Req #:	173189
Department:	CONTROLLER'S OFFICE
Job Location:	Seattle Campus
Posting Date:	10/15/2019
Closing Info:	Open Until Filled
Salary:	Salary is commensurate with education and experience.
Shift:	First Shift

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. All of which has allowed the UW to be nationally recognized as a “Great College to Work For” for six consecutive years. 

The Controller's Office has an outstanding opportunity for a Senior Financial Analyst.  The primary responsibilities for this position are leading, planning, and technical work for the development, compilation and completion of the UW Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate proposal in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance, Code of Financial Regulations Appendix II part 200 – Indirect Costs Identification and Assignment, and Rate Determination for Institutions of Higher Education.  The UW F&A Team is periodically required to calculate and submit F&A rates to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Cost Allocation Services (CAS).  These rates are reviewed by CAS who then negotiates final F&A rates with the University of Washington.  The negotiated rates serve as a basis for the UW to recover overhead costs associated with all externally funded research grant and contract sponsored awards. Additional responsibilities include serving as cross-functional support to effort and recharge teams when necessary.

The secondary responsibilities for this position involve computer/systems support. Duties include specialized office systems support for the Management Accounting & Analysis department; software applications support for F&A, designing, implementing and acting as liaison for the development of database applications, web maintenance, analysis of specialized system software and cross-organizational collaboration with central and academic units to address/assist with data needs.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Cost Accounting and Analysis

Compile and prepare federal costing proposals, accounting reconciliations, and data analysis for the F&A data requests.

Gather and compile data from multiple sources for review and analysis to ensure proper identification of costs for F&A proposal compilation. 

Perform key cost accounting functions required to design and develop the F&A rate proposal and other costing data.  This includes, but is not limited to:Identifying and importing appropriate financial accounting and other key data into the UW’s F&A cost modeling software;

Reconciling imported financial data to the UW’s audited financial statements and other sources;

Reconciling imported space data to the UW’s space management system;

Reconciling other imported data to appropriate UW source systems as needed;

Setting-up  applicable header, mapping, allocation and exclusion rules within the F&A cost modeling software;

Developing appropriate cost pools and allocation methodologies;

Regularly analyzing and refining cost pools and allocation methodologies to ensure most appropriate approaches are utilized;

Regularly running the cost modeling software and providing necessary maintenance;

Reviewing related work of others working on the F&A rate proposal and related analyses;

Produce drafts and final proposal packages in standard formats required by OMB Uniform Guidance;

Design and develop facilities projections and other what-if rate scenarios as needed.

On an ongoing basis, review and update documentation for major components of the F&A rate proposal process.

Annually participate in the development of UW’s fixed cost fringe benefit proposal.

Respond to other ad hoc costing data requests.

Technical Business Analyst and Data Management, Analysis, and Design

Frequently gather, analyze, and/or develop, a variety of ad hoc and ongoing analyses using enterprise wide data warehouse tools and secondary systems.

Serve as business technical expert on campus-wide advisory teams focused on systems replacement or enhancement initiatives.

Coordinate with external consultants to maintain F&A modeling software, write reports, and troubleshoot F&A modeling software issues.

Coordinate with key internal data providers to obtain and ensure data compatibility and integrity necessary for F&A modeling software.

Download large quantities of data from University systems and convert it into formats usable in the F&A cost model.  Perform this task by setting up ODBC connections and using Microsoft Access, SQL Server Management Studio, or other relevant software to connect to data in the UW’s Electronic Data Warehouse.

Program supplemental applications to F&A modeling software for the facilities and administrative cost proposal process in Visual FoxPro, Access, SQL, or other appropriate database environment.

Develop and maintain internally developed secondary systems and processes designed to generate data needed for the F&A model and other costing initiatives.  Examples include databases for space and inventory and the cost pool assignment process.

Project Management

Lead various projects and/or initiatives related to the F&A proposal compilation.

Assist in the development of long-range project plans related to F&A.

General systems & software applications support and management 

Software applications support and analysis for F&A including rate proposal compilation software and space functionalization software.

Designing, implementing and acting as liaison for the development of database applications.

Web maintenance for F&A related pages.

University (Cross-departmental) Collaboration and Communication Internal and External

Regularly collaborate and coordinate with key central and academic process partners to obtain information critical to development of the F&A rate proposal.  This includes, but is not limited to:Obtaining process and other feedback from key campus units;

Serving as point of contact for an assigned set of departments during key data gathering phases;

Conducting and completing quality assurance reviews with appropriate departmental staff.

