Manager, Research Finance

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 130,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Wellness programs

Job summary

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Inc. is seeking a hands-on Manager, Research Finance, reporting to the Chief Financial Officer. You will oversee the financial administration of CSHL's sponsored research portfolio and lead a core team responsible for budgets and reporting.

The role focuses on grant accounting, compliance with sponsor requirements and 2 CFR Part 200, audit readiness, and leveraging Workday to improve financial reporting and automation across research finance operations.

Qualifications

• Minimum seven years in sponsored-research or comparable accounting roles.
• Experience with federal award requirements (2 CFR Part 200) and audits.
• Ability to manage multiple budgets and timelines across awards.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day Research Finance team activities and deadlines.
• Ensure sponsor terms and federal requirements compliance; prepare audits.
• Maintain audit-ready records and coordinate financial schedules for audits.
• Prepare and maintain laboratory budgets using diverse funding sources.
• Review sponsored awards and resolve variances and data-quality issues.
• Other duties as requested.

Skills

Sponsored-award accounting

Financial administration

Budgeting and forecasting

GAAP knowledge

Workday experience

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance/business

CPA/CMA/MBA or CRA preferred

Tools

Workday Financials

Workday Grants Management

ERP systems

Job description

Worker Type

Regular

Job Description

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Manager, Research Finance is a hands-on leader responsible for overseeing the financial administration and accounting of CSHL's sponsored research portfolio, as well as the development and management of laboratory budgets.

This role leads a dedicated core team and plays a key role in ensuring the financial health and compliance of CSHL's research operations. The Manager will oversee grant accounting, strengthen financial controls and processes, and ensure compliance with sponsor requirements and 2 CFR Part 200. The role is also responsible for maintaining audit-ready financial records, supporting successful financial audits, and delivering accurate, timely laboratory budgets and financial reporting.

The Manager will be instrumental in optimizing CSHL's use of Workday to enhance financial reporting, improve data accuracy, and advance automation and efficiency across research finance operations.

Position Responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day work of the Research Finance team, including assignment of responsibilities, review of work, deadline management, staff development, cross-training, and backup coverage
• Ensure compliance with sponsor terms, CSHL policies, and federal requirements, including but not limited to 2 CFR Part 200
• Maintain audit-ready records and supporting documentation; coordinate financial schedules, sample support, responses, and corrective actions for the annual financial statement audit, Single Audit, sponsor audits, and other reviews
• Prepare and maintain laboratory budgets and related financial reports using current award, gift, endowment, institutional-support, personnel, commitment, and spending data; validate inputs and deliver accurate, timely budgets for review
• Participate in regular reviews of sponsored awards and laboratory accounts; investigate variances, deficits, aging items, unusual transactions, and data-quality issues and ensure timely resolution
• Other duties as requested

Position Requirements

EDUCATION

Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field. CPA, CMA, MBA, master's degree, Certified Research Administrator (CRA), or another relevant credential is preferred

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in sponsored-research accounting, grants accounting, higher-education finance, academic medical center finance, nonprofit accounting, or a comparable research environment
• Hands-on experience managing the financial lifecycle of federal and non-federal awards, including setup, reconciliations, financial reporting, billing or drawdown support, audit support, and closeout
• Demonstrated experience applying federal award requirements, including 2 CFR Part 200, and preparing documentation and schedules for financial statement, Single Audit, sponsor, or internal audit review
• Experience supervising professional staff, reviewing accounting work, setting priorities, coaching performance, and maintaining accountability for deadlines and results
• Experience in a biomedical research institution, research university, academic medical center, or other organization with a complex sponsored-research portfolio is preferred

SKILLS

• Strong sponsored-award accounting and financial administration skills, including cost allowability and allocability, indirect costs, cost transfers, salary and effort allocation, reconciliations, billing, receivables, financial reporting, and closeout
• Working knowledge of 2 CFR Part 200, sponsor terms, GAAP, internal controls, nonprofit or fund-accounting concepts, and audit documentation standards
• Ability to prepare and review laboratory budgets and financial reports using multiple funding sources, personnel costs, commitments, actual spending, and available balances
• Workday Financials and Workday Grants Management experience is strongly preferred; comparable ERP experience must include strong data, reporting, control, and workflow capabilities
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with modern reporting, dashboards, business-intelligence tools, data validation, or process automation
• Demonstrated ability to identify root causes, question inefficient legacy practices, and design practical, well-controlled process and reporting improvements
• Strong people leadership, organization, judgment, and written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain accounting and compliance matters clearly to non-finance colleagues

Compensation and Benefits

Our employees are compensated in many ways for their contributions to our mission, including competitive pay, exceptional health benefits, retirement plans, time off, and a range of recognition and wellness programs. Visit our CSHLBenefitssites to learn more. The salary range for this role is $130,000-$140,000. The salary range and/or hourly rate listed is a good faith determination of potential base compensation that may be offered to a successful applicant for this position at the time of this job advertisement and may be modified in the future. When determining a base salary and/or rate, several factors may be considered as applicable (e.g., years of relevant experience, education, credentials, and internal equity).

Environment

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is a world-renowned biomedical research institution in New York. It has shaped contemporary biomedical research and is the home of eight Nobel Prize laureates. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory provides a highly dynamic and interactive research environment and also a unique opportunity of timely exposure to advances in various biomedical research fields and of interaction with a broad range of researchers from all over the world through its renowned Meetings and Courses program.We believe that science is for everyone and our researchers have a wide variety of backgrounds.

CSHL is an EO Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or protected veteran status. VEVRAA Federal Contractor

For more information about CSHL, please visit us at www.cshl.edu.