Assistant Director for Finance

Unclassified - Boston, MA

Full-time - Mid Level

Boston, MA

About the position

The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University is seeking an Assistant Director of Finance to oversee a diverse range of financial activities. Founded in 2022, the Kempner Institute aims to understand the basis of intelligence in both natural and artificial systems, and is building a collaborative community of faculty, researchers, and students to pursue this research. The Assistant Director of Finance will play a crucial role in supporting the Institute's financial operations and ensuring compliance with funding guidelines and university policies. In this role, the Assistant Director will report directly to the Executive Director of the Kempner Institute. They will be responsible for executing day-to-day financial management activities, leading the annual budgeting process, and overseeing financial planning, analysis, and reporting. This includes preparing and administering all aspects of the annual and multi-year budget, analyzing costs and revenues, and managing the year-end closing process. The Assistant Director will also manage day-to-day financial and accounting activities, ensuring that all financial activities are timely, accurate, and compliant with relevant guidelines. The Assistant Director will serve as a subject matter expert on financial questions, providing financial analysis, models, and resources to support financial and strategic planning. They will also act as a liaison between the Kempner Institute and various departments, schools, and the Provost's office regarding funded activities and awards. Additionally, the role may involve supervising support staff in executing day-to-day financial activities, ensuring that the financial operations of the Kempner Institute run smoothly and efficiently.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and administer all pieces of the annual and multi-year budget, including analysis of costs and revenues, and oversee the year-end closing process.
• Manage day-to-day financial and accounting activities including monitoring corporate card usage, payments to vendors, processing reimbursements, and journal entries among others.
• Ensure that all financial activities are timely, accurate, and compliant with funding guidelines, University policies and procedures.
• Manage the accounting for all inter-institutional awards and payments, ensuring compliance with donor guidelines.
• Identify and resolve transaction classification issues to ensure proper alignment with chart of accounts and accurate reporting.
• Provide financial information for fundraising and sponsored research grant proposals.
• Provide quarterly reports to ensure accuracy of financial data and budget utilization.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on financial questions and provide financial analysis, models, and other resources to support financial and strategic planning.
• Serve as the liaison between the Kempner Institute and Faculty, Departments, Schools, and Provost's office with respect to Kempner funded activities and awards.
• May supervise support staff in the execution of day-to-day financial activities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience required.
• Minimum of 7 years' relevant work experience.
• Advanced knowledge of budget management and reporting, financial analysis, and financial modeling; strong working knowledge of accounting principles required.

Nice-to-haves

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, a related field, or significant work experience in these areas strongly preferred.
• Experience with Harvard systems, Chart of Accounts, and policies preferred but not required.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage
• Paid holidays
• Flexible scheduling
• Professional development opportunities
• Tuition reimbursement