Description

POSITION OBJECTIVE 

Working with a high degree of independence, provide overall administrative management and coordination of a variety of business-related functions; finance, budget, and grant administration for various three departments within the Case School of Engineering. The assistant manager will be assigned a research portfolio made up of multiple grants and contracts, based in multiple research departments with annual expenditures between $4.5m and $5.5m. These assignments will change as needed based on changes in funding levels, staffing needs and other dynamics. The assistant manager is expected to function as the financial and business manager across their assigned portfolio and working with directly with faculty and staff as it relates to grant submissions, financial reporting, tracking of expenses, determining optimal staffing levels based on available resources, and ensuring compliance with post award management for multiple Federal and State agencies, industrial and non-profit funding agencies. The assistant manager will develop and implement plans for optimizing the management of resources, exercising discretion and independent judgment to assigned departments related to managing revenues and expenses, as well as working across units within the office of finance and with administrators across the school and university. The assistant manager has authority to accomplish objectives within established guidelines and policies with the expectation of only referring special problems to the manager of academic and research operations.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Serve as the financial and business operations manager for their assigned portfolio. Extract data from multiple university sources and systems and perform continuous financial modeling for implementation. Review spending patterns to project future trends and prepare long-range operational forecasts and cash flow analysis. Guarantee compliance with all funding agency and university directives by reviewing all speedtypes in assigned departments monthly to monitor and verify expenditures. Approve purchases. Work closely with Purchasing and T&E professionals to assure grants do not exceed funding, and purchases do not occur after end date. Request preliminary speedtypes or petitions to keep active research projects open during renewal periods to keep correcting journals to a minimum. Be the main contact and primary administrator to departmental staff, faculty and chairs for all things related to funded projects. Delegate tasks to other employees as needed and follow up with colleagues, departmental staff and faculty to assure tasks are completed in a timely manner. Create efficiencies to improve accuracy. (25%)
Manage the salary spend across the portfolio by balancing the resources available to each individual faculty. Determine appropriate and affordable staffing based on grant budgets and projections of revenues. Approve funding for research staff hires. Initiate reorganizations and layoffs when funding resources change or are eliminated. Override the instructions of principal investigators if necessary. Complete monthly effort/salary distributions for exempt employees. Complete salary adjustments as needed while working collaboratively with human resource administrators and the executive director. (25%)
Use independent judgment and present the school's position as it relates to compliant management, billing, and payments for shared research endeavors with administrative staff to ensure effective financial management. Monitor sub-awards closely to ensure revenue is received, budgets are increased and payments to sub-award agencies are made in a timely manner and in accordance with the various sub-award agreements. Working across the university and with the appropriate sub-award staff representatives, monitor, review and approve various crossbills and reports with University Hospitals, to ensure accuracy and funding availability. (20%)
Direct principal investigators in the preparation of grant proposals and applications to include compilation of data and preparation of estimated budget expenditures. Know the proposal requirements for multiple federal agencies, industry, and non-profit funding agencies for the various assigned departments. This includes support of large multi-principle investigator, multi-institution (other universities, hospitals, and industrial partners) proposals for collaborative research across multi-disciplines.  These large research efforts may also include international partners, sites, and/or activities. In addition, for some there are complex cost share requirements. Ensure compliance with university and sponsoring agency policies and procedures. Perform first review and/or create research proposal budgets for assigned departments. Ensure that budgets meet funding agency, school, and university guidelines. Identify any anomalies or other financial issues related to budgets. Meet with principle investigators, chairs and manager of academic and research operations to discuss/ initiate corrective actions prior to proposal submissions. Serve as a resource to assigned departments by identifying potential funding sources, interpreting proposal guidelines, providing guidance in navigating federal web-based submission platform, and managing the internal routing process through Sparta. (14%)
Prepare administrative reports for submission to sponsoring agencies including interim and final financial reports for the university, which are then submitted to the sponsor. This would include all data related to university cost share obligations from either Case Western Reserve University or from multiple sources (see multi-principle investigator/ multi-institution proposals.) Interpret school and university policies and procedures pertaining to grant management and expenditures and ensure compliance by all staff. Communicate any changes to policies and procedures to appropriate staff to ensure implementation. Ensure compliance with federal regulations as outlined in -21, A10 and A133. (9%)
 

NONESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Serve an active role, including chairing committees, on various leadership teams in developing long and short-term departmental strategy goals. (5%)
Cross train with HR specialists and purchasing managers to ensure smooth daily management of grants and contracts and during times of absence. (1%)
Cross train will all other assistant managers for changes in assignments and absences. (1%)
Perform other duties as assigned. (<1%)
 

CONTACTS 

Department: Daily contact with faculty and research personnel in assigned departments and the CSE Office of Finance Administration and Research Administration maintain workflow.

University: Daily contact with purchasing, Accounts Payable and Human Resources central administrative departments to exchange information. 

External: Weekly contact with sub award agencies administrators to exchange information.

Students: Contact with graduate students and student employees to exchange information.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

No supervisory responsibility.

QUALIFICAITONS

Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree and 5 years of related experience OR Associate's degree and 7 years of related experience required. Experience in a medical, university, or non-profit setting preferred.

REQUIRED SKILLS

Demonstrated experience in managing strategic and organizational planning activities within a complex organization, preferably in an academic or public health setting. 
Experience developing or managing budgets.
Knowledge of university policies and procedures preferred.
Professional and effective oral and written communication skills; and good interpersonal skills with the ability to work and communicate with various individuals within and external to the university. Must demonstrate good presentation skills and the ability to accurately relay information to others in a formal and informal setting. Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors, and customers face to face.
Strong organization skills; ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines. Must demonstrate attention to detail and accuracy, time management skills, and follow-through. 
Effective management skills; ability to lead, train, work with, and elicit cooperation from team members and staff. 
Ability to work effectively independently and collaboratively within a team. Must be highly motivated, responsible, dependable and a self-starter. Ability to meet consistent attendance. 
Effective problem-solving skills; must demonstrate excellent analytical skills, sound judgment and good decision-making. 
Must demonstrate innovation and the ability to develop new ideas, procedures and systems to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
Must demonstrate flexibility and ability to work under pressure; must be able and willing to conform to shifting priorities, demands and timeline. 
Proficiency in Microsoft Office, database applications, and with internet navigation. Experience with PeopleSoft and/or Oracle a plus.
Must demonstrate willingness to learn new concepts, procedures, processes, and computer programs as needed.
Demonstrated history of successful support, education, and advocacy for all students, aligned with the values, mission, and messaging of the university, while adhering to the staff policy on conflict of commitment and interest.
Ability to meet consistent attendance.
Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors, and customers face to face.
 

WORKING CONDITIONS

Typical office environment. The employee will perform repetitive motion using computer mouse and keyboard to type. 

Requirements

QUALIFICAITONS

Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree and 5 years of related experience OR Associate's degree and 7 years of related experience required. Experience in a medical, university, or non-profit setting preferred.