Research Finance Specialist, Billing and Collections

Mass General Brigham•Somerville, MA

16d•Remote

About The Position

The Research Finance Specialist II (RFS II) is an active member of the Mass General Brigham central research management office, and is a primary point of contact for Principal Investigators(PIs) and Department Administrators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and other institutions within Mass General Brigham. The RFS II is committed to identifying and adhering to best practices in grants and contracts administration, while upholding the highest standards of integrity and fiduciary responsibility. The RFS II will proactively address the demands of research grant administration by providing exceptional customer service to Mass General Brigham’s distinguished research community and collaborators in their pioneering efforts in science and medicine. Working with the Manager of Customer Service and Collections, the RFS II actively and independently manages the setup and activation of billable research awards. Job responsibilities include reviewing award documents to determine the sponsor requirements and billing type, setting up the awards in the billing system, activating the awards for systematic invoicing and producing milestone invoices. The RFS II is also responsible for the collections of past due grants and contract invoices billed by the Research Finance Team. The RFS II works in conjunction with Research Finance colleagues to resolve customer billing issues, collect outstanding balances and reduce accounts receivable delinquency on research accounts. The RFS II will act both independently and as a member of a dynamic group to achieve the goals of the Research Finance team and of Mass General Brigham Research Management overall. The volume and complexity of the work is commensurate with experience, and the opportunity exists to take on a greater and more in-depth workload with successful performance.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree required
At least 2-3 years of financial analysis experience required
Strong understanding of financial principles, accounting practices, and budget management.
Familiarity with research funding mechanisms, grant management, and funding agency regulations.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills to interpret financial data, identify trends, and provide strategic recommendations.
Effective communication and presentation skills to convey complex financial information to various stakeholders.
Detail-oriented approach with strong organizational and time management skills.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build effective relationships with researchers, administrators, and finance teams.

Responsibilities

Manage the setup and activation of billable research awards. Review award documents to determine sponsor requirements and billing details.
Ensure grants and contracts are properly established in the finance billing system and are setup for systematic invoicing.
Update records in PeopleSoft to ensure projects are being invoiced on a regular and timely basis.
Prepare and review monthly, final and custom invoices in accordance with sponsor requirements.
Collect customer payments in accordance with contract and subcontract agreements.
Review open research billing accounts for collections follow up.
Contact sponsors to determine reason for delinquent accounts and action needed to collect or otherwise resolve the open balance. Interact with customers via telephone and email in a professional manner.
Establish good customer relationships. Provide timely follow up to sponsors.
Work in conjunction with Research Finance Specialists to resolve customer billing issues.
Analyze accounts receivable using Excel to organize workload, determine priorities, monitor accounts and highlight areas for follow up.
Document collections activities, including written notes of conversations and email correspondence with customers, next steps, deadlines and resolutions.
Investigate and present for resolution problems regarding unpaid, short paid and denied invoices.
Present issues and proposed resolution to management. Follow up to ensure open issues are resolved.
Provide superior customer service by supporting departments in their financial administration.
Ensure that awards/accounts are managed in a fiscally responsible manner and in full compliance with all applicable rules and regulations established by the sponsor and Mass General Brigham.
Assist management in identifying opportunities to improve processes and achieve optimal efficiency in all aspects of grant financial management.
Work with Research Finance Manager or senior staff on complex transactions.
Use electronic Financial Management queries and reports to measure and manage workflow effectively and efficiently.
Assume additional responsibilities as assigned.