Financial Officer

Position Overview

FINANCIAL OFFICER, to perform comprehensive financial management for the MIT GenerativeArtificial Intelligence (GenAI) Consortitum. The MIT Generative AI Impact Consortium is working with leading corporations to develop innovative applications that have the power to significantly improve how humans live and work. Reporting to the Senior Program Manager, the Financial Officer (FO) will perform high level financial work and oversee all financial matters including developing and implanting financial models and strategies for both the sponsored research structure and consortium structure, financial planning, financial management, and reporting to the Chief Innovation and Strategy Office (CISO) financial counterparts.  The FO will oversee complex pre- and post-award financial activities related to the daily operation of the GenAI Consortium.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Operations:

• Counsel principal investigators, project leaders, and other staff on all aspects of research administration; provide monthly projection reports for sponsored research accounts, reconcile salary and other expenses on research accounts.
• Responsible for proposal preparation and award administration; coordinate the preparation, review, and submission of complex grant proposals and contracts involving multiple investigators, departments and universities; and personally handle the most complex proposals, problems and projects related to sponsored projects.
• Completes the pre-award administration of grants/contracts activities such as determining necessary components; organizing complex Principle Investigator proposals, often including multi-Principle Investigators (PI) and/or multi-unit proposals; and managing renewal and submission applications.
• Analyze and strategically plan for research funding projections and trends, personnel allocations, and other resource management issues. Develop complex financial reports and forecasts that enable PIs to effectively manage research expenditures and revenues.
• Completes the pre-award administration of grants/contracts activities such as reviewing solicitations and determining necessary components; organizing complex Principle Investigator proposals, often including multi-Principle Investigators (PI) and/or multi-unit proposals; managing proposals with cost sharing, sub-recipients costs, fixed-priced contracts, and Center or Program grants; and managing renewal and submission applications.
• Tracks and monitors the financial performance of grants and contracts to ensure compliance with MIT and sponsor policies and consistency with approved award budget.
• Manages sponsored project closeout processes and audit inquiries; submits final reports and certificates.
• Interprets MIT and government policies such as Federal Acquisition Requisitions (FAR), Cost Accounting Standards, Office of Management and Budget circulars, and sponsored guidelines.
• Perform strategic needs analysis, make recommendations for and implement financial systems to improve the overall efficiency of department financial operations; recommend policy changes and new initiatives; develop innovative solutions for enhanced lab’s operations performance.  This will be done in collaboration with the Senior Program Manager and Chief Innovation and Strategy Office (CISO) financial counterparts to develop short and long-term financial management strategies.
• Authorizes departmental procurement transactions including electronic card, requisitions, and petty cash.
• Manages the financial aspects of the GenAI consortium.  Work with central offices to establish consortium memberships and track the consortium spending and reconciliation.
• Leads special projects as assigned by management.
• Act as liaison with RAS, OSATT and various other central offices.

Analysis and Reporting:

• Provide overall management and oversight of general operating financial matters. Responsibilities include budget planning and management, complex financial reporting and oversight of day-to-day financial management operations.  Develop and execute the department fiscal year operating budget working with MIT liaisons such as MIT Budget Office and the Schwarzman College of Computing Dean’s Office.  Manage closing and year end reporting.
• Prepares monthly, quarterly, and annual budget reports, budget forecasts, and financial analyses. Performs monthly and fiscal year-end closing processes.
• Tracks and reports on all aspects of payroll process, including effort certification and vacation tracking.
• Tracks proposals, manage under-recovery, cost sharing, subcontracts, etc.
• Responsible for invoice payments, account set-ups, extensions, closeouts, FRCs, and salary adjustments.
• Develops and presents complex financial reports and forecasts for Principal Investigators and/or management.
• Writes and/or presents proposals.

Other Duties:

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Supervision Received

Supervision is provided by the Senior Program Manager. Receives limited supervision.  Employee sets own goals and determines how to accomplish results with few or no guidelines to follow; position requires ability to perform with minimal supervision.

Supervision Exercised

Indirect supervision of support staff.

Qualifications & Skills

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in a finance, business administration, accounting, management or related field required.

Experience

• Minimum of 4 years’ experience in accounting or finance required. 

Skills

• Knowledge of budget preparation and administration, financial recordkeeping, and reporting. Strong computer skills required, including proficiency with spreadsheets (Excel) and enterprise accounting and data base tools required.  Experience with SAP, BrioQuery, Kuali Coeus, and Cognos highly desirable. Strong financial management/forecasting, organizational, analytical, and problem solving skills, including follow-through skills in order to see projects and issues through to completion. Strong customer service orientation; excellent organizational and oral and written communication skills; ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously to meet deadlines; attention to detail; receptivity to learning new business methods and computational skills; and ability to work independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced and challenging environment. Experience financial administration experience in an academic research environment preferred. MIT experience highly desirable. 

_{* To comply with regulations by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the principal duties in job descriptions must be essential to the job. To identify essential functions, focus on the purpose and the result of the duties rather than the manner in which they are performed. The following definition applies: a job function is essential if removal of that function would fundamentally change the job.}