Research Finance Specialist (Remote Opportunity)

Research Finance Specialist

The Division of Nephrology is a rapidly growing division in the Department of Medicine at Stanford. Through its tripartite mission spanning research, education, and patient care, the Division's work supports the understanding and treatment of kidney disease here in the Bay Area and around the world. We are committed to a collaborative and supportive work atmosphere that values and provides opportunities for professional development and participation at the Department, School, and University levels.

In partnership with the School of Medicine's Research Management Group for pre-award activity and the Office of Sponsored Research for post-award management, the Nephrology Finance Team partners with faculty, clinical fellows, postdoc and research staff to oversee a portfolio of peer-reviewed grants, cooperative agreements, subawards, industry sponsored clinical trials, institutional training grants, and individual fellowships. Currently, a portion of the Division's 40+ faculty have extramural research support across 30 unique sponsors or subcontracting parties and 50+ awards with an annual spend nearing $7M. This is an exciting time to join Stanford Med-Nephrology to support our growing needs and strategic direction.

Under the supervision of the Division's Finance Manager, the Research Finance Specialist (Accountant 2) will perform moderately complex accounting activities and functions, including financial transaction approvals for a given portfolio, expenditure reconciliation and quarterly certification, revenue reporting/accounting, salary distribution and journal entries. The specialist will regularly engage assigned faculty and research staff to monitor and project on active awards and plan for future proposals.

The Finance Specialist, will be part of a team that includes a Clinical Research Finance Specialist who will oversee the bulk of industry-sponsored trials but it is expected that all finance staff will have varied portfolios that include projects of all types so a broad research administration background is desired and/or will be cultivated. This requisition is for a specialist that will have a portfolio that will include grants, contracts and fellowships, health disparity research projects that require a firm grasp on complex policies governing data use/sharing, export controls, etc.

The Finance Specialist will work in a fast-paced environment and is expected to navigate changing priorities with a high degree of discretion and sensitivity under minimum supervision. The successful candidate will work as part of a collaborative team, engaging in cross-training and providing backup coverage when necessary.

This position is open to hybrid or remote work with 1-2 campus visits per year to participate in planning and team-building events.

The ideal candidate possesses a passion for making meaningful change, building and improving processes to make coworkers and partners' experiences more efficient and seamless, and is ready to work in an openly collaborative work environment.

You are an experienced self-starter. You are keen to try ambitious ideas to design and improve systems and processes that affect our team. You have a history of identifying problems and barriers to successful work, and you take initiative to propose solutions. Your solutions are practical, and you plan for execution.

You have a track record of analyzing problems, extracting insights from different types of data, identifying and structuring key issues, and simplifying the approach to solving them.

A willingness and ability to learn new systems quickly is central to our culture of continuous learning. You have a track record of seeking, learning from and providing feedback. You can quickly pivot based on operational needs and have demonstrated a growth mindset and comfort with change. You love improving processes and are comfortable and confident learning new tools, processes, and ways of working. You are excited to learn and grow in the entire portfolio of people, finance, and administration, even as you deepen your existing core areas of interest/experience/specialization.

You are an effective communicator. You have experience communicating in writing, documenting complicated processes in ways non-experts can understand, and clearly explaining the reason behind any changes to policy or procedure. You are capable of communicating effectively and compassionately both verbally and in writing to understand and advocate for competing needs, inquire about workarounds, and influence and persuade people.

No candidate will meet every requirement. If you may be a good fit, we encourage you to apply!

Duties include:

• Analyze accounting transactions and information to summarize current financial position at the unit or organization-wide level. Construct and assemble data for decision making; develop conclusions, and present high level summary of recommendations.
• Capture, track, and report revenue and expenses; determine appropriate procedures for accounting record preparation, research of transactions and reporting. Oversee, reconcile, and resolve problems relative to complicated accounts.
• Collect data and perform research on details of transactions. Generate, review, analyze and communicate financial data that reflects actual financial performance against approved budgets. Prepare and present quantitative and qualitative analyses focusing on variances from budget and prior data.
• Maintain and review accounting process controls; recommend and implement any approved modifications; perform preliminary analysis and recommend solutions. Develop and maintain desktop procedures and process documentation for area of responsibility.
• Run and analyze financial reports, often from multiple systems; prepare management information reports.
• Contribute to unit and organization strategy; assist in the development of change management plans and materials as needed. Participate as a member of a project team; support new initiatives. Make decisions determining approach to managing and completing processes.
• Participate in critical analysis of existing systems and processes and identify opportunities for process improvement. Define requirements, develop and implement complex test cases, perform system testing, and analyze results.
• Serve as a resource to local units and other departments to resolve accounting related issues.
• May act as a lead, train, coach, and review the work of other staff, as needed. Contribute primarily through applying individual expertise.

Desired qualifications:

• Excel proficiency.
• Experience managing sponsored research at Stanford or another academic institution.
• Proficiency with Stanford data systems (i.e. OBI, SeRA, Oracle, etc).
• Ability to review a proposal or manage a project with understanding of the overall scope and goal of each sponsored project.

Education & experience (required):

• Bachelor's degree plus four years of applicable experience, or combination of education and relevant work experience.

Knowledge, skills and abilities (required):

• Intermediate proficiency in business applications, such as Microsoft Office; intermediate Excel skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with accounting systems and the internet; computer literacy.
• Understanding of and ability to apply accounting skills and concepts.
• Knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
• Demonstrated communication skills, including the ability to clearly and effectively communicate information to internal audiences and client groups.
• Demonstrated project management skills and ability to contribute as part of a project team.

Certifications & licenses:

• None

Physical requirements*:

• Constantly perform desk-based computer tasks.
• Frequently sit, sort, file paperwork or parts, grasp lightly, and use fine manipulation, lift, carry, push and pull objects that weigh 10 pounds or less.
• Occasionally write by hand, twist, bend, stoop and squat.
• Rarely stand, walk, reach or work above shoulders and use a telephone.

Working conditions:

• May work extended hours during peak business cycles.

Working standards:

• Interpersonal skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
• Promote culture of safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for safety; communicates safety concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned.
• Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University's Administrative Guide,

This role is open to candidates anywhere in the United States. Stanford University has five Zone Pay Structures. The compensation for this position will be based on the location of the successful candidate.

The expected pay range for this position is $110,307 to $128,195 (within the 10 Bay Area counties) or $66,184 to $116,014 per annum (all other Zones). Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of the salary the university reasonably expects to pay for a position upon hire. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental