Financial Specialist

You will oversee UMMA’s daily financial activities, develop budgets and financial reports, and administer grants. You will also support the annual budget submission process, coordinate the annual internal control gap analysis and financial certification process, and assist with special projects.

Apply Now

Position Summary

Reporting directly to the Business Administrator, this position supports UMMA’s operations by leveraging university financial systems and reporting tools to develop budgets and oversee UMMA’s day-to-day financial activities. Under the direction of the Business Administrator, the Financial Specialist is responsible for the provision of regular financial reporting and analysis and grant administration. Additional key responsibilities include supporting the annual budget submission process, coordinating the annual internal control gap analysis and financial certification process, and assisting with special projects, as needed.

Duties & Responsibilities

Budget and Finance (40%)

• Oversees and supports financial administrative services including, but not limited to:
  • Purchasing
  • Accounts Payable
  • Cash/Credit Card Handling
  • Fund Transfers/Journal Entries
  • Service Unit Billings
• In consultation with the Business Administrator, prepares and analyzes monthly, quarterly, and annual budget-to-actual and other financial reports, as needed.
• Supports the Business Administrator with the development and preparation of UMMA’s annual budget and submission process.
• Assists the Business Administrator with the development of gift and grant-related revenue and expense reports based on information in the University’s financial system (U-M’s official book of record in terms of revenues and expenditures). Supports the Senior Associate Director of Institutional Giving with reporting requirements.
• Works to ensure a strong internal control environment through the regular review of internal control reports and contributes to the development of policies and procedures that support segregation of duties and other important controls.

Research Administration (30%)

• Pre-award and post-award support to proposing teams.
• In the pre-award phase, responsibilities include preparing budgets for proposal submissions, assisting Directors with grant applications, and unfunded agreements; ensuring agency and university guidelines and timelines are met.
• After grants are established, post-award responsibilities include financial reporting, processing and tracking subcontracts, tracking cost-share obligations, account review, Uniform Guidelines reports, spend-down plans, Financial Status reports.
• Reconcile assigned accounts, including general, designated, gift, and sponsored fund types monthly and ensuring compliance with Provost Office, University of Michigan, and sponsor guidelines, investigating and resolving issues.
• Assists with the development of internal policies and procedures to ensure accurate and timely grant management.
• Assists with the development of a roles and responsibilities matrix to provide clarity to UMMA departments about “who does what” in terms of grant administration activities.

Unit Liaison (25%)

• Serves as Finance unit liaison and maintains UMMA’s chartfield structure; liaises with the Shared Service Center to initiate and process journal entries. Coordinates use/implementation of optional services such travel/expense report preparation.
• Assists administrative staff within the units to determine expense classification, and internal and external fund transfers (including international); works collaboratively with UMMA staff to establish a successful and positive business environment and a network of documented best practices to be adopted across the museum

Ad Hoc/ Special Projects (5%)

• Participates in institutional, cross-departmental special projects as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, accounting, finance, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of accounting/finance work experience
• Demonstrated experience running queries and interpreting dashboards.
• Demonstrated experience creating documents, analyzing data, and managing databases using applications such as Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
• Demonstrated experience explaining complex financial concepts and strategies to stakeholders, orally and in writing
• Demonstrated customer service orientation
• Demonstrated experience supporting a collaborative environment

Desired Qualifications

• Pre and post-award research administration experience, including demonstrated experience working with research and sponsored projects to manage multiple projects from various sponsors.
• Experience in reconciling gift funds and compiling stewardship data for donor reports.

Work Location

This position is eligible for a hybrid schedule after an initial orientation period. Flexible work agreements are reviewed annually and are subject to change based on our needs, throughout employment.

How to Apply

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline experience that directly relates to this position.

Apply Now

Department:

Business Office

Location:

Hybrid

Appointment:

Full-Time

Salary Range:

$56,000.00 – $66,000.00

Apply Now