Finance and Operations Professional

Requisition Number: 56696

Location: Boulder Colorado

Employment Type: University Staff

Schedule: Full Time

Posting Close Date: 04-Jun-2024

Date Posted:

Job Summary

The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences encourages applicants for the Finance and Operations Professional position! The Finance and Operations Professional provides financial, payroll, and accounting support to the Department, Faculty, Researchers, and Students at the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC).

The Finance and Operations Professional acts as the personnel/payroll liaison for undergraduate researchers, graduate students, and research faculty appointments. This position is responsible for reviewing and implementing procurement requests to assure conformance to statutes, rules, regulations, and procedures governing such items. This position provides administrative support for department and faculty travel, seminar visitors, business guests, workshops, and conferences. This position will create and recommend improved processes to ensure compliance with all fiscal regulations and policies.

This position assists in the review, analysis, and reporting of expenditures for Department general and gift accounts, research grants, and contracts. This position is also responsible for assuring compliance with GASB principles of accounting and state fiscal rules through audit and analysis of financial transactions and records, interpretation of statements and reports, expenditure projection reports, and other confidential information.

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) provides an elite, interdisciplinary research and educational environment to examine the dynamical, physical, and chemical processes that occur in the atmosphere and ocean. A major theme is the establishment of a physical basis for observing, modeling, and understanding climate and global change. To learn more about ATOC and the courses offered by the department, please see http://atoc.colorado.edu.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

Purchasing, Travel and Expense Report Preparation and Reconciliation

• Run and optimize financial transactions by using expertise in the Concur system to independently prepare and handle Procurement card, Travel card, and various Expense reimbursements. Implements standard methodologies to streamline processes and ensure compliance with organizational policies.

• Acts as the primary resource for direct ordering and processing internal purchase requests through the CU Marketplace system. Analyzes and optimizes departmental purchasing processes to ensure efficiency and compliance with campus policies and regulations.

• Maintains and is responsible for the organization of supporting financial documentation within the department.

• Implements systems for efficient retrieval and compliance tracking, ensuring all transactions are fully documented and auditable.

• Processes and sets appropriate approval flows for all reimbursements, applying a deep understanding of funding sources, fund utilization, and documentation requirements to ensure fiscal responsibility and adherence to campus policies.

• Leads purchasing, accounts payable, and receivable functions across all fund types. This includes critical review and preparation of purchasing requests, ensuring budget alignment, and authorizing payments, applying a nuanced understanding of rules and regulations.

• Applies acquired job skills and campus policies to independently resolve moderate to complex financial and purchasing problems.

• Communicates sophisticated financial and purchasing information effectively across different levels of the organization and with external vendors, ensuring clarity and compliance.

Finance and Accounting Tasks

• Monitors and manages Department general and gift accounts, applying expertise to identify trends, forecast financial outcomes, and recommend budget adjustments to optimize fiscal performance and ensure compliance with financial policies.

• Takes the initiative to devise, implement, or revise internal accounting procedures tailored to specific program and project needs, especially concerning contract or grant management. This involves critical analysis of existing procedures, identification of improvement areas, and application of standard methodologies to enhance efficiency and compliance.

• Is responsible for post-award management activities for research contracts and grants, applying extensive knowledge to supervise expenditures, track project progress, and ensure alignment with contract/grant terms and conditions.

• Proactively addresses financial discrepancies and adjusts project budgets to maintain fiscal health and compliance.

• Cultivates and maintains strategic administrative and fiscal relationships with key business partner units such as the Office of Contracts and Grants, Campus Controllers Office, Procurement Service Center, and Human Resources. Acts as the primary liaison, enhancing communication and collaboration to support the department's financial and operational goals.

• Communicates effectively with a broad audience, including departments outside of the occupational field, to convey sophisticated financial and administrative information.

HR and Payroll

• Serves as the primary payroll liaison for graduate students, undergraduate assistants, and student employees, including work-study participants. Independently develops and implements comprehensive payroll management strategies, ensuring accurate compensation.

• Designs and implements internal processes and target dates, proactively engaging with faculty to gather vital data and information.

• Ensures adherence to payroll target dates through effective communication and organizational skills, thus maintaining seamless operational flow.

• Takes initiative in identifying and resolving payroll discrepancies, including salary and funding errors. Develops and applies sophisticated methods for payroll expense transfers, ensuring accuracy and compliance with financial policies, with minimal oversight.

• Manages hiring paperwork for a diverse group of employees including student workers, graduate research assistants, visiting scholars, and research faculty. Optimizes internal hiring processes to ensure efficiency and adherence to policies.

• Collaborates with the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) department, ensuring appropriate handling of information and requests for international scholars and students. Applies expert knowledge of visa and employment regulations to facilitate compliance and support the international community effectively.

• Provides expert advice and assistance for conference, workshop, and business travel arrangements for faculty, researchers, students, and guests. Independently coordinates research group spaces and room scheduling, optimizing resource allocation and supporting academic and research activities.

Other Duties As Assigned

What We Can Offer

The salary for this full-time position is $53,000 annually. Onboarding assistance is available.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits (https://www.colorado.edu/jobs/benefits) , including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder (https://www.colorado.edu/about) .

Be Statements

Be collaborative. Be dynamic. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• Bachelor's degree.

• (An equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute for the Bachelor's Degree requirement.)

• 1+ years of experience providing professional-level financial management and administrative support.

What You Will Need

• Excellent customer service.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and interpersonal problem-solving skills.

• High degree of professionalism and ability to maintain confidentiality.

• Understanding of contracting regulations, guidelines, policies, and procedures covering grant and contract requirements.

• Ability to work effectively in a working environment with multiple interruptions.

• Ability to establish and maintain positive and cooperative working relationships.

• Ability to work independently and as a member of a team.

• Organizational skills and ability to manage multiple complex priorities.

• High proficiency using Microsoft Suite, Word and Excel.

• Demonstrated ability to proactively analyze issues in such a way as to foresee possible problems or concerns that may arise and develop possible solutions that initiate related action with little close supervision.

• Ability to train, navigate, and master CU systems such as PeopleSoft Finance and HR, Concur and Cognos reporting, or similar systems.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

1. A current resume.

2. A cover letter that specifically tells us how your background and experience align with the requirements, qualifications, and responsibilities of the position.

We may request references at a later time.

Please apply by June 4th, 2024 for consideration.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, please apply through CU Boulder Jobs. (https://www.colorado.edu/jobs/)

To apply, visit https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/Finance-and-Operations-Professional/56696 (https://apptrkr.com/5259523)

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The University of Colorado does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, pregnancy, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, political affiliation, or political philosophy. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.