Temporary Finance and Gift Accounting Specialist

Department

F&A FIN - Financial Services

About the Department

The primary goal of Financial Services is to support the core mission of the University through exemplary fiscal stewardship. Our services and programs are geared toward providing our customers outstanding response and service while fulfilling compliance and fiduciary obligations. Among many duties, Financial Services has responsibility for accounting and financial reporting; cash, endowment, and debt management; payroll; sponsored award accounting; and purchasing and paying for goods and services.

Job Information

Job Summary:

The successful candidate will work extensively with Phoenix, Business Objects, and Oracle systems, requiring the ability to obtain access and become proficient with each platform, including the highly restricted Phoenix system. This role requires a strong attention to detail and analytical skills to review and interpret gift letters, determining whether gifts are faculty-specific, restricted, or require reporting. Responsibilities include examining transactions in Business Objects to accurately classify gifts as internal, external, or commingled. This position demands excellent communication skills to collaborate with ARD and finance stakeholders in reaching consensus on proposed fund mapping. General accounting knowledge is essential to execute mapping corrections, which involve modifying, removing, or adding IADF awards, updating records in Phoenix, and posting corrections in the General Ledger. Additionally, the candidate will be responsible for cleaning up and reallocating gift deposits from the past 15 months to ensure they are accounted to the correct funds.

This position is a temporary, non-benefits eligible position expected to last three (3) months.

Responsibilities:

• Obtain and maintain access to Phoenix, Business Objects, and Oracle systems.
• Become proficient in navigating and utilizing features of restricted systems.
• Read and interpret gift letters to identify faculty-specific, restricted, or gifts with reporting requirements.
• Determine the nature of gifts, whether internal, external, commingled.
• Identify incorrect allocations or classifications.
• Document findings related to gifts accurately for finance teams.
• Communicate findings and recommendations clearly to ARD and finance stakeholders.
• Facilitate agreement on proposed mapping corrections.
• Apply general accounting principles to execute mapping corrections.
• Modify, remove, or add IADF awards as necessary.
• Make adjustments in Phoenix and post corrections in the general ledger (GL).
• Clean up gift deposits and rectify misallocated funds from the past 15 months.
• Ensure accurate historical and current financial data.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Additional Responsibilities

Education, Experience, or Certifications:

Education:

• College degree in accounting, finance, or related field required.

Experience:

• Knowledge and skills developed through at least 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
• Familiar with budgets, gift accounting, ledgers, and fiscal reporting.

Certifications:

• CPA preferred.

Technical Knowledge or Skills:

• Knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
• Proficiency with Excel.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• This position is a temporary, non-benefits eligible position expected to last three (3) months.

Required Documents:

• Resume/CV

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Temporary Staff

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Drug Test Required
 

No

Health Screen Required
 

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Pay Frequency

Hourly

Pay Rate Type

Hourly

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FLSA Status

Non-Exempt

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Pay Range

$65.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

This position is not eligible for benefits.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race