Executive Director of Sponsored Award Financial Services

University of Tennessee; Memphis (TN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Tennessee in Memphis seeks an Executive Director for Sponsored Award to lead the financial administration of sponsored awards from acceptance through closeout. This role owns internal controls for the sponsored award cycle and collaborates with Research Administration to ensure audit readiness and compliance with federal requirements.

The position requires a Bachelor’s in accounting/finance/business and 4 years of grants/contracts experience; a Master’s degree and/or leadership in

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration; Master’s degree preferred (transcript required).
• Four (4) years of progressively responsible experience in grants and contracts accounting, financial reporting, and compliance; supervisory experience required; or a Master’s degree with two (2) years of experience.

Responsibilities

• Designs and maintains internal control framework for sponsored award financial operations.
• Establishes approval authorities and delegation thresholds for invoices, reports, and cost transfers.
• Oversees accuracy and timeliness of sponsor financial reports, invoices, and related submissions.
• Directs indirect cost recovery, distribution, and reporting, collaborating with the Controller on rate studies.

Skills

Executive leadership

Auditing & compliance

Organizational leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Market Range: 15 Hiring Salary: Salary Commensurate with Education and Experience

The Executive Director Sponsored Award leads the financial administration of sponsored awards following award acceptance, including award establishment, expenditure monitoring, billing and receivables, financial reporting, cost transfers, effort certification, subrecipient monitoring, and closeout. The position owns the internal control environment for the sponsored award financial cycle and is accountable for institutional readiness for the annual financial statement audit and the single audit. The Executive Director shares end-to-end service accountability with the Executive Director, Research Administration, under joint oversight by the Executive Vice Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor for Research.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Designs, documents, and maintains the internal control framework for the sponsored award financial operations, including segregation of preparation, approval, cash receipt, and reconciliation.
• Establishes and annually reviews approval authorities and delegation thresholds for invoices, financial reports, cost transfers, adjustments, and other post-award financial transactions.
• Holds institutional accountability for the accuracy and timeliness of sponsor financial reports, invoices, cash draws, and related financial submissions.
• Directs indirect cost recovery, distribution, and reporting, and partners with the Controller on rate studies and negotiation.
• Maintains and annually calibrates the capacity model relating award count, expenditures, subawards, and clinical trials to staffing.
• Establishes and monitors the end-to-end service standards shared with Research Administration and reports performance jointly to institutional leadership.
• Maintains the documented interface with Payroll covering salary distribution, effort reconciliation, and salary cost transfer control.
• Adjusts portfolio assignments and staffing capacity in response to sustained changes in workload, including consolidation and vacancy management when appropriate.
• Receives the award abstract at acceptance and is accountable for award setup within the standard.
• Resolves cross-office matters through the defined escalation path.
• Develops recruitment, retention, and workforce strategies responsive to the competitive local market for accounting and research administration professionals.
• Develops institutional policies and procedures governing post-award financial administration and ensures they remain aligned with federal requirements and institutional needs.
• Directs campus training on federal sponsored award requirements, financial controls, and post-award business processes.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

EDUCATION:

Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration. (Master's Degree preferred.) (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

EXPERIENCE:

Four (4) years of progressively responsible experience in grants and contracts accounting, financial reporting, and compliance (previous job-related supervisory experience required); OR Master's Degree and two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in grants and contracts accounting, financial reporting, and compliance.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Expert knowledge of the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, including Single Audit requirements.
• Expert knowledge of internal control design for a revenue and receivable cycle.
• Knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles and governmental accounting standards as applied to public higher education.
• Knowledge of indirect cost recovery methodology and rate proposal development.
• Knowledge of effort certification and its relationship to payroll salary distribution.
• Skill in organizational leadership and executive communication.
• Ability to represent the institution to auditors and sponsors.
• Ability to build and sustain a shared operating model with a peer office under a separate reporting line.

WORK SCHEDULE:

This position may occasionally be required to work weekends and evenings.