Job Description

Responsibilities
Accounting & Finance - The primary role of this position is to assure the accuracy and integrity of all financial matters of the department for each of three primary budgeting entities through the following duties:


Approving financial accounting transactions at the school level including but not limited to: transfers, contracts, invoices, procurement cards, miscellaneous reimbursements, and travel expenditures
Preparing annual budgets for the School of Natural Resources and review allocations with Director for each fiscal year
Representing SNR at budget meetings
Coordinating with budget directors on appropriate use of funding, reimbursements and distributions throughout year
Management and oversight of all SNR accounts including state-appropriated accounts, start-up accounts, seed accounts, endowed and non-endowed gift accounts, income accounts, and research accounts
Create and distribute all internal SNR awarded funding (internal order numbers) to appropriate faculty and facilitate appropriate tracking of expenditures
Ensure fiscal compliance on all transactions in and out of SNR while verifying appropriate documentation justifies expenditures
Serving as financial policy and procedure resource
Monthly reconciliation of principal investigator’s (PI) accounts and distribute for approvals in a timely manner
Meet with faculty to review their accounts and make accurate spending plans for future endeavors
Management and oversight of summer school projections as well as revenue and expenses to determine if enrollment and pay criteria have been met and to determine financial viability of the classes
Evaluating all SNR accounts to determine need for fiscal year carryover
Gathering financial data and preparing reports
Ensure tuition and course fees are accurately accounted for and distributed
Supervising and coordinating accounting/bookkeeping activities of SNR
Preparing reports on budget expenditures & projections, research productivity, etc., for Director’s use for decision-making purposes
Solving a wide range of financial and business-related problems
Collecting and analyzing data necessary for annual budget preparation & reporting, and routine annual audit assessments

Sponsored Projects Accounting & Management - In conjunction with the research offices, this position plays an important role in assisting faculty in the formulation of research project budget submittal to assure departmental guidelines and funding agency and sponsored projects accounting compliance requirements are met, including:

Review and approve proposals in absence of the school’s Director
Assist faculty with proper budgeting justifications
Meet with faculty to discuss detailed budgeted balances and projected spending plans
Review documents in Cayuse and related systems for allowability while reviewing charges
Review the proposed budget in Cayuse and expedite the approval process of the budget proposal and budget justification
Review the contract requirements and verify posted budget
Complete the advanced account form and forward to Pre-Award
Review and amend the approved budget with appropriate paperwork
Create initial No-Cost Time Extension Requests with PI and submit to Office of Research for processing
Provide documentation for financial transactions
Manage payroll for personnel on projects as directed by the period of performance
Monitor financial reports including cost share requirements
Process requests from Post-Award to provide budget justification and remove unallowable expenses
Conduct subrecipient monitoring including approval of subcontractor invoices
Work with Post-Award to ensure accuracy of final invoice and close out documentation
Review retention polices for accurate disposal of sponsored financial information
Assisting PIs with required financial reporting and final closeout of awarded grants and contract
Interfacing with the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Accounting as necessary
Preparing research project statistical and cost analyses as required by external sponsors

Payroll Operations/Data Management

Review and approve personnel actions for faculty, staff, and students within SNR including hiring, terminations, retirements, resignations, pay funding changes, and position transfers
Review and approve bi-weekly time entry for all non-exempt employees within SNR
Create and review biweekly and monthly payroll labor distribution reports
Calculate Faculty Salary Incentive Plans (SIP) and ensure proper distribution to faculty per UT Policy
Review and approve key and card access requests for faculty, staff and students via appropriate systems
Act as backup parking representative for the school
Supervise Federal Work Study student employees
Compiles expenditures for the director’s annual submission of the Southern Forestry Schools’ comparative data survey
Compiles information for the annual Funds and Manpower reports
Completes the annual Self-Assessment of Controls report
Assists in compiling information for the school’s five-year review
Creates and maintains the school sponsored programs contract folders through project close-out
Performs additional financial reporting as needed for the director, faculty, and budget directors
Various other duties as assigned

Qualifications
Required Qualifications:

Education/Experience:

A bachelor's degree in business, finance, accounting, or related field with a minimum of four years of progressively responsible and relevant experience

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

Knowledge of standard accounting principles and sponsored programs grant management.

Communication and interpersonal skills to work with a variety of stakeholders; excellent organizational skills.

Excellent writing, grammar, and proofreading skills.

Decisiveness and extensive problem-solving skills.

Competence with common office and database software.

Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and manage multiple projects to meet required timelines.

Preferred Qualifications:

Education/Experience:

A Master’s degree in business management with 4 or more years of financial work history at a comprehensive research university.

A working knowledge of Concur Dash or equivalent enterprise resource planning system.

Work Location

Location: Knoxville, TN

Hybrid work schedule (1 day a week) possible after probationary period.