Finance Professional

This position works within the Office of Finance and Budget in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS).

The primary responsibility will be to support units within the Research and Outreach Centers (ROCs), but may support units in other areas as needed. This position provides grants management and accounting support to the units served and is expected to demonstrate ethical and respectful behavior in all position responsibilities. Customer service is a key focus for the CFANS Finance and Budget Office as we work to support the academic and research mission of the college.

This position is a critical team member in the Finance Cluster in CFANS. This position will be located at the Southern Research and Outreach Center in Waseca. This position will report to the ROC Finance Manager.

Please note, this position is not eligible for H-1B or Green Card sponsorship. This position does not offer a STEM OPT training program. Work Schedule will be in-person 5 days in office at the Waseca location.

Responsibilities will include the following (does not include all possible tasks in this work and does not limit the assignment of related tasks):

Budget and Financial Management (40%)

• Work with the leadership at the assigned ROCs to ensure that the finance and accounting needs of the units are met appropriately and in a timely manner.
• Manage day to day finances for the center.
• Work with ROC Director on University fiscal year budget forecast and planning process.
• Annual budget planning, pre and entry completion into the financial system and internal budget tools.
• Analyze fiscal problems. Collect information required for planning and develop possible approaches to solve/ mitigate problems.
• Serve as approver for non sponsored accounts.
• Timely, complete, and accurate maintenance of departmental chart of accounts, in reporting systems and ad hoc.
• Ensures that non-sponsored accounts are appropriately managed within the assigned college units.
• Manages O&M, State Special, research and extension, sales & services, unrestricted, and UM Foundation accounts for the units served
• Prepare periodic reports for grants and non sponsored funds; analyze trends and make projections for future funding expenditures. Train unit staff to use UM reports when appropriate to meet their needs.
• Maintain records and provide periodic reports for tax reporting, commodity inventory, and research project expenses and billable labor.
• Manage purchasing/audit/invoicing processes for needs of the center, including spring crop production supplies and contracts for professional services.
• Work with ROC Finance Manager to create, manage, maintain, and produce reports for the ROC Financial Dashboard to ensure consistent reporting across the network.
• Develop and facilitate implementation of consistent financial practices where doing so adds value to the ROC Network. This may include some travel to other Research and Outreach Centers for data gathering and training purposes.
• Complete Effort Certification for the assigned unit(s).
• Facilitate the University audit process as appropriate for assigned unit(s).
• Process billable charges and reconcile financial transactions to Activity Log, ROC dashboard, and the University of Minnesota General Ledger
• Review internal service organization (ISO) and external sales (ESO) activities to ensure uniformity across the Network and compliance.
• Perform reconciliation of accounts, ensuring that any variances are explained and appropriately handled by working closely with the other units within the University as necessary to resolve issues
• Perform monthly eStatement review to ensure University internal services transactions are valid

Pre Award and Grants Management (40%)

• Assist Faculty and Research Staff with grant proposals, budget development and MN-GEMS preparation/approval and routing for sponsored projects.
• Independently review sponsor guidelines, policies, and procedures to ensure compliance and provide expert advice to faculty. Develop in-depth knowledge of the pre-award process to ensure proposal document compliance
• Communicate deadlines, policies, and procedures to relevant research faculty.
• Communicate proposal information, required documents and internal deadlines to subawardees; receive and proof their documents to finalize budget and incorporate in proposal.
• Assist faculty with online sponsor application systems.
• Route proposal to required approvers in MN-GEMS and submit fully approved and final proposal documents and…