Director, Financial Compliance

Department
 

SING EVP Headquarters - Finance & Ops - CoS NL

About the Department
 

The University of Chicago has been an international leader in basic and applied science research for more than 100 years. Researchers at the University and its national labs have made breakthroughs that have revolutionized our understanding and changed the world we live in, such as uncovered the link between cancer and genetics, evaluated the impact of social programs on the economy, and developed tools to produce reliably excellent urban schooling.

The Office of National Laboratories, Science Strategy, Innovation and Global Initiatives collaborates with University leaders, deans, and faculty to shape the strategic scientific and technological direction of the University, and supports its implementation through and across the Polsky Center, the UChicago Global Initiatives and its centers, and Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The unifying thread of programming focuses on enabling partnerships, collaboration, and working across divisions and institutions to translate scholarly pursuits, scientific discoveries, and technological developments into impact. The University’s stewardship of Argonne and Fermilab provides institutional support and unique resources that help these National Laboratories tackle some of the greatest scientific and technical challenges of our time.

Job Summary
 

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Finance and Chief of Staff for National Laboratories, the Director, Financial Compliance will oversee the National Laboratories’ financial and operational compliance of submitted budgets, internal audit and external responsibilities and accounting for the unit; with direct responsibility for the National Laboratories’ Board of Governors financial compliance of close-out reports (budget proposal, year-end submissions and operations), Department of Energy (DOE) and Inspector General (IG) Audit reviews and risk mitigation process improvements. The Director will work closely with senior management to deliver high-quality information and perspective regarding financial performance compliance, process improvements, year-end actual vs budget variance analysis for annual and quarterly submissions to the DOE. In addition, this role is key for the improvement of compliance, risk mitigation, and enhanced internal financial controls in alignment to US GAAP, DOE, Inspector General audits and other governmental agencies policies and procedures. She / he will work closely with staff from the Board of Governors Relations, National Laboratories (Argonne and Fermilab) Finance teams, DOE Contracting Officers, Budget Office, Financial Services, University Research Administration, and other Finance teams within the extended portfolio The Director supervises one financial analyst.

Responsibilities

• Leads the development and analysis of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial planning cycles including budget, forecast, and year-end reports and submissions in compliance with governmental, and US GAAPs pronouncements.
• Timely and accurately prepares relevant monthly financial statements, activity reports, financial position forecasts, and other reports as required by regulatory agencies (DOE, IG, and UoC).
• Prepares value-add financial analysis, communicates financial results, operational overview, and strategic recommendations to senior management in a concise, clear, and timely manner.
• Oversees all financial aspects of internal and external National Laboratories and Board of Governors engagements, Graduate Research Cooperative (GRC), Joint Task Force Initiatives, and other projects by closely partnering with internal teams, senior management, and other stakeholders at the University, the National Laboratories, DOE, etc.
• Implements, improves, and oversees unit-wide operational efficiency, strengthens internal controls, and enhances the utilization of ERP systems.
• Ensures timely compliance of federal, state, and local governmental and requirements, specifically the Office of Science, DOE and IG.
• Oversees unit-wide compliance and adherence to procurement policies, fund and grant management, program execution and overall revenue generation stewardship.
• Provides financial and operational consulting services to the senior leadership team on key strategic initiatives to help the units stay focused on achieving their strategic goals.
• Develops strong partnerships with a broad range of key internal stakeholders including the Budget Office, Financial Services, DOE contracting offices, National Laboratories Finance and Procurement teams, Office of Legal Counsel, and a variety of external stakeholders.
• Develops and leads the implementation of change management initiatives, such as shared services outsourcing, and University-wide project