Associate Director, Research Cash Operations

About The Opportunity

Job Summary

This position supports the functions of the Northeastern University Research Enterprise Services (NU-RES) Finance office by ensuring that the University maintains compliance with applicable federal regulations, sponsor requirements, and university policies, with a focus on fiscal compliance. NU-RES Finance supports the research and scholarly activities of Northeastern's faculty in collaboration with colleges and administrative staff by providing financial and administrative services, financial and regulatory oversight of sponsored program accounts, and monitoring trends and developing strategies to address their impacts.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Payment Processing Operations (30%): Work with the Bank Accounting team to reconcile the Research bank account. Oversee the overall payment identification process and assignment of incoming electronic payments and check deposits into the Research clearing account, including claiming payments from the bank and ensuring weekly check deposits are processed and recorded accurately. Oversee payment application processes for all incoming funds, including all Letter of Credit (LOC) draw applications; ensure funds are applied timely to accurately reflect open AR. Develop metrics to track accuracy and efficiency of the team; troubleshoot and resolve escalated payment identification issues flagged by the cash team; ensure the team has current analysis tools and up-to-date information for decision-making. Collaborate with other university offices to research and resolve RNA payments. Oversee and reconcile the internal NU-RES research clearing account on a monthly and quarterly basis.

• Registrations and Supplier Portals (20%): Coordinate with sponsors to complete vendor and supplier registrations, portal setup, and ACH enrollment requirements for Northeastern. Oversee the triaging and management of the Research Accounting central inbox; ensure timely response and resolution of items. Work closely with Research Administration to ensure timely registration to facilitate the award acceptance process prior to award issuance. Maintain close working relationships with other Northeastern departments including Treasury Services, Bank Accounting, Finance, SFS, and Advancement; develop SOPs and collaborate on process improvements for cash management operations. Work with compliance offices to complete supplier questionnaires for profile setup. Work with Bank of America as needed to troubleshoot questions or satisfy information requests.

• Orderly Closeout of Grant Accounts (25%): Identify and process AR write-offs for account closeout or bad debt. Collaborate with Research Financial Administrators (RFAs) and Research Award Administrators (RAAs) to identify and process necessary payment adjustments and corrections for grant closeouts and reconcile cash applications. Work with analysts and Accounts Payable to identify, prepare, and process refunds to sponsors as needed.

• Other Cash Accounting and General Ledger Reconciliations (15%): Identify, research, and process various accounting corrections needed to ensure accurate application of cash, including University Advancement, Ledger 3 FFS, and PhD network payments, as well as cash claim reversals and other corrections of non-research payments received by the NU-RES Finance office. Oversee collection efforts and work with the leadership team to identify potential uncollectible receivables. Assist with year-end activities including researching Research AR and assisting with reserve analysis.

• SOP and Guidance Document Development (5%): Develop and update SOPs and guidance documents for both internal team use and external guidance. Ensure alignment throughout all research finance business processes.

• Audits and Special Projects (5%): Assist the Research Finance leadership team on reporting and special projects as needed.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field
• 4–6 years of relevant work experience
• Basic understanding of general accounting principles, standards, and regulations
• Strong technical skills with Microsoft Office 365 including Teams, Excel, Word, SharePoint, and Outlook, as well as Adobe Acrobat and other analytical tools
• Demonstrated ability to lead and thrive in a fast-paced operations environment, lead process improvement initiatives, and manage multiple priorities for cross-functional initiatives
• Excellent leadership, analytical, and problem-solving skills with high attention to detail and organization
• Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to interact with management and senior leadership

Preferred Experience

• In business-to-business (B2B) accounting, accounts receivable, and working with local and federal agencies
• Experience with federal portals and sponsor systems
• Experience with Workday Finance
• Experience managing or supervising a team