Sponsored Research Finance Specialist - Ilr Sponsored Research Office

The School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University is excited to announce the opening of the Sponsored Research Finance Specialist position for the ILR Sponsored Research Office within the Office of Financial Operations and Budget Planning in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
What you will do:
As the Sponsored Research Finance Specialist, you'll be a key financial partner within the ILR School. This position will primarily be responsible for restricted funds and post-award management, compliance matters relating to sponsored grants and contracts, supporting pre-award management; grant planning and budgeting; restricted gift management; analysis and reporting.
Candidate Profile:
We are seeking candidates who appreciate and will take ownership in the following, and not limited to:
Restricted Funds and Post-Award Management:

• Provide expertise in interpretation of compliance and agency-specific, University, State, and department policies and procedures.
• Prepare reports to comply with external agency regulatory requirements.
• Provide administration including establishing new accounts, subcontracts, and account closure preparation for all restricted funds.
• Create sponsored fund budgets, effort distribution, cost share and subcontracts in coordination with Sponsored Programs and Fund Accounting.
• Research complex labor distribution discrepancies and develop resolutions for units.
• Input changes to sponsored budgets into financial accounting system.
• Support post-award processing and issue resolution (i.e., extensions, budgets, billing, carry forward, closeout).
• Review, report and reconcile accounts to ensure compliance with requirements of sponsor, university policies and federal regulations.
• Provide review and confirmation of appropriate subaward documents (i.e., submission guidelines and statement of work, institution letter of intent/subcontract form, budgets, budget justifications and invoices) from each sub-recipient.
• Obtain cost sharing fund availability, specified target amounts and performance and budgetary specifications; record and monitor award financials and expenditures (track expenses, verify general ledger entries, invoices, appropriately allocate costs, etc.).
• Work with university units and OSP to determine necessary elements of deliverables/reports and ensure required deliverables/reports meet compliance and/or sponsor requirements.
• Provide administrative oversight and financial management for ILR's Restricted Gifts and advise department directors on aspects of financial matters including interpretation of university financial policies and procedures.

Sponsored Research Pre-Award Management:

• Provide support, guidance, and consultation in the preparation of grant and contract proposals.
• Coordinate incoming proposals, awards, and non-financial agreements.
• Develop and maintain database and documentation of proposal correspondence and all relevant documents.
• Track and communicate proposal plans, deadlines, and Requests for Proposals (RFP), as needed.
• Partner with PIs to interpret guidelines or resolve issues as needed.
• Prepare budgets of varying complexities.
• Determine and communicate PI's proposal budget and potential implications including endowed and contract college benefit rates, impact of course buy-out and additional options.
• Determine cost-sharing requirement and calculate appropriate amount of PI proposed cost-sharing.
• Analyze data to determine effort commitments during the development of the proposal budget.
• Initiate application submission process with PI.

Grant and Contract Administration:

• Serve as grants management resource for Principal Investigators, graduate students, staff, and other researchers.
• Maintain ongoing communications regarding grant/contract administration with PIs and Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).
• Set up access and assist with training and PI orientation for Research Administration (RA) tools and information.
• Communicate summer salary limits, summer salary options and work with PI to allocate academic year or summer effort.

This is a full-time position located in Ithaca, NY, within the ILR School on the campus of Cornell University, or can be based remotely. Ithaca is the preferred location, as participation in on campus meetings may be required from time to time.
No Visa Sponsorship or relocation assistance is available for this position.
We require these qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration or related field or equivalent combination.
• Three to five years of finance or accounting experience.
• Prior experience with sponsored project proposal preparation, submission, and administration.
• Expertise with Microsoft Office Suite applications: Excel, Word, and Outlook including a high level of proficiency in creating new and updating existing reports and charts using Excel.
• Advanced proficiency with computer applications for financial management and reporting, such as Kuali Financial System (KFS) and Salesforce.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Must have excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with geographically dispersed and diverse clientele.
• Possess the ability to take initiative and handle ongoing activities while exercising sound judgment and logic to anticipate and solve problems independently that may be urgent, sensitive, or confidential in nature, paying close attention to detail.
• Proven ability to successfully balance conflicting priorities and make decisions from a range of choices while adhering to proper policies and procedures.
• Strong attention to detail and compliance and policy issues; analytical, organizational and prioritization skills are essential.
• Ability to work quickly and effectively under pressure and tight deadlines, where change in process and procedures is the norm.
• Successful completion of the Research Administration Certification Program or similar training will be required within a reasonable period of time (generally within 12 months).

You will be a top candidate with our preferred qualifications:

• MBA or MA in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• Five or more years of related experience with higher education financial and grants/contracts management.
• Ability to use the institutions record/data keeping systems, as well as explore analyses of current systems and recommendations for maximizing performance.
• Work experience in research administration.
• Knowledge of federal and non-federal sponsor requirements and procedures.
• Knowledge of NYS awards, grant making foundations or federal sponsors (such as DHHS (NIH), NSF and USDOL, Ford Foundation, etc.).

Cornell appreciates employees with great rewards & benefits:
Cornell provides great benefits that include educational benefits, access to a plethora of wellness programs, employee discounts with local and national retail brands, health care options to choose from, generous paid leave provisions and superior retirement contributions.
Cornell has also been nationally recognized as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, sustainability, and diversity initiatives. For more information click here.
To Apply:
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University Job Title:
Research Administration Specialist
Job Family:
Administration
Level:
F
Pay Rate Type:
Salary
Pay Range:
$69,242.00 - $80,470.00
Remote Option Availability:
Hybrid Remote
Company:
Contract College
Contact Name:
Jessica Burnette
Job Titles and Pay Ranges:
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• Prior relevant work or industry experience
• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position
• Unique applicable skills
• Academic Discipline (faculty pay ranges reflects 9-month annual salary)

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2023-11-10