Financial Unit Temporary Lead
University Of Idaho
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Job summary
University of Idaho is hiring a Financial Unit Temporary Lead to oversee billing, closeouts and financial reporting for externally funded projects. The role requires guiding Accounting Specialists, ensuring compliance with sponsor terms, and maintaining strong internal controls.
The position is a one-year term with a 40-hour workweek. The role is remote eligible, with a pay range starting at $28.84 per hour, depending on experience, and a non-exempt FLSA status.
Qualifications
- High School Diploma or equivalent required.
- Preferred Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or business.
- Experience in grants and contracts accounting or sponsored research is a plus.
Responsibilities
- Lead the Financial Unit and manage billing and closeouts for sponsor projects.
- Review financial reporting and closeouts for compliance with terms.
- Perform reconciliations and ensure internal controls are robust.
- Monitor aging reports and coordinate with sponsors to collect outstanding funds.
- Provide guidance and training to team members on policies and systems.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Division/College University Research
Department University Research
FLSA Status Non-Exempt
Pay Range $28.84 per hour or higher, depending on experience.
Full Time/Part Time Full Time
This position is a temporary appointment with a one-year term. The work schedule is 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, and is remote eligible.
Position Summary
The Financial Unit Temporary Lead position within the Office of Sponsored Programs is responsible for leading the Accounting Specialists and the financial management of externally funded sponsor projects. This position will provide support to the Accounting Specialists by performing reviews of complex billing, financial reporting and closeouts to ensure compliance with sponsors’ terms and conditions. The Financial Unit Temporary Lead will perform various reconciliations to identify issues or gaps in internal controls. This position will apply a solid understanding of federal, state and other regulations and processes surrounding sponsored projects to ensure financial stewardship of funds and minimize university risk of loss due to non-compliance. This position is a temporary appointment with a one-year term.
Job Duty Function Lead the Financial Unit by
- Organize, prioritize, and plan team and personal workloads to meet deadlines
- Manage competing deadlines and a variety of assignments that require a high degree of attention
- Review all financial reporting and closeouts prepared by the Accounting Specialists prior to submission to the sponsor.
- Assist with complex billing and financial reporting, award setups and modifications, annual in house closes, and letter of credit draw reconciliations.
- Assist Accounting Specialists in resolving closeout discrepancies and outstanding obligations.
- Run aging report monthly and conduct a risk assessment and provide recommendations for collection activities.
- Provide workload coverage for team members during high volume periods and staff vacancies
- Train new team members and provide ongoing training to team members on new/changing policies, procedures, and systems
- Provide supervisor with a monthly report for progress towards backlogged tasks.
70%
Prepare and complete the closeout of sponsored project awards
- Monitor approaching award termination dates and contacting departments and PIs to ensure awards are being either prepped for closeout or that an extension has been requested
- Review agreement/contract to verify final reporting requirements, including final invoice and final financial reporting due dates, and special reporting requirements (e.g. patent and property reporting)
- Work with Department Grant Administrators (DGAs) to ensure all expenditures have posted to Banner or, if expenditures are still pending, adjusting final invoices to reflect those expenses
- Review/audit posted expenditures for compliance in Banner at the end and after of the award performance period and inform DGAs of the steps to remove costs if needed
- Prepare in house closes for awards that do not allow carryforward of funds into the next project year
- Analyze and reconcile budgeted amounts, funds received, accounts receivable balance, and general ledger to ensure financial numbers are accurate
- Research differences in general ledger balances and process correcting entries or make recommendations for potentially writing off uncollectable or errors in balances
- Ensure that final invoices and reports are submitted within the contractual guidelines to avoid potential loss of funding
- Work with Principal Investigators (PIs) to complete final and accurate patent and property reports
- Monitor final payments and inactivating Banner accounts
- Run Burn Rate Report monthly and review balances remaining or discrepancies after the final invoice has been completed to ensure accounts are being inactivated in a timely manner and all sponsor’s requirements have been satisfied
10%
Ensure collection of funds from Sponsors
- Review and verify accuracy of amounts indicated by Banner process
- Prepare, reconcile, and submit highly complex billing for a variety of sponsors
- Research, analyze and resolve discrepancies
- Prepare and submit monthly, quarterly, fixed-price, and other invoices and backup documentation in compliance with sponsor policies and processes
- Work with PIs as needed for technical documentation to be included with invoices as needed
- Prepare and request fund electronically from various federal letter of credit systems to meet bi-weekly payroll requirements
- Perform reconciliation of balances in letter of credit systems verses letter of credit spreadsheet. Research and resolve differences as necessary.
