Assistant Director, EFM

University of California, Los Angeles; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

University of California, Los Angeles is seeking an Assistant Director in Extramural Fund Management to oversee post‑award accounting and compliance across sponsored funds. You will supervise a 10‑person team, ensure accurate invoicing and reporting for over 6,000 active awards, and drive process improvements.

You will design and deliver training for the central PAMS system, collaborate on critical projects, and work with the Director and Cash Management to maintain best practices and high

Qualifications

• Demonstrated understanding of the research enterprise at a major university with medical center and its missions.
• Ability to assess staff knowledge and assign workload for productivity.
• Proven ability to train and supervise personnel and foster collaboration across teams.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• Experience leading a large accounting unit to deliver timely invoicing and reporting.
• Advanced knowledge of internal controls and fiscal compliance, risk assessment and audit methods.
• Solid understanding of generally accepted accounting principles, government cost accounting standards, Uniform Guidance and federal OMB circulars.
• Experience with large IT systems and dashboards that interface with source systems.
• Excellent communication and diplomacy with faculty, fund managers and sponsors.
• Ability to design and deploy training curricula on complex accounting topics.

Responsibilities

• Oversee post-award accounting and compliance operations for sponsored funds.
• Supervise a team of 10 FTEs and lead invoicing and financial reporting for thousands of awards.
• Design and train staff on the Post-Award Management System (PAMS).
• Lead strategic projects in financial reporting, invoicing, closeout and document retention.
• Collaborate with the Director and Cash Management to optimize processes.
• Develop workload metrics to ensure timely invoicing and reporting to sponsors.

Skills

Staff leadership

Training design

Internal controls

GAAP & Uniform Guidance

Post-award accounting

Financial reporting

Audit support

IT systems in finance

Communication

Process improvement

Analytical skills

Policy compliance

Project management

Education

Advanced degree in accounting or related field

Job description

Department Summary

The Extramural Fund Management (EFM) is part of the Office of Research Administration (ORA) and supports the $1.3 billion in expenditures associated with the research program at UCLA by providing leadership, professional guidance and administrative services to faculty, department research administrators, and students.

Position Summary

The Assistant Director reports to the Director, Fund Management and is responsible for the shared oversight, administration, implementation and management of the daily financial monitoring of sponsored funds and post-award compliance operations of the Extramural Fund Management. Primary responsibilities include: 1) assist the Director with overseeing a wide range of fiscal responsibilities involving post-award accounting, various fund accounting activities in coordination with campus departments, and compliance/audit support; 2) directly supervise a team of 10 FTEs in Accountant levels 1-4 and Lead Accountant, to manage the production of invoices and financial reports for over 6,000 active awards annually; 3) design the training program and supervise the lead accountant(s) who train Accountants on the use of the central web-based Post-Award Management System (PAMS) that provides department-based and EFM fund managers with tools to effectively manage sponsored awards from the start to the close.; 4) as assigned by the Director, take lead role to implement critical projects/initiatives in the areas of financial reporting, invoicing, fund closeout and document retention. Work collaboratively with the Director, and Cash Management. Direct and guide EFM Lead Accountants in defining and implementing strategies for billing, reporting, and overall high quality customer service to faculty and department fund managers. The position is also responsible for designing methods that effectively measure and continuously monitor (individual, team, and unit) workload distribution and productivity metrics to ensure timely invoicing and financial reporting to sponsoring agencies. Lead various management projects/initiatives by facilitating workgroups, gathering facts from support staff, and developing sound recommendations to the Director that support EFM's mission. Periodically evaluate process analyses and review business rules that affect University accounting policies and work processes that impact contract and grant financial administration.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated understanding of and experience in the research enterprise of a major university with medical center and its teaching, public service and patient care missions. (Required)
• Ability to assess job knowledge, skills and competencies of staff in order to adjust work assignments to achieve high organizational productivity and effective delivery of services. (Required)
• Proven ability to train and direct personnel in individual and in team settings while developing an atmosphere that fosters collaboration and cooperation among team members and across different teams. (Required)
• Demonstrated organizational, problem-solving, decision-making and action planning skills, which include analyzing information, practices, procedures, and situations to reorganize alternatives and consequences, formulating logical and objective conclusions, and making recommendations for resolution appropriate to the situation. (Required)
• Demonstrated management skills to lead and champion initiatives of the Director within a large complex accounting unit with a diverse staff in both skill sets and experience to achieve multiple objectives with the campus research community and sponsoring agencies in high quality service, accurate accounting/financial functions, and timely closeout and invoicing/reporting. (Required)
• Advanced working knowledge of internal controls and analytical skills to monitor fiscal compliance activities, including fundamental understanding of risk assessment, sampling methods, audit approaches, and report writing. (Required)
• Expert skill and working experience in financial management, including a solid understanding of internal controls sufficient to analyze business practices and transactional activity to determine whether they comply with regulations, sponsor terms and conditions, and policies and procedures sufficient to meet fiduciary responsibilities and audit standards. (Required)
• Experience working with a wide array of information technology systems including large complex financial systems and databases, spreadsheets and other technical tools to evaluate the need for various front-end web-based user tools essential for queries, reporting, and work list dashboards that interface with source systems. (Required)
• Demonstrated advanced working knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles, government and cost accounting standards, Uniform Guidance, and federal OMB circulars and how they apply to federal, state, and private sponsors to maintain financial compliance. (Required)
• Demonstrated management skills to lead high performing teams toward mission critical goals with a focus on delivering high quality customer service to key stakeholders (faculty, department research administrators, and sponsors) and fostering integration with other ORA units to achieve the highest levels of organizational performance and achievement. (Required)
• Demonstrated skills in directing groups of people and teams to achieve a common goal/mission, delegating responsibility with clear expectations of results, and providing a work environment conducive to high levels of motivation and/or ownership of work within and among teams. (Required)
• Advanced analytical skill to examine linear and dynamic accounting processes and related systems, provide workflow efficiency studies, apply business rules, establish standard operating procedures, and identify and develop improvements and/or streamline processes. (Required)
• Excellent interpersonal skills to communicate effectively and diplomatically to highlight ORA's high quality service levels and operational priorities to a variety of stakeholders including faculty, department research administrators, fund managers, and central office personnel. (Required)
• Demonstrated writing ability to draft effective business correspondence, emails, policies, procedures, training materials, job descriptions and evaluations to a broad audience ranging from novice to expert so that the content is clear, cohesive, and understood in laypersons terms. (Required)
• Demonstrated ability to design a training curriculum for deployment in individual or group settings on complex and technical accounting topics and financial control issues for a diverse audience at all operational levels. (Required)

Education, Licenses, Certifications & Personal Affiliations

• Advance degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in accounting, business or public administration or related field;or equivalent combination of education and at least fiv (Required)

Special Conditions for Employment

• Background Check: Continued employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background investigation.
• Live Scan Background Check: A Live Scan background check must be completed prior to the start of employment.

Schedule

8am to 5pm, Pacific Standard

Union/Policy Covered

99-Policy Covered