Finance and Operations Coordinator - College of Engineering - Civil and Environmental Engineering

Carnegie Mellon University•Pittsburgh, PA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon is seeking a Finance and Operations Coordinator to join our team. This position supports sponsored research activities, departmental finance and operations, and student financial administration. The coordinator works collaboratively with faculty, staff, students, the Engineering Research Accelerator, and other university partners to ensure financial and administrative responsibilities are completed accurately, efficiently, and in accordance with university policies.

Requirements

Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, higher education administration, or a related field. An equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office applications.
Strong analytical reasoning, organizational skills, and attention to detail.
Ability to learn financial and administrative systems and develop the skills needed to run, interpret, and create accurate reports.
Ability to synthesize information from multiple systems, policies, procedures, and stakeholders to make sound decisions, resolve issues, and fulfill responsibilities accurately.
Self-directed and able to investigate and resolve problems independently while recognizing when additional guidance or expertise is needed.
Willingness to seek information proactively and collaborate with colleagues across departments and university units.
Ability to manage changing priorities, high-volume periods, recurring responsibilities, and deadlines.
Strong individual and team communication skills.
Professional, approachable, helpful, and friendly when working with students, faculty, staff, and university partners.
Ability to handle confidential student, personnel, research, and financial information appropriately.
Commitment to producing accurate, timely, and high-quality work and meeting high performance expectations.
A combination of education and relevant experience from which comparable knowledge is demonstrated may be considered.
Successful background check

Responsibilities

Compile, track, enter, and maintain Oracle labor distribution and costing allocations.
Work with faculty and the Engineering Research Accelerator’s post-award team to compile and maintain planned labor allocations.
Ensure that salary distributions align with faculty plans, approved budgets, available funding, and project periods.
Process labor redistributions and resolve discrepancies involving salary allocations.
Coordinate effort certification and summer effort processing, working with faculty and appropriate university partners to support timely and accurate completion.
Maintain accurate records and supporting documentation for labor and effort transactions.
Support faculty research account portfolio management: Monitor research account balances, expenditures, commitments, planned labor, funding periods, and other financial activity.
Assist with financial projections, account reconciliation, cost transfers, award setup, reporting, and closeout activities.
Identify potential funding, spending, or allocation issues and communicate them proactively to faculty, departmental leadership, and research administration partners.
Respond to faculty questions regarding research account activity, available balances, allowable expenses, and relevant university procedures.
Synthesize information from financial systems, award documentation, policies, and stakeholder input to support sound account management and decision-making.
Participate in meetings between faculty and the Engineering Research Accelerator.
Attend RAC and College research administrator meetings, and others as appropriate to maintain awareness of relevant policy, process, and system changes and communicate important information to others.
Primary monitor for department shared “cee research “email.
Process financial transactions, such as but not limited to; account redistributions, cost transfers, professional development funds, check deposits, purchase requisitions/purchase orders and other departmental financial activity, as needed.
Review project account transactions for accuracy, appropriate authorization, available funding, supporting documentation, and compliance with university policies.
Reconcile project accounts financial activity, investigate discrepancies, and work with appropriate university units to resolve issues.
Process student employment transactions in Workday, including appointments and changes for PhD students, hourly research assistants, teaching assistants, and graders.
Coordinate with faculty, academic program staff, and university partners to obtain complete and accurate information for student appointments.
Process graduate scholarships and financial aid through GRAD AID and related university systems.
Research and resolve student financial and employment issues by consulting university systems, policies, and appropriate university partners.
Establish, monitor, reconcile, and report on Dean’s Fellowship professional development funds.
Administer and track student travel grants and awards, including SURF, SURG, REU, GSA, and other departmental or university funding if and as needed.
Learn to run, interpret, and create financial and administrative reports for faculty and departmental leadership.
Prepare reports at the individual account, faculty portfolio, and department-wide levels.
Identify inconsistencies or emerging concerns and follow through with appropriate stakeholders to resolve them.
Develop increasing proficiency with university reporting systems and financial tools.
Maintain accurate, organized, and confidential financial, personnel, research, and student records.
Manage multiple priorities, recurring transaction cycles, and deadlines.
Respond to questions from students, faculty, staff, and university offices in a professional and timely manner.
Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.