end date.
• Assist with AR collection over 120 days.
• Review journal entries, FFR’s, invoices and closeouts.
• Conduct orientation/training sessions with new principal investigators and administrators to ensure mutual understanding of grant and contract requirements, as well as institutional policies as needed.
• Perform analysis and support for ad hoc projects as needed.

Requirements

• BS/BA in Accounting, Finance or related field is required
• 6-8 years of work experience is required
• Strong technical skills with MS Office 365 including Teams, Excel, Word, SharePoint, Outlook, as well as Adobe Acrobat and other analytical tools.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and thrive in a fast-paced operations group, lead process improvement initiatives & manage multiple priorities for cross functional initiatives.
• Excellent leadership, analytical, problem-solving skills with a high attention to detail and organization
• Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to interact with management and senior leadership
• Basic understanding of General Accounting principles, standards, and regulations is required
• Experience in B2B accounting, accounts receivable, and working with Local and Federal agencies is preferred
• Experience in Federal portals and sponsor systems is preferred
• Experience in Workday Finance preferred
• Experience managing/supervising a team is preferred

Benefits

• medical
• vision
• dental
• paid time off
• tuition assistance
• wellness & life
• retirement
• commuting & transportation