Associate Director - Research Finance

About the Opportunity

Position Summary:

This position is a temporary position that supports the functions of the NU-RES Finance office under the NU-Research Enterprise Services (NU-RES) by ensuring that the University maintains compliance with applicable federal regulations, sponsor requirements and university policies with a focus on fiscal compliance. NU-RES Finance supports the research and scholarly activities of Northeastern’ s faculty in collaboration with colleges and administrative staff by providing financial and administrative services, financial and regulatory oversight of sponsored program accounts and monitors trends and develops strategies to address the impacts.

Reporting to the Director and the Executive Director, the Associate Director, Research Finance supports the functions and overall business operations of the central Research Finance team by providing organizational efficiencies, assisting with the oversight of financial operations and processes, and providing targeted support for the department’s cash management functions.

The Associate Director is responsible for the fiscal management of grants and contracts according to the terms and conditions of the sponsor. S/He supports a team of Sponsored Account Analysts who manage the university sponsored awards through the life cycle. The AD, Research Finance will collaborate with the other members for the Research Finance leadership team to monitors the work and priorities of the analysts as well as review, approve and submit transactions and FFRs as needed.The AD is continuously focused on business process improvements and support of the team and research community. This is a temporary position to provide additional support to the Research Finance office during periods of concurrent staffing shortages. 

The Associate Director is requires strong managerial, customer service, communication and collaborative working skills. This role is expected to foster consultative relationships as well as support a professional environment, providing award support and training to the Research Finance team as well as within the Colleges and other Northeastern University departments. Responsibilities include assisting senior leadership in ensuring the needs of Principal Investigators and support staff are met while complying with institutional policies and governmental regulation and assist management in broad level reporting and analysis for the department.

The Associate Director will work in various electronic platforms and systems and must be technologically savvy.  Must be able to use VPN and work completely electronically. Must be able to navigate through the financial system as well as the various grants systems and portals (various federal and non-federal sponsor Portals, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, etc.) as required to perform their role.  Must be able to work in federal portals and provide necessary information in order to register and gain access to several electronic systems in order for the University to obtain access for compliance purposes.

A key success factor for this role is being current with respect to federal regulations as well as the ability to train others on the application of these regulations.  This role must treat effective compliance as an equal priority, stay abreast of sponsor rules, regulations, and policy changes, as well as institutional best practices in research administration and finance. Participate in sponsored research initiatives and projects as assigned, as well as lead the adoption of best practices to promote continuous improvement making sure that the highest quality standards are met.

Northeastern is a global university and Provost Research supports its team working remotely. Remote locations and work schedules are determined based on operational needs and in consultation with Team members, consistent with university policies and guidance.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

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.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 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

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities:

Financial Report Review and Processing (30%)

Coordinate the work activity of a team of Research Finance Analyst.  Ensure timely submission of financial report.  Review financial reporting prior to submission to the sponsor and analyze accounts and agreements for compliance with terms and conditions.  Work with the research team to identify any final adjustments needed that may impact reporting and AR balances.

Transactional Reviews and approvals (35%)

Review and approve research transactions such as procurement requisitions, invoice approvals, expense reports, concur, cost transfers, award tasks and salary adjustments and others.  Review terms and conditions of the award along with agency policies and uniform guidance for allowability.  Navigate the WD system in order to approve transactions or send back to initiator.  Support the teams in processing systems edits in order from transaction processing and posting, such and award line edits and life cycle status.

Close out of Grant Accounts (25%)

Work with leadership team to close out projects in accordance with the regulations, sponsor requirements and university accounting system.  Review the terms and conditions and ensure any residual balances are appropriately returned to the sponsor or JV the appropriate divisions and PIs.  Work with the AR and cash team for GL/OL alignment.

SOP and Guidance Document Development (5%)

Develop and update SOP and guidance documents for both internal team and external guidance documents.  Ensure alignment throughout all research finance business processes.

Audits and ad hoc Projects (5%)

Assist Research Finance leadership team on reporting and special projects as needed. 

Position Type

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.  

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

This job is for a current or anticipated job vacancy.

Pay Rate: