Financial Assistant Position

Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University

The Chemistry of Life Processes Institute (CLP) at Northwestern University invites applications for the position of Financial Assistant. The Financial Assistant is responsible for providing financial and accounting support for the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute (CLP) in areas related to purchasing, recharge activities, reconciliation, and records management for sponsored and non-sponsored accounts. This position maintains confidential information for CLP and its affiliated center and core recharge facilities under the direct supervision of the CLP business manager.

Benefits:

• Opportunities for partial remote work and flexible hours
• Northwestern tuition reimbursement
• Full training in NU financial administration
• An entry point to higher-level positions in research administration and financial management
• Supportive team

Job Summary:

The Financial Assistant is responsible for providing financial and accounting support for the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute’s (CLP) in areas related to purchasing, recharge activities, reconciliation and records management for sponsored and non-sponsored accounts. Provides day-to-day financial & accounting support using an advanced knowledge of applicable skills, methods & practices & some innovation, analysis, & reasoning to choose appropriate alternatives from among pre-defined policies & procedures to complete work that includes successive steps & involves some non-routine problems &/or decisions. Applies industry and professional standards, university policy and procedure, federal and state laws and other regulations.  Provides administrative &/or clerical support. This position maintains confidential information for CLP and its affiliated Centers and Recharge Facilities.

The Chemistry of Life Processes Institute (CLP) is Northwestern University’s premier transdisciplinary institute using team science to generate and translate high impact biomedical innovations. The incumbent will be responsible for providing financial services support to CLP’s affiliated University Research Centers and seven Core Facilities, under the direct supervision of the CLP Business Manager.

Specific Responsibilities:

Budget:

• Maintains & tracks individual budget accounts.
• Assists with annual budget process including tasks associated with the open/close processes.
• Updates calendar, spreadsheets, templates & forms; monitors submissions.
• Creates summary reports.

Analysis, Statements & Reporting:

• Prepares account, budget, cost, expenditure &/or funds analysis.
• Creates reports & queries; reviews for incomplete records, data entry errors, &/or accounting mistakes.
  • Reconciles assigned accounts and creates reports using Cognos, NUFinancials, NUCore and internal records.
  • Assists with annual Unrelated Business Income (UBI) reports and cost studies for recharge facilities managed by the CLP Business Office (including confirming accuracy of NUCore rate information).

Transactions:

• Completes & maintains transactions in enterprise systems.
• Provides review and oversight of all types of financial transactions some of which may be complex in regard to size or duration of account.
• Reviews based on alternatives regarding practice & policy.
• Troubleshoots problems.
• Performs vendor/account research as needed.
• Obtains additional information from or provides instruction & guidance for customers/vendors; corrects or escalates.
• Provides financial policy interpretation to determine the validity of customer requests & ensure compliance.
• Enters information into database.
• Processes and monitors recharge facility service fee transactions and contacts external users to request overdue payments.
• Tracks open encumbrances and ensures that payable and receipts are current; Recommends appropriate modifications to ensure smooth processing when closing purchase orders.
• Initiates outgoing wire transfers.
• Assists with Corporate Card management.
  • Processes all deposits (including incoming wire transfers and credit card payments).

Grants &/or Awards:

• Provides assistance regarding grant financial administration such as preparing financial information for grant submission.
• Completes post award accounting.
• Closes grants.
• Prepares expenditures on travel, consulting &/or equipment, along with various forms, such as Intra Institutional Vouchers, Requests for Accounting Corrections, the Research Assistant and Scholarship Appointments, &/or payroll adjustments, in accordance with granting agency guidelines & University policies & procedures.
• Reconciles subcontract payments.
• Corrects charges to various accounts.

Administration:

• Provides excellent customer service, over the phone and in person answering standard questions regarding status of requests, policies and procedures for processing transactions, &/or instructions for completing paperwork.
• Completes other administrative &/or clerical activities such as organizing meetings; reserving AV equipment.
• Maintains capital equipment inventory records

Miscellaneous

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High school diploma or the equivalent.
• 3 years accounting &/or bookkeeping experience or the equivalent combination of education & experience.
• Previous customer service experience.

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

• Advanced knowledge of MS Office Suite 2010 (Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint);
• Familiarity with financial reporting;
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Critical thinking skills with excellent follow through;
• Customer service oriented.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor degree in accounting or the equivalent combination of education, training, and experience from which comparable skills can be acquired;
• At least two years’ related experience in an academic research environment.

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

• Experience with NUFinancials and Cognos;
• Knowledge of NUCore preferred;
• Knowledge of Northwestern’s financial management policies preferred;
• Excellent computer skills including proficiency in the use of spreadsheet, database and word processing software;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to independently identify and resolve problems;
• Ability to meet stringent deadlines and handle last minute changes;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, faculty, staff, and other members of administration.

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you’re interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern requires all staff and faculty to be vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to limited exceptions. For more information, please visit our COVID-19 and Campus Updates website.

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