Financial Associate II

About the Role

The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) educates design, research, and scholarship leaders to make a resilient, just, and beautiful world. The GSD offers degree programs across architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, design engineering, and real estate, as well as advanced research programs and a robust public program of lectures, exhibitions, and publications. This role reports to the Controller and performs diverse payroll, accounting, and financial support duties, serving as a key resource and liaison for financial inquiries across the GSD.

Responsibilities

• Act as a subject matter expert on payroll policies and procedures, establishing processes and standards for key controls at the GSD.
• Interpret Harvard policy, federal and state regulations, work-study policies, and VISA situations to ensure compliance.
• Analyze complex reports and proactively assess and rectify compliance or payroll issues.
• Interpret Federal, State, and Harvard policies regarding student and non-student temporary employment; communicate policies to payroll coordinators and update them on changes.
• Coordinate quarterly payroll coordinators meetings to share updates and best practices.
• Provide training for new departmental payroll coordinators.
• Serve as the local expert and primary liaison with Central Payroll, Harvard Student Employment Office, and GSD Financial Aid Office for student/temporary weekly payroll.
• Manage security setups, train, and direct 15+ payroll coordinators on payroll deadlines, processes, and troubleshooting for weekly/bi-weekly payroll.
• Collaborate with GSD HR Office and Faculty Planning to review staff hirings and paid appointments for biweekly staff, faculty, and teaching fellow payrolls for completeness and accuracy prior to PeopleSoft submission.
• Review and approve additional pay requisitions and uploads for biweekly staff, faculty, and teaching fellow payrolls.
• Review biweekly and weekly payroll registers for completeness, accuracy, and adherence to student employment guidelines.
• Review and submit retroactive timesheets and request off-cycle payments for unpaid hours worked by students no longer employed at the GSD.
• Process PeopleSoft coding changes for staff, faculty, and teaching fellows.
• Prepare, analyze, and support monthly journal entries, including accruals, prepaid assets, and reclassifications.
• Prepare balance sheet reconciliations and process the monthly gift assessment allocation.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support accurate financial reporting and ensure alignment on accruals and financial data.
• Contribute to monthly and quarterly close reporting and activities, including preparing quarterly flux analysis and notes for Central submission.

Requirements

• High School diploma, GED, and a minimum of 5 years of related work experience (higher education may count toward experience).
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, including complex formulas, VLOOKUP, pivot tables, and other lookup functions.
• Ability to navigate enterprise Oracle-based financial applications.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field preferred.
• Experience with Harvard financial accounting systems or Oracle preferred.
• Knowledge of PeopleSoft or payroll processing preferred.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented.
• Strong communication and customer service skills; ability to build effective working relationships across teams.
• Ability to handle complex and confidential information with discretion.

Work Environment

This position requires regular in-person work at the GSD throughout the academic year, with a minimum of one in-office day per week. Candidates must be able to commute to campus regularly during the academic year and reside in one of Harvard’s approved payroll states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Washington, or California (CA for exempt positions only). Certain visa types and funding sources may limit work location. Individuals must meet work location sponsorship requirements prior to employment.

Applicants must be able to perform typical office tasks, including sitting for extended periods, using standard office equipment, and occasionally lifting up to 20 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Harvard University is unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position. Candidates must have employment authorization to work in the U.S.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off, including parental leave.
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one.
• Retirement plans with university contributions.
• Wellbeing and mental health resources.
• Support for families and caregivers.
• Professional development opportunities, including tuition assistance and reimbursement.
• Commuter benefits, discounts, and campus perks.

Pay

This position is salary grade level 055. Salary ranges are based on qualifications, skills, experience, equity in comparison to similar positions, and external market values. For more information, visit Harvard's Salary Ranges.

Schedule

35 hours per week.