Director of Grants and Contracts

Ranked #49 in U.S. News & World Report's list of Best Public Colleges and Universities, Rutgers University-Camden is a diverse, research-intensive campus of approximately 6,100 students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels and 1,100 faculty and staff members. Located in Camden, N.J., directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, the university is uniquely situated to serve the local community while achieving global reach. A U.S. Department of Education-designated Minority Serving Institution, the university thrives due to a supportive culture that helps students achieve their goals and fosters collaboration among employees. Rutgers-Camden is recognized as a national model for civically engaged urban universities and was selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for a Community Engagement classification. Washington Monthly magazine has ranked Rutgers University-Camden among its "Best Bang for the Buck" universities and best national research universities. Recently, Rutgers-Camden earned Carnegie classification as an R2 research university due to a high volume of internationally recognized research, creative output, and scholarly activity.

Rutgers University-Camden is in search of a Director of Grants and Contracts who will report directly to the Vice Chancellor for Research. Under limited supervision, the Director of Grants and Contracts will manage post-award activities related to all campus research funds. The position encompasses a wide range of fiscal functions for the Rutgers University-Camden Campus including cost accounting, forecasting, and budgeting. Additionally, the incumbent will provide high-level leadership and provide strategic input as it pertains to the development of the research administration structure.

As a key member of the Office for Research, the Director will perform analysis on sponsored project activity to understand fund flows, including the timing and impact on accounting periods and fiscal years. Consistent with a broad understanding of the mission, vision, role, and goals of the business unit, the tasks and responsibilities of the Director will be required to achieve business unit goals within established work parameters.

The Director will oversee the administrative and financial activities of sponsored awards including reviewing procurement transactions, salary allocations, general ledger and project ledger reconciliations, and preparation of monthly financial reports for unit-level business managers. This position will provide leadership, professional development, and supervision to the financial and administrative staff overseeing the activities and development of a high-performing team in multiple functional areas. Specifically, the Director develops and oversees the implementation of quantitative and qualitative metrics to assess performance as well as track/manage completion of project tasks.

The Director will manage the quality of engagements and will serve as liaison with unit administrators responding to inquiries concerning specific grant and contract information. This position has a customer-service focus, and the incumbent will be required to interface with faculty, staff and senior leadership both on campus and at the University level.

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to managing budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis and year-end closing processes, and creating monthly and ad-hoc reporting. Day-to-day activities include but are not limited to the review of awarded contracts for compliance, entering and approving journal entries, supervising and approving salary allocations, tracking awards expense and revenue, monitoring invoicing and cash disbursements, managing award closeouts, and providing staff support on any financial issues related to their portfolio.

Incumbent must be able to interpret contract language, compliance regulations, prepare financial statements and prepare written internal reports on the financial impact of sponsored activities. Incumbent will provide independent analysis of financial data and will be required to understand contract parameters in order to monitor financial and operational risks. The incumbent will perform professional work requiring knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ( GAAP) and a solid understanding and application of concepts, theories, principles, practices, terminology, and applied basis of accounting. In addition, the incumbent will be required to apply knowledge of research accounting principles (e.g., 2 CFR Part 200 - Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements) to ensure sponsored projects accurately reflect the terms of the award and are in compliance with Federal and State regulations.

Consistent with the current application of Rutgers Policy 60.3.22, this position may be eligible for a hybrid work arrangement. The flexible work arrangements outlined in Rutgers Policy 60.3.22 are part of a pilot program that is effective September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2024. Therefore, there is no guarantee that this flexible work arrangement will continue beyond that date. Flexible work arrangements are not permanent, are subject to change or cancellation and contingent on the employee receiving approval in the FlexWork@RU Application System. Additional information may be found at https://futureofwork.rutgers.edu.

Rutgers offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. For details, please go to http://uhr.rutgers.edu/benefits/benefits-overview.

Requires a bachelor's degree preferably in accounting; or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience that demonstrates knowledge and understanding of generally accepted accounting principles ( GAAP) as well as accounting practices, policies, applied basis of accounting and contract compliance. Also requires a minimum of five years relevant experience in a grant or accounting function.

Requires good interpersonal and communication skills for customer service contact. High functioning computer literacy to include proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Access, and Outlook). Must be skilled in understanding database structure and can manipulate data imports and exports for financial reporting and analysis.

Master's degree preferred. Experience working in a higher education environment strongly preferred. An in-depth understanding of the current Rutgers University Systems preferred. Strong preference will be given to candidates with knowledge of Oracle ERP Cloud, Oracle Hyperion Planning software, Tableau and advanced command of excel functions. Knowledge of research accounting principles (2 CFR Part 200 - Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements) strongly preferred.

Specialized equipment for the incumbent will be in the shape of the software identified above.

Prolonged computer utilization and long periods in sedentary positioning.