Director, Post Award Finance

Director Of Post-Award Finance

Columbia University's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute unites world-class scientists across diverse academic disciplines to conduct groundbreaking research that transforms our understanding of the brain and its influence on the mind and behavior. As a leading neuroscience institute, our mission is to decipher the mind and brain to better understand behavior. Our researchers are committed to foundational science, uncovering the principles that shape how the brain develops, functions, and recovers. With more than 50 labs, the Zuckerman Institute serves as a hub for collaboration, bringing together Columbia's top scholars to drive research in bold new directions. Located in Manhattanville, our state-of-the-art Jerome L. Greene Science Center provides an inspiring home for discovery in one of the world's most dynamic cities.

The Zuckerman Institute is seeking a Director of Post-Award Finance to report to the Executive Director of Finance. The Post-Award Finance team supports investigators and their administrators with the financial components of managing grants and other funding across each investigator's portfolio. The Director will oversee all services provided by the team, supervise team members, and offer direct support to faculty and administrators on complex sponsored project matters. As an expert in post-award management, the Director will play a critical role in expanding the number of investigators served, ensuring exceptional service quality, and establishing standards that promote transparency and compliance in the financial management of sponsored projects, related awards, and departmental / unrestricted funds. This position will lead the team through a rapidly evolving research environment and will work effectively with a diverse community of faculty and staff.

Responsibilities include overseeing the dissemination of a suite of monthly financial reports designed to assist Principal Investigators (PIs) and their administrators in reviewing and managing faculty funding portfolios, including grants, contracts, gifts, endowments, and other restricted and unrestricted resources. The Director will identify and pursue opportunities to improve, refine, and optimize these reports, including leading and advocating for future automation initiatives. Provide mentorship and support the ongoing development of team members and personnel to ensure a high-performing and collaborative team that supports the labs, including lab managers.

The Director will possess deep knowledge of policies and best practices related to managing federal and non-federal grants in a university setting, serving as the in-house subject matter expert on grants management. Stay current with evolving regulatory requirements and compliance standards and apply that knowledge to guide the team and support investigators. Represent the Post-Award Finance team across the organization, engaging directly with faculty, lab managers, senior leadership, and central finance and sponsored projects offices. Maintain strong client relationships, communicate service options to clients, and address escalated issues and concerns, including complex matters involving large, multi-PI grants.

Manage financial operations across grant and non-grant funding sources, including monitoring expenses, subcontract management, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely processing of invoices and payments, tracking balances, conducting variance analyses, projecting burn rates, and implementing spend plans. Oversee all grants management activities, including financial monitoring and reporting, salary allocations, completion of regular financial validations and attestations, and ensure all sponsored research projects are closed out appropriately. Collaborate with the Human Resources team on reappointments of personnel funded by sponsored projects and other lab fund sources, efficiently managing the process on behalf of the finance team.

Work closely with ZI Pre-Award & Research Development team to ensure coordinated support to departments; co-lead efforts to maintain clear communication and workflows in support of activities the teams provide to departments. Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve complex grants administration issues, keeping the Executive Director of Finance informed and escalating matters as appropriate. Oversee effort reporting and provide support for periodic reviews or audits of documentation. Offer guidance on institution-wide initiatives to improve reporting and access to financial information for sponsored projects and related funds.

Minimum qualifications include a bachelor's degree required, plus at least seven to nine years of direct related experience. Demonstrated leadership and supervisory experience, including developing staff, providing mentorship and fostering a culture of collaboration. Ability to leverage strong diplomatic and interpersonal skills to build partnerships and secure stakeholder buy-in, and communicate effectively with both principal investigators and technical operations teams. Must possess advanced Excel skills, including familiarity with the creation and use of complex pivot tables, lookup functions, and other features for formatting, manipulating, and analyzing data. Possess in-depth knowledge of Uniform Guidance and other financial principles, enabling effective management of awards in an academic research or similar environment. Possess comprehensive knowledge of Uniform Guidance and other federal regulations, the sponsored project lifecycle, including strong working knowledge of pre-award processes, and compliance in an academic research or similar environment. Exercise sound judgment in financial management, compliance, communications, and priority-setting, consistently delivering accurate results and meeting deadlines. Demonstrated ability to prepare reports on complex financial information and present them clearly to others.

Preferred qualifications include an advanced degree in a relevant discipline. Prior experience with managing or leading grants and contracts administration in a university or academic healthcare / basic science research setting is preferred. General familiarity with data warehouse reporting principles, financial database structure, and / or SQL queries.

Equal opportunity employer / disability / veteran. Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.