Specialist, Financial Administration - Sponsored Programs
About the Department
At the forefront of medicine since its founding in 1927, the University of Chicago Medicine is a not-for-profit academic medical health system that includes hospitals, outpatient clinics and physician practices throughout Chicago and its suburbs. UChicago Medicine unites five organizations to fulfill its tripartite mission of medical education, research, and patient care: Pritzker School of Medicine, Biological Sciences Division (BSD), Medical Center, Community Health and Hospital Division, and UChicago Medicine Physicians. Our mission is to create new knowledge of living systems, train the next generation of leaders in biology and medicine, and advance the forefront of health through innovative patient care. Within the BSD, our basic, translational, and clinical research enterprise is characterized by a fundamental commitment to original inquiry, innovation, and discovery. Distinguished educational programs that prepare the next generation of scholars, clinicians and leaders in biology and academic medicine are at the heart of what makes us unique. Today, we constitute one of the most unique communities within an academic environment: a single division that delivers undergraduate, graduate, medical, and postgraduate biological sciences education together with outstanding patient care and world-renowned research. This configuration, coupled with our location on the University's main campus, encourages interdisciplinary research, educational partnerships, and collaborations.
Job Summary
The job manages operating and capital budgets for divisions and/or University-wide administrative units. Helps develop long and short term financial goals, business strategies/plans, and financial forecasts/models for major service programs and initiatives. Manages quarterly and year-end reporting for the operating budget. This role will help improve the availability, consistency, and reliability of sponsored programs data and information available to BSD (and University leadership) for resource allocation decisions, corrective actions, what-if analysis, and financial decision-making that impacts the research enterprise and its strategic mission. This role, and its contributions will help increase efficiency, and improve operational effectiveness within sponsored programs administration. Further, the role will play a key role in helping to mitigate fiscal compliance risks.
Responsibilities
- Fiscal Preparations and Support including: sponsored project budget building, contract budgeting, budget negotiations, fiscal variance justifications (e.g., IDC waivers, cost sharing), budget acceptance.
- Fiscal Award Management including: expense reviews and approvals, award progress reporting, award extensions and related budget extensions (NCEs), award and contract cost transfers, labor variance reporting, and award closeouts.
- Decision-support analysis responsibilities that include: variance analysis, 'what-if' analysis, monthly, quarterly, and annual dashboards, and liaison responsibilities with URA, BSD Finance, and other central repositories of data and decision-support information.
- Other ad-hoc financial stewardship responsibilities as assigned.
- Works independently to maintain and support the planning and execution of financial strategy.
- Uses best practices and in-depth financial knowledge to assist in the preparation of annual budgets. Works with minimal guidance to provide analytical support for complex budget projects. Examines past budgets and researches economic and financial develop.
- Reviews estimated expenditures. Develops expenditure projections and periodic budget variance reports. Prepares forecasts as well as analyses.
- Acts as a resource for team members, solves complex problems. Explains complex and sensitive information.
- Performs other related work as needed.
Minimum Qualifications
Education:
- Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
Work Experience:
- Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Preferred Qualifications
Education:
- Degree in related field (Business, Administration, Communications, etc.)
Experience:
- 5-7 years of progressively responsible work experience in sponsored programs financial management, financial services, or academic budgetary roles.
- Mid-senior-level skills in financial and data analysis, modeling, forecasting, and decision-support data preparation.
- Experience working within research-intensive academic healthcare environments, all the while supporting highly productive administrative leadership roles, a plus.
Licenses and Certifications
- CPA certification, a plus.
Preferred Competencies
- Ability to work independently and as a member of a cohesive team.
- Deep knowledge of sponsor agency guidelines (Federal, non-Federal, and other) along with policies related to the financial stewardship of sponsored proposals, awards, and research contracts.
- Ability to confidently interact with corporate and industry sponsors – faithfully representing the needs of UC and its research faculty.
- Comfortable with deadline-driven work tasks and the capacity to get things achieved through others.
- Strong communication skills with a high degree of “emotional-intelligence” and a skillful negotiator.
- Ability to translate complex work issues into understandable and actionable plans toward resolution.
- Comfortable with fair, constructive criticism and a continuous thirst for learning and growing.
Working Conditions
- Office working environment
Application Documents
- Resume (required)
- Cover Letter (preferred)
When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.
Job Family
Financial Management
Role Impact
Individual Contributor
FLSA Status
Exempt
Pay Frequency
Monthly
Scheduled Weekly Hours
40
Benefits Eligible
Yes
Drug Test Required
No
Health Screen Required
No
Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No
Posting Statement
Applicant Inquiry Form.<span>Applicant Inquiry Form</span>The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.
All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.