Director of Finance & Administration

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Below covers everything you need to know about what this opportunity entails, as well as what is expected from applicants.

Job Summary:

Responsible for the overall direction and oversight of financial operations at the research center Project Zero, which may include payroll, accounting, accounts payable/receivable, procurement, capital projects, endowment funding, research administration, or other function.
Job-Specific Responsibilities:
Project Zero (PZ) is a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Since its founding in 1967, PZ has maintained a strong research agenda that includes investigations into the nature of intelligence, learning, understanding, thinking, creativity, cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural thinking, digital well-being, and ethics. PZ consists of 15 Principal Investigators (PIs) working nationally and internationally in a variety of settings, including schools, businesses, cultural organizations, and online.

In addition, PZ offers symposia, workshops, and other kinds of events to disseminate its work. The center has approximately 50 staff members working on approximately 20 - 30 active research projects running at any given time. PZ researchers are reliant on grants and gifts to support their research and development activities. Funding streams are diverse and include large private foundations, small family foundations, schools and school networks, individual donors, and to a lesser extent, federal grants.

In addition to research activities, PZ sponsors and administers its own professional development activities, including a large in-person summer institute and a set of online courses. Financial Management and Research Administration: (80%) Advise the Co-Directors in setting strategic financial planning, fundraising, and administrative objectives for PZ. Serve as a member of the Leadership Team and sit on the Executive Committee.

Develop and maintain a financial model for PZ to project income from PZ’s grants, gifts, and revenue-generating activities and expenses across 20-30 research projects, PZ’s professional development unit, and the Center as a whole. Provide oversight of all aspects of the Center’s finances including management of an $9M annual budget; payroll administration; pre- and post-award activities for sponsored and gift agreements;

oversight of budgets for revenue-generating professional development activities and Center-wide budgets; development of grant proposal-specific budgets; maintaining current financial forecasts and cash-flow analyses; and performing quarterly and year end closing activities. Provide pre- and post-award grant support for a portfolio of PZ PIs including proposal preparation, budget development, monthly expenditure reconciliation and projections, financial reporting, and award closeout.

Oversee reconciliation of PZ revenue-generating activities, including check deposits and credit card revenue through Touch Net, and related quarterly accruals.

Ensure PZ meets its financial goals, including covering overhead with HGSE and PZ core administrative costs.

Oversee PZ’s compliance with all University and School financial policies and procedures. Human Resources and Operations: (20%) Develop and…