Financial Coordinator

• Job Type: Support Staff - Union
• Bargaining Unit: Local 2110
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $54,615 minimum

Position Summary

Reporting to the Executive Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute (WEAI), and with the supervision of the Director of Finance and Operations, the incumbent assists with the financial operations of the Institute. In this role s/he will:

Responsibilities

• Provide financial support and analysis for the Institute and its sub-units including the Modern Tibet Studies Program (MTS), the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA), the Center for Korean Research (CKR), and the New York Southeast Asia Network (NYSEAN) (25%); 
• Advise faculty and colleagues on University policies and procedures regarding finance including reimbursement and purchasing; provide updates and training regarding new policies and procedures affecting these workflows, and create and post relevant information to WEAI finance website (20%);
• Prepare and process requisitions, journal vouchers, internal transfers, invoices, check requests, reimbursements, honoraria payments, purchase orders, institutional memberships, consultant contracts, and subcontracts; file all paperwork submitted to Accounts Payable. Create new vendors both foreign and domestic. Review expense reports in Concur for accuracy and compliance with CU polices and procedures (15%);
• Reconcile all accounts against ARC/FDS statements; bring errors to the attention of the Director of Finance and Operations and helps to correct errors in ARC. Also reconcile P-Card charges. Work with supervisor on follow through for any discrepancies found in statements for approximately 100 fund accounts including government grants, private grants, gifts, unrestricted accounts and endowments (15%);
• Prepare, monitor, and submit budgets and financial reports to Institute leadership for review in response to questions regarding spending, account balances, variances and projections (10%);
• Handle confidential salary information for payment for casual employees (5%);
• Prepare the 990 report for the Institute and analyze variances (5%)
• Assign and review work of student assistants (3%);
• Research and prepare cost benefit reports on office equipment usage and service contracts, i.e., postage machine, photocopy machine, software and scanners, etc. (1%); and
• Perform related duties and responsibilities as assigned (1%).

Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma or its equivalent required. Must have a minimum of three years' related experience. 

Preferred Qualifications

• College degree preferred.
• An understanding of accounting principles
• Experience in a university or non-profit environment
• Experience with Federal (Uniform Guidance) and private grants

Other Requirements

• Knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel (and pivot tables), Powerpoint.
• Knowledge of Columbia University accounting system (ARC) and FINSYS & Concur
• Excellent interpersonal communication and organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks under deadline pressure 

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.