Overview
This position primarily supports financial management and post-award administration activities for the School of Medicine Graduate Studies Office, with backup support for pre-award administration. The role is supervised by the Senior Director, Research Administration and Program Partnerships (RAPP) and partners closely with the Dean’s Office, Postdoctoral Affairs Office, and other stakeholders to support institutional training, fellowship, and career development awards (T, F, and K mechanisms) across the organization.
The role manages post-award grant administration and financial activities for designated grant mechanisms. Key responsibilities include financial reporting and forecasting, budget development, expense review and approval, revenue and expense tracking, variance analysis and resolution, effort certification, labor distribution adjustments, and ensuring compliance with sponsor and institutional requirements.
Responsibilities
Post-Award Grant Administration & Financial Management
- Independently manage financial administration of sponsored projects and institutional award programs.
- Develop and maintain budgets, spending forecasts, and financial projections.
- Monitor expenditures and analyze budget-to-actual variances, recommending corrective actions as needed.
- Prepare and distribute monthly or bi-monthly financial reports to Principal Investigators (PIs) and leadership.
- Process salary allocations, effort adjustments, labor distributions, revenue tracking, and financial reconciliations.
- Administer reporting requirements, Other Support documentation, Just-in-Time (JIT) submissions, and sponsor deliverables.
- Collaborate with subcontract institutions to resolve budgeting, invoicing, and financial management issues.
Compliance & Specialized Award Administration
- Ensure compliance with GAAP, federal regulations, NIH requirements, sponsor guidelines, and institutional policies.
- Serve as a subject matter expert for NIH Training (T), Fellowship (F), and Career Development (K) awards.
- Manage specialized activities including stipend administration, GAP coverage, insurance and benefit allocations, unallowable OPE transfers, and XTrain appointments and terminations.
- Support internal and external audits by providing documentation and responding to inquiries.
Financial Analysis & Reporting
- Perform complex financial analyses, evaluations, and forecasting.
- Run and interpret ad hoc and recurring financial and operational reports.
- Analyze trends and provide recommendations to support strategic decision-making.
- Use Oracle Discoverer, Grants Accounting, Labor Distribution, and related systems to support financial oversight.
Pre-Award Support
- Assist pre-award with review and development of Other Support documents.
- Assist in preparation of budgets and all personnel reports.
- Provide required financial information for RPPR submissions and prior approval requests.
Team Support and Special Projects
- Cross-train and mentor colleagues.
- Participate in departmental initiatives, strategic projects, and team efforts.
- Provide backup support for pre-award activities as needed.
- Identify and implement process improvements that strengthen operational effectiveness and stewardship of sponsored funds.
- Foster collaborative relationships and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and service excellence.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or a related field from an accredited college or university.
- Minimum of 2 years of progressively responsible relevant work experience.
- Prior Academic Health Center or relevant financial experience performing analysis related to operational improvements and business cases.
- Highly proficient with use of PC including database and spreadsheet applications.
- Intermediate spreadsheet skills, including complex functions, formulas, and formatting.
- Experience with relational databases.
- Understanding of financial reporting concepts such as cost accounting and net present value analysis.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced knowledge of NIH T, F, and K mechanisms and associated post-award administration requirements.
- Expertise in sponsored project financial management, compliance, labor distribution, and effort reporting.
- Strong analytical, forecasting, and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate complex financial information into actionable guidance.
- Demonstrated success partnering with faculty, administrators, and institutional stakeholders in a complex academic research environment.
- Willingness to learn new systems (e.g., XTrain, InfoEd) with a focus toward pre-award.
- Commitment to continuous process improvement, customer service, and operational excellence.
Compensation & Benefits
- Healthcare for full-time employees covered 100% and 88% for dependents.
- $50K of term life insurance provided at no cost to the employee.
- Two separate above-market pension plans to choose from.
- Vacation: up to 200 hours per year dependent on length of service.
- Sick Leave: up to 96 hours per year.
- 9 paid holidays per year.
- Substantial Tri-Met and C-Tran discounts.
- Employee Assistance Program.
- Childcare service discounts.
- Tuition reimbursement.
- Employee discounts to local and national businesses.
Location
Telework schedule as agreed upon between manager and staff. If desired, the employee may reserve an office to work on campus, but it is not mandatory.