Director, Finance & Res Admin

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule: M-F 9am-5pm
• Building:
• Salary Range: $140,000 - $160,000

Position Summary

The Director, Finance and Research Administration will report to the Department Administrator/CFO for the Department of Neurology and work closely with the VP&S Grants Management Directors to promote excellence in research administration services and uphold the goals and performance norms of the VP&S Office for Research. The Director will oversee all research administration and financial management services provided to faculty in the department and play an integral role in developing the department's operating budget, quarterly forecasts, and year-end fiscal close processes. The Director will supervise a team of managers and analysts.

Responsibilities

Staff Management and Team Leadership

• Coordinate with the VP&S Grants management team to implement standard policies, procedures and trainings and manage staffing to administer departmental workload.
• Oversee Managers, Analysts, and Coordinators in addressing pre and post-award compliance issues and liaising with SPA/SPF and Compliance for complex tasks.
• Guide the research administration team in resolving compliance issues and implementing pre-and post-award best practices. Standardize workflows, communication, and documentation for grant applications and progress reports, ensuring effective tracking and maintenance of resources.
• Serve as a mentor and resource for employees and researchers in grant management, providing education on compliance and regulations while fostering stakeholder relationships.

Department Financial Management

• Oversee process, timeline, and resources required to complete annual budget and quarterly forecast for direct grant revenues, faculty and research staff salary allocations, and research OTPS expenses.
• Supervise key components related to quarterly and annual fiscal close, including oversight of clearing of payroll suspense, removal of project overruns, and indirect revenue sharing with other departments.
• Ensures annual compliance of internal service center/core licensing and billing process.
• Manage financial resources available to the finance and research administration team that support the efficient financial management of departmental budget and actuals.

Pre-Award Research Administration

• Assist principal investigators (PIs) with developing, submitting, and renewing sponsored project proposals, managing timelines, and ensuring compliance with agency requirements. Oversee team members' preparation of all necessary components and supporting documents, including letters of intent, letters of support, cover letters, and information on facilities and resources. Maintain up-to-date records of PI's other support, biosketches, and grant submission documents.
• Maintain records of PIs' support and grant submissions. Respond to RFAs, facilitate grant transfers, and liaise with the Sponsored Projects Administration for award setup and compliance.
• Works with post-award, departmental administrators, and PIs to work on prospective funding strategies.
• Ensure timely completion of award reporting requirements and support investigators in responding to Just-In-Time requests.

Post Award/Financial Management Services

• Perform budget reconciliation for sponsored and non-sponsored funding sources, maintain fiscal year funding forecasts for faculty, and manage a Sponsored Project account portfolio, ensuring accuracy through monthly budgeting and projections.
• Coordinate with pre-award teams and the university's sponsored research offices (SPA/SPF) on project setup, progress reports, and closeouts while overseeing the development of financial resources and templates for the finance team.
• Review and approve salary allocation transactions, ensure compliance with internal sponsored project requirements, and manage effort reporting and certification processes for PIs.
• Participate in annual budgeting and fiscal year-end close processes, maintain organized electronic filing of award documents, and advise departments on best practices for financial transactions and compliance issues.

Strategy and Continuous Improvement

• Collaborate with leadership to enhance services and operations, ensuring team support for strategic goals.
• Develop process improvements, monitoring progress with data-driven methods, and reporting effectiveness.
• Identify performance indicators and oversee action plans.
• Maintain knowledge of federal rules and organizational policies.

In addition to the responsibilities outlined above, the incumbent will have the opportunity to engage in key research projects in collaboration with the vice chair of research.

The incumbent will also be available to handle ad hoc requests and additional job duties within the scope of this role.

Minimum Qualifications

• Requires bachelor's degree or equivalent in education and experience, plus five years of related experience.

Other Requirements

• Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills. Proficient or Advanced Proficiency in MS Excel. Highly skilled in MS Word.
• Ability to meet deadlines and maintain required confidentiality. Knowledge of government and foundation grant administration and PeopleSoft financials is required.
• Demonstrated expertise in grants management; prior experience with and understanding of NIH systems (eRA Commons, ASSIST, RePORTER); knowledge of complex budgeting, subawards, and deadline management; management of MPI grants, complex grants, and training grants; and experience implementing new policy changes.
• Strong management and leadership skills, including strong communication, feedback, and conflict management skills.
• Promote a culture of goal-achievement, coach and develop others, and lead others through new and changing situations.
• This is a high-pressure position with many internal and external deadlines. Requires a bright, competent, and organized individual who is self-motivated, reliable, conscientious, and able to solve analytical problems and plan independently.
• Must be able to work with all levels of staff.
• Ability to establish and maintain relationships within and across departments, as well as servicing the grant and accounting needs of Principal Investigators.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.