Financial Analyst I

The Office for Sponsored Programs is a department within Harvard University’s Financial Administration (FAD) that is focused on providing high-quality administrative and financial assistance to faculty and other University affiliates performing sponsored research. OSP works with researchers and schools across Harvard to help obtain and negotiate awards from sponsoring agencies, assist with grant proposal preparation, ensure compliance with federal regulations and University policies, provide financial support including financial reporting and billing and collection services, assist with audits, and promote knowledge of sponsored research administration throughout the University research community through training and other educational programs. The Financial Analyst I (FA I) supports the Research Finance Operations (RFO) Team in the Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP). The three core functions of this role are: • Apply standard practices with the interpretation and recording of financial terms in the Grants Management Application Suite (GMAS)   • Prepare and submit a high volume of standardized invoices and reports to sponsors   • Monitor and facilitate the collection of outstanding accounts receivable. This role requires the ability to balance accuracy with working in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment. The FA I is responsible for reviewing sponsored agreements for any terms related to payment and financial reporting and for setting up the schedule of invoices, financial reports (financial deliverables), and other related data in GMAS. The FA I is also responsible for completing standard invoices and standard financial reports as assigned each month using an automated process in GMAS. In doing so, the FA I may be required to work directly with sponsors, clients, and colleagues to ensure the sponsor requirements are met. The FA I also performs the accounts receivable collection of any outstanding sponsored payments and coordinates collections efforts with sponsors and clients when necessary.   Approximately 35% effort is anticipated for scheduling, 35% for invoicing and financial reporting, 20% for accounts receivable collection, and 10% for project-based duties, which can include business process documentation, training initiatives, account reconciliation and closeout, ad hoc data analysis, and other special projects.  Job-Specific Responsibilities: • Serves as a principal source of information for interpreting complex financial terms and conditions within sponsored agreements • Accurately records financial deliverable schedules and related information in the sponsored system of record (GMAS) • Produces timely and accurate invoices and financial reports based on sponsor deadlines • Analyzes financial data to identify potential risks and issues (quantitatively and qualitatively) in a way that is meaningful and proposes solutions for complex issues and best practices, which may require the entry of adjustments in the General Ledger • Works within the team and across Research Finance to update and develop business processes and identify best practices • Liaise effectively with other groups, such as sponsors, school financial offices, academic department leadership, pre-award offices, and central finance and technology units to clarify sponsor requirements, business processes, and systems • Provides backfill support for peers or additional support during busy periods, when required, consistently applying processes and practices to new assignments • Assists with developing and delivering metrics/reports, business process documentation, training initiatives, and special projects as needed  Basic Qualifications: Basic Qualifications are the minimum threshold a candidate must meet in order to be considered for this