Financial Specialist

Penn State University • University Park, IL

19h • $61,800 - $89,600 • Hybrid

About The Position

We are searching for detail-oriented Financial Specialists to join our Financial Reporting Department within the Materials and Manufacturing Office at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. In these roles, you will support the research endeavors of ARL by providing efficient and high-quality financial management to ARL programs. ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply. ARL’s purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Intel Community (IC). Penn State consistently ranks among the top one percent of the world’s universities. Across 24 campuses, our 100,000 students and 40,000 faculty and staff know the real measure of success goes beyond the classroom – it’s the positive impact made on communities across the world. Our ideals stem from our origins as Pennsylvania’s sole land-grant institution, which allow us to continue to bring positive impact to humanity through our teaching, research, and engagement mission. And across the world is a community of Penn Staters – more than half a million strong – driven by that same spirit to serve our local and global communities. At Penn State, passion is met with collaboration in an environment that is rooted in shared pride for the accomplishments of our fellow students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Penn Staters cheer each other on to build a culture committed to service and engagement. Our University values represent our core ethical aspirations for all our daily activities and actions as students, faculty, staff, and volunteers at Penn State. Our values are as follows; Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, Excellence, and Community. We Are Penn State. One Community. Impacting Many.

Requirements

• Strong financial background in accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and/or variance analysis
• Advanced Microsoft Excel knowledge/skills
• Demonstrated problem solving, analytical and organizational skills
• Past success in providing ideas in written form for clear comprehension to an audience
• Ability to adapt and change in a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated ability to work through difficult problems, using proper steps to define and formulate ideas to reach a solution
• Bachelor's Degree
• 3+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted
• Required Certifications: None
• Ability to obtain a government security clearance
• U.S. citizen

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience in government contracting, research administration, and/or DoD
• PowerPoint, Outlook, and financial systems, such as SAP or similar
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher

Responsibilities

• Provide support with post award management on mid-level complex program contracts which includes providing monthly reports on status of funds, Level of Effort (LOE) monitoring, manpower planning, and review of travel expenses to match labor and sponsor reports
• Support PI's on the completion of ETC (Estimate to Complete Budgets) of basic programs/small scale contracts using Propricer and SIMBA, and assist in establishing best practices and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
• Collaborate with technical staff to track resource expenditures against project schedule, and compare spending with planned work to ensure program deliverables
• Assist with the management of the financial requirements of contract close out
• Provide support for Principal Investigators to ensure the verification of financial information for reporting through the use of SIMBA
• Analyze and verify funding sources to ensure appropriate spending and billing practices
• Assist the Program Finance Manager (PFM) with the submission of professional development, strategic bid, proposal, and other special requests
• Assist the PFM with the preliminary preparation of monthly financial key indicators as reported to ARL Leadership Team
• Review expenses and ensure compliance with University policies

Benefits

• comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• robust retirement plans
• substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time
• generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees