University of Tennessee, Knoxville · 23 hours ago
Financial Associate: Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development - UTK
Knoxville, TN
Full-time
Onsite
Mid Level
$48K/yr - $50K/yr
3+ years expThe University of Tennessee - Knoxville is seeking a Financial Associate to support a high-volume research administration environment. This role involves managing financial services for the research community, ensuring compliance, and providing administrative support within the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development.
Higher Education
Responsibilities
Monitors aging, collections, and sponsor payment trends; initiates follow-up and escalates unresolved items
Researches and resolves billing and payment discrepancies (misapplied payments, short-pays, overpayments, duplicates, and posting errors)
Reviews invoices and financial records to ensure proper accounting treatment and regulatory compliance
Provides guidance to departments and faculty on billing, allowability, accountability, and payment application
Maintains accurate AR records and prepares reports to support month-end close, audits, and management oversight
Each member of DRA-SAS is expected to be an active participant in meeting team objectives and goals, and improving work outcomes
Under the general supervision of the DRA-SAS administrative team lead, administrative coordinators independently analyze information and interpret situations to determine how to solve a problem or complete an assignment effectively, and share these solutions and best practices with other members of the team
They also make recommendations to the team lead to create and change office-level procedures
Accurate and timely application of cash is essential to the financial integrity of sponsored projects. Delays or errors can trigger incorrect late-payment notices, damage sponsor relationships, and result in inaccurate federal reporting. High accuracy and independent judgment are required to protect university revenue and ensure full compliance with university, state, federal, and sponsor requirements
All DRA-SAS team members provides on-site administrative support for ORIED’s CM-based staff (not limited to DRA staff). That support may include, but is not limited to:
Answers the door and welcomes guests to ORIED’s CM suite
Manages reservations for CM conference rooms and workspaces
Manages parking tag reservations
Interfaces with ORIED business staff and CM building manager on facilities concerns
Manages incoming and outgoing mail and package and service deliveries
Manage the SPA@utk.edu email account for the department to disseminate emails received to various staff and respond to emails accordingly
Serve as backup to other DRA SPA financial support and Administrative assistant staff. This includes: assist with the distribution of sponsored project billings and financial reports, share office receptionist/phone duties with DRA Administrative Specialist, transport checks as received in the office to the Central Cashier's Office
Organize and schedule meetings for the SPA staff, this includes monthly meetings, inter-department trainings, special events, etc
Provide regular and adhoc financial reports as directed by the supervisor
Includes (but is not limited to) temporarily assuming additional operational and financial administrative duties in the event of a job vacancy on the team, until the position can be filled
Qualification
Required
High School diploma or GED
Three years of prior experience in an office environment
Knowledge of MS Office
Ability to solve problems
Ability to learn new software and processes
Ability to improve processes through critical thinking
Ability to effectively communicate with diverse faculty, staff, and sponsors
Ability to multi-task, organize a high-volume of work, and pay attention to detail
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
Ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment; ability to be dependable, punctual, and a team player
Preferred
Bachelor's Degree
Accounting or business experience; prior university experience
Knowledge of UT fiscal, HR, and research policies; knowledge of granting agency requirements
Knowledge of Uniform Guidance and Federal Acquisition Regulations
Knowledge of DASH and Cayuse
Benefits
Career development and coaching
Continued education
An extensive list of development and training possibilities
Company
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
As the state’s land grant, research-intensive institution, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is a university that leads.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of Tennessee, Knoxville has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (143)
2024 (100)
2023 (100)
2022 (83)
2021 (77)
2020 (108)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Bruce Behn
Dean and CEO, Digital Learning
Mark Savage
Chief Technology Officer, Digital Learning at UT
Recent News
Perishable News
2023-10-04
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