Senior Financial Associate: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - UTK

The Senior Financial Associate reports to the Senior Business Manager and manages a wide range of finance, human resources, and administrative activities that support daily departmental operations. The position validates financial transactions, assists with sponsored research activity, coordinates personnel documents, supports payroll and HR processes, and provides data analysis related to financial, academic, and HR activities. The role contributes to accuracy, compliance, and efficiency across financial processes and supports faculty, staff, and students while ensuring alignment with university fiscal and human resource policies.

The Senior Financial Associate performs essential financial duties by validating cash management prepared by other staff, ensuring accurate and timely submission of receipts, guiding internal transfer transactions, and preparing or reviewing journal entries for cost allocations and corrections. The position assists with effort certification, prepares reports for faculty review, and supports processes related to nine-month payroll deferrals, NIH salary cap considerations, and NSF restrictions for sponsored projects. The Senior Financial Associate provides budget and funding support for externally sponsored projects, assists with monitoring expenditures, reconciles monthly activity, reviews budget projections, and manages close out tasks and contract modification needs. The position works directly with OSP and FMC for pre-award and post-award activity, helps manage internal funding sources such as seed awards and technology fees, and supports processing of cost share and internal funding transactions. Responsibilities include managing labor distribution schedules, performing analysis and validation, preparing data reports, and assisting with accounts receivable through invoice creation, customer setup, collections, and reconciliation of aged receivables including bad debt write off preparation.

Human resource responsibilities include coordinating all personnel documents such as hiring packets, terminations, retirement forms, leave requests, faculty development leave materials, and final paycheck checklists. The Senior Financial Associate ensures I-9 E-verification compliance, serves as hiring manager for research related positions, manages job postings, distributes candidate files, processes job offer transactions, and coordinates onboarding schedules. The position supports international scholar processes including OPT, visiting researcher activity, and J one requirements, and works closely with CIE, CGE, College HR, and Campus HR to maintain compliance. The role facilitates new and renewal H one B and J one cases, prepares visiting researcher packages, reviews HR documents for accuracy, evaluates departmental position titles for Actual Wage Certification, confirms departmental financial commitments, generates HR compliance reports, manages payroll costs and projections for sponsored projects, ensures payroll record retention compliance, and processes additional pay transactions related to research and faculty programs. The Senior Financial Associate also manages Interfolio activity for faculty searches, tenure and promotion cases, and faculty development leave files.

Administrative responsibilities include assisting with timetable entry and report generation, coordinating departmental events through preparation of name tags, venue reservations, decor, contracts, and logistics, organizing guest speaker arrangements, supporting student organization activities, and coordinating seminar related tasks. The Senior Financial Associate performs additional administrative duties as needed to support effective departmental operations.

Required Qualifications

• Education: High school diploma or GED.
• Experience: Four or more years of experience in accounting and human resources role.

• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:  

  • Knowledge of basic accounting principles.

  • Skill in communication, customer service, and organization.

  • Ability to multitask and work independently.

  • Ability to prioritize heavy workloads and time-sensitive tasks.

  • Organizational and time management skills.

  • Skill in handling confidential and sensitive information.

  • Strong interpersonal communication ability.

  • Working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

 

Preferred Qualifications

 

• Education: 

  • Associate’s degree in a related field with two or more years of accounting and HR experience.

  • Bachelor’s degree in a related field with experience in accounting and HR.

  • Other Licenses/certifications fields of study may include business, human resources, accounting, or related disciplines.

• Experience:

  • Experience in an academic environment.

  • Experience hiring foreign nationals and communicating with non-native English speakers.

  • Experience in HR specific functions such as recruiting, hiring, or employee relations.

• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:  

  • Knowledge of state and federal contract and grant financial requirements.

  • Knowledge of UT fiscal and HR policies and procedures.

  • Knowledge of financial and personnel systems such as Oracle and DASH.

  • Knowledge of hiring processes, I-9 E-verification, and USCIS visa requirements.

 

Work Location

• Location: Knoxville, TN
• Onsite

Compensation and Benefits 

• UT market range: MR07

• Anticipated hiring range: $50,000 - $55,000

• 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

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has shaped leaders, changemakers, and innovative thinkers since its founding in 1794. The university is home to more than 38,000 students and 10,000 statewide employees—the Volunteers—who uphold the university’s tradition of lighting the way for others through leadership and service. 
UT Knoxville offers over 900 programs of study across 14 degree-granting colleges and schools. As Tennessee’s flagship land-grant university, its footprint spans the entire state. The university holds the highest Carnegie classification for research activity and has deep partnerships with industry leaders and the US Department of Energy’s largest multidisciplinary laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 
The Knoxville campus serves and recruits for UT Knoxville, including the Institute of Agriculture and the Space Institute, as well as the UT Institute of Public Service.  
UT Knoxville considers its employees its number one asset. With values that focus on work-life balance, compensation, and innovation leadership, all Vols are supported to advance professionally. Employees have access to career development and coaching, continued education, and an extensive list of development and training possibilities. The Volunteer employee experience implements structures and practices to attract and retain top-tier talent, fostering a strong staff community and supporting a culture of involvement and engagement for everyone. 
The university holds a strong commitment to its land-grant mission of learning and engagement, with a tradition of service and leadership that carries that Volunteer spirit throughout the state and around the world. It has been ranked nationally as “Best Employer for New Graduates,” “One of America’s Best Large Employers,” and “Best Workplace for Women,” and has been designated as “Best Place for Working Parents” by Forbes Magazine.  
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