- Review aging report monthly and follow up with sponsors on outstanding payments of 90 days or more past due and 30 days past due for industry sponsors.
- Work directly with the sponsor’s representative to resolve any accounts receivable or other invoicing issues
5%
Create and submit periodic and final financial reports to federal and other sponsors
- Review contractual or regulatory guidance at account setup to ensure that system event dates are accurate and reporting is not delinquent
- Review Banner data prior to preparation of reports to ensure accuracy
- Prepare and submit federal financial and other sponsor-format reports as required
- Research, analyze and resolve discrepancies
- Prepare and submit quarterly Federal Cash Transaction Reports (FCTRs)
- Prepare and submit Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) via various sponsor’s portals
5%
Oversee the financial administration of ongoing sponsored projects
- Review and assess contractual documents to determine billing, financial reporting and technical reporting requirements at account setup
- Ensure system event dates are set up to notify PIs of technical reporting due dates
5%
Additional responsibilities
- Provide assistance, interpretation and guidance to team members, principal investigators, and other university employees to mitigate risks associated with sponsored funding
- Design and recommend process changes to maintain compliance
- Utilize Banner, VERAS and other University systems for position responsibilities and to gather and report data
- Have a solid understanding of federal, state, and other regulations and processes to ensure minimal risk of loss to the University due to non-compliance
- Have an understanding of the resources available to utilize to answer questions posed by faculty/staff relating to financial information and allowability
- Translate complex regulatory requirements into understandable language for faculty and staff
- Research and find new data sources to answer complicated questions relating to financial compliance
- Make policy change recommendations based on changing federal, state, and agency guidance
- Maintain professional relationships with sponsors, including responding promptly to inquiries or issues
- Act as a liaison between the PI/DGAs and the sponsor with regard to all financial matters
- Ensure seamless customer services by communicating information to the appropriate personnel in OSP
- Understand the role of ‘subject matter experts’ in financial compliance
- Understand the roles and responsibilities (R&R) as delineated in the University R&R matrix
- Provide recommendations for R&R matrix for changes to policy
- Demonstrate understanding of scope of responsibility
5%
Position Qualifications
- High School Diploma or equivalency
- Three years full-time experience providing financial, accounting, or business process support within established policies and procedures, including:
- interpreting and applying policies and procedures
- at least two years of transaction processing
- Experience working in an area of grants and contracts financial accounting or sponsored research administration
- Experience using computerized accounting systems or spreadsheet software to compile, summarize, analyze and report on financial transactions
- Experience in a customer service/support role
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or business administration
- Experience supervising the work of others to accomplish shared goals
- Experience with workload management and oversight
- Experience with governmental fund accounting
- Experience working with the Banner Financial System
Posting Information
08/28/2026
Open Until Filled Yes
Applicants who are selected as final possible candidates may be required to pass a criminal background check.
The University of Idaho is an equal employment opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).
- How did you hear about this employment opportunity?
- Academic Careers
- Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU)
- Chronicle
- HigherEd/Academic Impressions
- Higher Ed Jobs
- Idaho Department of Labor/Job Service including Job Central or Idaho Works (Idahoworks.gov)
- Indeed.com
- Inside Higher Ed
- Newspaper
- Other Venue
- Professional Listservs (Ex: NACUBO, AAAE, ISMC, etc.)
- University of Idaho Website
- University of Idaho Daily Register
- University of Idaho Employee
- Word of Mouth
- Militaryjob.com
- DSPSjobs.com
- Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC)
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