Contact departments when data reconciliation/correlation problems occur to explain what information is needed and obtain updated data.

Actively participate in and, when appropriate, lead cross-campus advisory teams.

Actively participate in and, when appropriate, lead process improvement efforts for core University administrative systems and procedures critical to development of the F&A proposal.

Exchange information and update administrators on status of facilities and administrative (F&A) rate development, proposals, and negotiations.

Consult with central and academic department staff on the development, or update, of central systems critical to MAA’s operations (space management system, sponsored effort reporting system, equipment database etc.).

Actively develop and participate in department cross training to support all functions and activities within MAA.

Develop and coordinate responses to requests from central and academic departments for information regarding specific costing questions.

Training and Other Presentations

Communicate, present and train Senior Administrators, Department chairs, Principal Investigators, Directors, Administrators, and subject matter experts in campus units.

Work closely with staff units and other campus department leaders to communicate F&A processes and procedures including improvement ideas and develop good working relationships.

Develop and train key central and academic department staff on overall F&A rate development process.

Develop and maintain guidance to campus on the overall F&A rate development process, including key concepts and processes, project schedules and milestones, and overall results.

External Communication

Exchange information related to current processes at other institutions or agencies.  This may include seeking input on questions regarding costing issues, effort reporting, and/or service center issues.

Seek out current information regarding F&A rates and rate development approaches from applicable governmental circulars and other sources outside of UW – peers and professional organizations such as NACUBO, NCURA or NACCA.

Coordinate with vendors, including software firms and consultants.  This could include scheduling trainings or meetings with vendors and working directly with them to obtain relevant information from them.

As needed, respond to auditor requests for information regarding the F&A cost proposal, sponsored effort reporting, and/or service centers.

Interact with CAS during proposal review.  This may include coordination of data requests, site visits, or other information as requested by CAS or the internal UW negotiating team.

Internal Process Improvement Champion

Work to consistently and continuously improve processes, incorporating Lean improvement concepts into daily work.

Assist in developing goals and measures for F&A team, which align to strategic framework for Controller's Office.

Participate, assist in the development and implementation of Lean Management System initiatives.

Participate as leader, coach and/or team member on quality improvement or Lean improvement teams.

Other duties as assigned -- as needed

As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs.  For detailed information on Benefits for this position, click here.

Required Qualifications:

•    Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with emphasis in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
•    Minimum of 6-8 years of accounting and/or costing experience, or a combination of both, in a complex organization, preferably in higher education.
•    Knowledge of the OMB Uniform Guidance Policy, specifically 2 CFR 200.
•    Knowledge and understanding of concepts and regulations relating to F&A cost recovery.
•    Experience with F&A Proposal compilation, development, or review.
•    Experience programming/creating reports and queries in Access, SQL, Visual FoxPro, and other application development tools.
•    Experience operating and maintaining a proprietary accounting software package.
•    Understanding of SQL syntax, data types, and query development.
•    Knowledge of Recharge/Cost Center rate proposal review and rate setting/costing methodologies.
•    Proven ability to work independently on complex compliance related issues.
•    Experience working with large data projects, data sets, and data extraction.
•    Intermediate experience with database software Microsoft Excel, Access, and SQL Server Management Studio.
•    Working knowledge of other Microsoft products (Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook).
•    Demonstrated administrative, financial, organizational, and problem-solving skills, and exhibit the ability to lead in a   complex, progressive organization.
•    Excellent oral and written communication skills, including expertise in making public presentations to small and medium sized groups.
•    Compassion for others and the ability to work within a diverse workforce and community

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except where there are legal requirements such as license/certification/registration.

Desired Qualifications:

•     Experience with the full cycle of F&A Rate proposal from development to completion of negotiation with cognizant agency.
•     Experience with Fringe Benefit Proposal compilation, development, or review.   
•     Knowledge of/experience working with Lean process improvement techniques.
•     Advanced experience with SQL syntax, data types, and complex query development.
•     Understanding of grants and associated regulatory compliance.
•     Advanced knowledge of Cost Accounting.
•     Master of Business Administration, or Certified Public Accountant, or Certified Government Financial Manager.
•     Advanced experience with designing and managing web content using HTML, PHP, Drupal or similar web environment/content management system

Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.