Assistant Director of Grants and Finance

Columbia University In the City of New York•New York, NY

56d•$92,000 - $102,000

About The Position

Columbia Engineering is a school responding to the needs of society and pushing disciplinary frontiers. We are at the forefront of many strategic areas of research, from environmental sustainability and the human genome to infrastructure sensors, nanotechnology, and data sciences. Additionally, the School has launched close to a dozen centers over the last five years. These centers span multiple departments and schools within Columbia University and nationally with peer institutions. With these expanded operations and complex organizational structures, we seek an individual to assist us in Columbia Engineering's central operations to provide support for the budget and financial matters of these research areas and centers. Reporting to the Director for Grants and Finance Services, the position supports the post-award administration and budget monitoring for research centers at Columbia Engineering. This individual will be a member of the Central Finance Office and work closely with the Research Centers and Academic departments to ensure proper and efficient sponsored projects financial management. In this role, the incumbent will leverage their expertise in post-award grant administration and organizational skills to collaborate with the various grant managers and business managers across the School. This role will include, but not be limited to, supporting the post-award grants management for the school; the monitoring and auditing of budgets and grants to avoid overdrafts; the reconciliation of center and grant accounts as well as the preparation of financial reports for grant compliance; the production of monthly financial reports and forecasts; the oversight of payroll accounting transfers, journal entries, and expenditure corrections, as needed; and performing related duties and projects as assigned when requested.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent in education and experience required plus four years of related experience, preferably in sponsored research administration.
Detailed knowledge of (or ability to quickly learn) Columbia University electronic systems, including ARC, PAC, RASCAL, FFE, and legacy applications (AP/CAR and DARTS). Internal candidates are encouraged to apply.
Attention to detail and strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills required.
Must have initiative, discretion, and the ability to establish priorities and work under pressure with good judgment and with supervision. Must be able to meet strict deadlines. Knowledge of high-level spreadsheets (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets) is required.
Must be able to work as a team player with administrative staff, faculty, and PIs.

Nice To Haves

Experience with post-award grants management and accounting strongly preferred.
Experience in a university environment preferred.
Experience with database software applications preferred.

Responsibilities

Act as an in-house expert resource to other grant administrators. Proactively works with the centers and academic departments to manage external and internal research funds.
Work closely with the large research centers on all post-award functions if the center/department does not have a dedicated staff member, and plays a supporting role if the center /department has a dedicated finance and operations manager. Sets up new grant accounts and budgets and modifies existing awards with new incoming funding, collaborating closely with Sponsored Projects Administration and senior team members as needed.
Provide award close-out guidance and support with liaising departments / centers. Serve as a resource on processes with obtaining sponsor approvals for no-cost extensions, re-budgeting, and carry-over requests if applicable. Assists with the University year-end close-out procedures, including, but not limited to, ensuring there is no grant overrun, all necessary grant expenses have been posted, SAPOS and POs are correctly accounted for and encumbered in ARC Sponsored Projects Financial reports.
Payroll Accounting: Perform calculations regularly for salary distributions and post-award management. Process and approve payroll accounting transactions as needed. Works with central finance team and departments on clearing suspense as needed.
Maintain records in accordance with internal procedures, demonstrating compliance with sponsor and sponsor agreements, and University regulations concerning project expenditures, equipment, and other fiscal concerns.
Assist with annual effort certification efforts of the School.
Budget Administration and Reconciliation: Actively works with the School in administering various aspects of the external research and internal research operating budgets. Work closely with the SEAS Finance team, academic departments and the centers on the quarterly and annual updates for fiscal year budgets for these centers. Review variances and provide analyses on a quarterly basis. Track financial activity against approved budgets to prevent overruns.
Internal Controls: Monitor center financial activity to ensure compliance with all Federal, State, Columbia Engineering, and University policies and procedures. Coordinates with Columbia Engineering Finance, CU Internal Audit, Sponsored Project Administrations (SPA)/Sponsored Project Finance (SPF), and other internal stakeholders to comply with any audit requirements.
Reporting and Financial Planning: Generate financial reports to aid research and center planning; advise the various leadership teams on general financial matters in close collaboration with the Director. Provide data analyses and reporting and work in close collaboration with the Columbia Engineering Finance team to complete all monthly, quarterly and year-end transactions for the centers.
Remain current on grant funding policies, regulations, and procedures; University policies and procedures; and risk and compliance issues, including those related to international activity, and communicate this information to the centers and academic departments.
Assist with the training of departmental staff on initiation of grant-related transactions. Work with the Director and SEAS Finance Leadership to provide relevant training to center and department staff on the initiation of grant-related transactions. Assist with developing sponsored projects best practices, handbook/ guidelines and disseminate information to staff. Advise departments on best practices for procurement and other types of routine financial transactions; and provide guidance on complex or non-routine compliance issues.
Perform related duties and projects.