The Financial Assurance Officer position ensures financial compliance with university fiscal policies and requirements established by Federal, state, and local governments, as well as private entities in relation to sponsored projects; works with the manager and university officials to keep policies and procedures current with changing requirements; monitors/tests the effectiveness of departmental compliance to mitigate risk; identifies potential areas of compliance vulnerability and works with supervisor to develop corrective action plans for resolution of problematic concerns; develops/instructs compliance training programs for UTK. Expenditures for Sponsored Projects ranks as a high-risk area of exposure for compliance for this university with managing an average of 2300 WBS elements whose expenditures totaled $317M in FY2024.

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The Financial Assurance Officer position ensures financial compliance with university fiscal policies and requirements established by Federal, state, and local governments, as well as private entities in relation to sponsored projects; works with the manager and university officials to keep policies and procedures current with changing requirements; monitors/tests the effectiveness of departmental compliance to mitigate risk; identifies potential areas of compliance vulnerability and works with supervisor to develop corrective action plans for resolution of problematic concerns; develops/instructs compliance training programs for UTK.

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Required Qualifications

• Education:
  • Bachelor's degree any related field.
• Experience:
  • Three years of related work experience with background in accounting, auditing, risk assessment or regulatory compliance. Must have experience with computer systems, including spreadsheet software (such as MS Office).
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
  • Knowledge of research administration issues including financial management and the ability to interpret and communicate federal, state, and local laws and regulations relevant to research administration operations, policies, and procedures.
  • Ability to communicate effectively, including active listening skills, plus the ability to work with a diverse group of faculty, staff, administrators, and other stakeholders.
  • Ability to be detail-oriented with strong organizational and problem-solving skills.
  • Ability to provide excellent customer service with a commitment to exceptional quality.
  • Ability to think analytically, quantitatively, creatively, and strategically.
  • Ability to be an independent thinker with professional skepticism.
  • Ability to be a team player who works well collectively and collaboratively with colleagues to achieve common goals.
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office.
  • Ability to use judgement skills in the determining compliance and the knowledge to implement process to mitigate risk.
  • Ability to develop and conduct training.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education:
  • Master’s degree in any related field.
  • Certified Research Administrator, Certified Professional Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor.
• Experience:
  • Prior financial experience in working with research grants and awards.
  • Oracle/DASH experience.
  • Experience in higher education administration with knowledge of federal cost accounting principles.
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
  • Knowledge of UT fiscal, human resource, and research policies.
  • Knowledge of Uniform Guidance, Federal Acquisition Regulations, and granting agency requirements.
  • Knowledge of IRIS and Cayuse.

Work Location

• Location: UT Knoxville
• Onsite/ Hybrid

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: MR13
• Anticipated hiring range: $67,000-$82,000
• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments.

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• List of 3 Professional References

About The College/Department/Division

Here at the University of Tennessee, thousands of world-class faculty, staff, students and postdoctoral fellows are engaged in research, scholarship and creative work on a daily basis. With a shared commitment to creating a more just, prosperous, and sustainable world for the citizens of Tennessee and communities far beyond, the UT community is creating new knowledge and generating solutions to some of the most challenging issues of our time.

The Office of Research, Innovation & Economic Development is here to support you, our community of researchers, scholars and creatives, from ideation to impact. Our dedicated team is here to help you develop competitive proposals and sources of support for your work, seed investments in promising new areas, nurture new and established multidisciplinary communities of scholars and support and sustain a strong culture of research integrity.

The university’s strategic relationships with corporate, venture, community, non-profit and government partners help extend the impact of our community’s work across the state and around the world. In collaboration with these partners, we are working to establish Tennessee as a go-to destination for cutting-edge research, innovation and a skilled workforce.

We understand that a creative, productive, and empowered community of researchers, scholars, and creatives is critical to the university’s future as a world-renowned research institution.

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Compliance Monitoring:

• Be a subject matter expert in the area of financial compliance of sponsored projects by:

• Stay abreast of changes in federal regulations, such as 2 CFR Part 200 Office of Management and Budget Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards,

• Attend professional conferences to keep informed of new developments and networking with other professionals,

• Provide guidance to department Research Accountants and campus community in the interpretation of policies and federal regulations,

• Research compliance programs at other institutions and Federal agencies to gather ideas for developing monitoring platforms, and

• As part of a collaborative effort, provide recommendations for revisions of university and campus fiscal policies and procedures to senior administration to mitigate risk associated with non-compliance.

• Use data analytics to develop reports to monitor areas of high risk. Work with units that have been identified as high risk and develop plans

and/or processes to mitigate risks. Periodically review the plans/process to determine if reducing the risk was mitigated or needs further action.

• Collaborates with HURON and DASH in developing reports and programmatic changes to improve financial compliance, disseminate changes to

the campus research administration community, follow up on the changes to ensure the outcomes were what was intended and if not, continue to

problem solve.

Training:

• Develop and conduct training on for sponsored projects accounting for compliance with UT fiscal policies, federal guidelines and based on best practices.

• Facilitate learning through a variety of delivery methods including classroom instruction, virtual training, and on-the-job coaching.

• Communication to inform employees about training options.

• Handle logistics for training activities including venues and equipment.

• Present training programs using recognized training techniques and tools.

• Assess training needs for new and existing employees for sponsored projects financial compliance, including Principal Investigators, departmental accounting staff, staff internal to the Division of Research Administration. This may include:

• Organize and develop training programs to meet specific training needs,

• Develop training aids such as manuals and handbooks,

• Provide training outline for individual employees.

• Track and report on training outcomes.

• Design and apply assessment tools to measure training effectiveness.

• Maintain employee training records.

• Provide feedback to program participants and management.

• Evaluate and make recommendations on training material and methodology.

• Keep current on training design and methodology by researching industry standards.

• Manage and maintain in-house training facilities and equipment.

• Provide ad hoc or specialized training upon request.

Audit Activities

• Plan, coordinate and facilitate departmental financial compliance reviews for sponsored projects, noting areas of concern and make recommendations to mitigate risks. Report findings and recommendations to departmental management. Follow up on findings to ensure any actions taken did reduce the compliance risks. If not, continue to work with the department and if warranted, escalate to a senior management, such as manager or director.

• Coordinate documentation from departments/faculty upon external audits requests, analyze the data received, mitigate any potential risks by researching the terms and conditions of the sponsored project, and seeking further details from the Principal Investigators and their accounting staff on the allowability of the questioned costs. If any areas of concerns arise, work with departments and Principal Investigators to address the issues and develop plans and procedures to immediately correct going forward.

• Upon receiving the final audit report, this position will be part of team to provide input to develop action plans on any audit findings to mitigate future risks for the campus. This position will continue to monitor to ensure the university is following the action plans put into place or if any adjustments are needed.

Other Activities:

• Outreach to faculty and staff to see what areas of financial compliance that they have concerns. This entails researching the concern, providing feedback and best practices, and may develop into future trainings or campus processes.

• Notify campus of changes to fiscal policy and federal regulations that impact financial compliance for sponsored projects via newsletters, meetings, and email communications.

• Represent Division of Research Administration in various meetings or committees.

• Work on ad hoc special assignments or projects as assigned by Compliance Manager or Director.

• Review sponsored project awards and modifications to identify and conduct mandatory compliance training.