Assistant Research

Department: MED-Infectious Disease
Salary/Grade: NEX/11

Job Summary:

The Assistant Research & Finance Administrator position supports the financial and research administration operations in the Division of Infectious Diseases. This role will be primarily responsible for payroll data entry and reconciliation, financial reporting for sponsored & non-sponsored accounts, payment processes and other financial transactions.

Completes clerical and administrative tasks in support of unit's sponsored programs and research mission. This may include coordinating pre-award &/or post-award processes; completing internal or external forms for any/all portions (including budget) of a proposal or award; collecting, distributing &/or archiving proposal and award related documents; using spreadsheets to calculate budgets and track data &/or data analysis.

Please Note: Supervisor provides objectives, deadlines & specific instructions only for new, difficult, &/or unusual work. Work is reviewed upon completion & only occasionally to verify technical accuracy & compliance with practice, policy, & procedures. EE informs supervisor of on-going progress &/or potentially controversial matters.

EE uses an advanced knowledge of skills, methods & practices & some innovation, analysis, & reasoning to choose appropriate alternatives from among pre-defined policies & procedures to complete work that includes successive steps & involves some non-routine problems &/or decisions.

* As time and budget allows:

* New-"Brown Bag"-Interested in becoming an RA?

* Need more "How To:" sessions such as:

o Fill out internal & external paperwork

o Create & review budget

o Review sponsor guidelines

o Read a solicitation

* Five University Business Processes classes (HR700, HR705, HR715, HR725, HR740)

Specific Responsibilities:

Complexity

* Typically assists with research projects such as:

o Single Principal Investigator (PI) basic proposals, grants &/or contracts

o Components of multi-PI or multi-unit proposals, grants &/or contracts

o NIH RO1-approximately $250K/yr. over 5 yrs.

o NIH R21-approximately $150K/yr. over 2 yrs.

o Foundation grants

o NSF grants

Pre-Award

* Completes pre-award administration of grant &/or contract activities.

* Prepares proposals.

* Obtains approvals.

* Develops straightforward budgets using spreadsheets.

* Updates bio sketches.

* Formats & uploads files to electronic platforms.

* Collects &/or distributes information both internally &/or externally to/from faculty, staff, students, etc.

* Tracks proposal due dates and follows up/coordinates proposal routing as needed.

Post-Award

* Completes routine post-award administration of grant &/or contract activities.

* Processes purchase orders & cost transfers.

* Reconciles budget statements.

* Tracks expenses via spreadsheets.

* Monitors project balances and end dates.

* Coordinates core resource account set-up and maintenance.

* Provides data needed for the preparation of interim and final financial and technical progress reports.

* Processes account close-out activities.

Financial

* Completes day-to-day financial transactional activities for grants &/or contracts (obtaining approvals as necessary).

* Completes day-to-day financial transactional activities for department (obtaining approvals as necessary).

* Updates spreadsheets.

* Processes travel reimbursements.

* Assigns P-card expenses.

* Transfers expenses.

* Purchases lab &/or office equipment &/or supplies, etc.

* Monitors sponsored and non-sponsored budgets.

* Ensures timely payment of invoices.

* Reconciles accounts.

* Provides financial data, analysis &/or reports for inclusion within grant, contract &/or department budget.

Human Resources

* Processes paperwork associated with hiring & termination of employees.

Compliance

* Tracks, update, process, and submit required forms &/or reports related to compliance.

* Learns about compliance related issues & activities.

Miscellaneous

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

* Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

* Organization, time management, detail oriented

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

* Action oriented - Willing or likely to take practical action to deal with a problem or situation.

* Coachability - Receptive to feedback, willing to learn, embracing continuous improvement.

* Collaboration - Facilitates open and effective communication, cooperation and teamwork within and outside of one's own team.

* Collegiality - Helpful, respectful, approachable; builds strong working relationships and a positive work environment.

* Initiative - Exhibits energy and desire to achieve; sets ambitious goals and acts decisively; takes action that no one has requested to improve or enhance job results and avoid problems.

* Meets deadlines - Displays consistency and success in adhering to deadlines.

* Multi-tasking - Demonstrates ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously.

* Organization - Plans, organizes and schedules in an efficient, productive manner; anticipates contingencies and pays attention to detail.

Target hiring range for this position will be between $19.31 to $27.16 per hour. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more Visit us at to learn more.

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We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
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