Sponsored Project Financial Specialist

University of Colorado • Aurora, CO

13d • $55,000 - $71,936 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Office of Grants and Contracts (OGC) is responsible for the central administration of research awards and provides service to principal research investigators and administrators for the purpose of obtaining and administering extramural funds in compliance with university and sponsor guidelines. University of Colorado has a large portfolio of sponsored research with great variety, including Federal NIH grants, Federal NSF grants, many other Federal grants, Federal contracts, State grants, State contracts, private industry clinical trials, association grants and much more. Specifically, this position is responsible for the creation and closeout of awards/projects within the system, approving budget and expense activity, invoicing, and assisting departments in the fiscal management of their sponsored projects, through central post-award support. At the Senior level, this role will operate independently with minimal supervision, operate as a department resource and participate in process improvement working groups with internal and external partners. We are looking for someone with… positive energy, motivation, vision, and a desire for continuous learning a strategic mind-set and forward-thinking a belief that strong relationships are key to success a can-do attitude a focus on providing solutions based on the requirements and necessary outcomes of those whom we serve

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in public health, public administration, social/behavioral sciences, physical sciences, nursing, healthcare, public administration, finance, accounting, business administration, business, or a directly related field from an accredited institution.
• At least one (1) year of professional grants, contracts, finance, expense/federal reporting or related experience.
• A combination of education and related technical/paraprofessional experience may be substituted for the bachelor’s degree on a year-for-year basis.
• A bachelor’s degree in public health, public administration, social/behavioral sciences, physical sciences, nursing, healthcare, public administration, finance, accounting, business administration, business, or a directly related field from an accredited institution.
• At least two (2) years of professional grants, contracts, finance, expense/federal reporting or related experience.
• A combination of education and related technical/paraprofessional experience may be substituted for the bachelor’s degree on a year-for-year basis.
• Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship. We are unable to provide work visa sponsorship or employment authorization for this position now or in the future.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution.
• Strong, interpersonal, teamwork and customer service skills.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite applications (Excel, Access, and Word)
• Excellent time and workflow management skills
• Excellent problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in the administration of sponsored research or other central research-related office in higher educational institution, government, or other entity engaged in sponsored research.
• General accounting and/or financial experience.
• Experience with process documentation and process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Review all awards for terms and conditions, billing, and payment information, reporting requirements, and any other provided information to perform the setup of the award in the Peoplesoft Grants system.
• Communicate with Sponsor if F&A rate or dollars have not been applied correctly.
• Complete monthly and quarterly billing of contracts to create account receivables. Work with sponsors and departments for all invoicing concerns, questions, and actions.
• Submit invoices to sponsors according to award/contract requirements.
• Prepare and submit financial reports by the due date including Federal Financial Status Reports and non-Federal Reports of Expenditure based upon sponsor deadlines.
• Perform tasks necessary to determine if changes are needed to bring the project into compliance with the applicable requirement from the sponsor.
• Monitor project budgets, indirect cost rates and charges, overspending, fiscal and sponsor compliance.
• Use of the grants WorkCentre and other provided tools to properly monitor portfolio. This includes analyzing the tools to ensure that needed information is provided. If tools are lacking, this should be communicated to leadership for improvement opportunities and changes.
• Perform close-out, deliverables are met, cash is equal to zero, outstanding encumbrances are cleared, cash transfers to department accounts are completed and revenue reconciliation is complete.
• Monitor projects throughout the life at least quarterly to ensures that revenues are applied correctly in PeopleSoft by reconciling the accounts receivable and revenue recognition processes.
• Monitor the reallocation of expense approvals for compliance with various policies.
• Apply documentation to explain errors and to support transactions for review.
• Investigate all sub-award agreements for the budget period and analyze the language of the contract to determine if carry forward is allowed.
• Ensure changes are not required for the partially executed contract. If an error is found, communicate information back to the contracts team for further review and changes.
• Conduct regular meetings with departments and respond timely and professionally to emails and phone calls from sponsors, principal investigators, department administrators and other OGC units.
• In addition to the duties above, appointments at this level will join process improvement working groups with internal and external parties.

Benefits

• Participate in professional development opportunities to grow your career.
• Build relationships with other departmental staff, focused on understanding needs along with opportunities for improving processes.
• Partner with other financial staff in developing key financial performance tools and share them with departmental stakeholders.
• Become part of a department where inclusiveness and culture are valued.
• Earn a master’s degree at a greatly reduced rate through our Employee Tuition Assistance Benefit program.
• Medical: Multiple plan options
• Dental: Multiple plan options
• Additional Insurance: Disability, Life, Vision
• Retirement 401(a) Plan: Employer contributes 10-25% of your gross pay
• Paid Time Off: Accruals over the year
• Vacation Days: 22/year (maximum accrual 352 hours)
• Sick Days: 15/year (unlimited maximum accrual)
• Holiday Days: 15/year
• Tuition Benefit: Employees have access to this benefit on all CU campuses
• ECO Pass: Reduced rate RTD Bus and light rail service
• Many additional perks & programs with the CU Advantage.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level