Finance Professional - MNPI Administrative Center

About the Job

The MNPI Center is seeking an experienced individual interested in research-related finance to provide advanced management and oversight of assigned MNPI faculty‑sponsored research projects as well as non‑sponsored programs. Working independently with a great and highly productive support team, you will serve as a liaison to Principal Investigators and manage accounting processes from pre‑award, through post‑award, and closeout. This position is responsible for navigating university policies, helping labs with procedures, reconciling transactions, preparing reports, and interpreting and analyzing them to offer guidance.

It also performs departmental accounting duties such as financial system transaction entry and approvals as needed. Certified approver preferred; otherwise the expectation is to earn status within one year of hire.

• Financial Management and Reporting (70%):
  • Provide critical review of large data sets for sponsored and non‑sponsored accounts including monthly financial reports, projections, trends, and work with faculty and lab staff to resolve financial issues.
  • Forecast potential budgets and plan accordingly, recommending staffing changes and expenditure shifts.
  • Manage specialized projects or programs such as internal service organizations, training grant programs, departments, graduate programs, research centers, and other exciting programs to advance the University's mission.
  • Process sponsor requests and reporting documents that route through central units.
  • Review purchasing and payroll transactions on accounts for policy compliance and budgetary impact.
  • Initiate, process and/or approve financial transactions for efficient and timely account management.
  • Reconcile accounts to ensure reasonableness and compliance with sponsor and university policy.
  • Meet regularly with PIs and management to review the financial status and provide guidance and problem‑solve solutions for issues pertaining to financial shortfalls.
  • Develop budgets on grant submissions to ensure compliance with University and sponsor guidelines.
  • Work with SPA and SFR on sponsor activities to meet contractual obligations such as award setups, re‑budget, and closeouts.
  • Serve as an expert on University and sponsored policies and procedures, giving guidance to faculty and staff when necessary.
  • Monitor salary distributions and process distribution updates and retroactive corrections when necessary.
• Transaction Approvals (10%):
  • As a University of Minnesota Certified Approver, follow relevant guidelines to determine whether a given transaction is allowable, allocable, reasonable, and affordable.
  • Review, resolve and approve transactions for the assigned department(s), including requisitions, vouchers, PCard, Chrome River, RAR, and other finance‑related transactions.
  • Work with the Purchasing Coordinator, PIs and lab staff to resolve problematic transactions before approving; may serve as department card administrator.
  • Utilize excellent customer service skills to explain and uphold policies, seek win‑win solutions, and follow through to resolution.
• Effort Certification (10%):
  • Coordinate effort certification process and ensure deadlines are met.
  • Monitor dollar values committed, salary cap compliance and reportable cost share.
  • Verify that paid and unpaid effort have been properly accounted for in the payroll system and ECRT.
  • Make salary adjustments to ensure reported effort is correct.
• Other Duties as Assigned (10%):
  • Support Finance Director and Finance Manager with ad‑hoc reporting.
  • Backup other team members and serve as a resource for policy/procedure questions.
  • Attend job‑related training to enhance normal and specialized knowledge in administering grants and programs.
  • Represent the center on various committees.
  • Special projects as assigned.

• Bachelor's Degree in accounting and four years of professional accounting experience and/or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to perform the essential duties of the position totaling at least eight years.
• Experience with Microsoft Office, including advanced skills with Excel spreadsheets.
• Prior experience with financial analysis,…