Northwestern University · 21 hours ago
Financial Administrator
Evanston, IL
Full-time
Hybrid
Entry, Mid Level
$65K/yr - $85K/yr
2+ years expNorthwestern University is seeking a Financial Administrator to support the Office of the President's financial operations. This role involves managing financial transactions, budgeting, and reporting while ensuring compliance with university policies.
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Responsibilities
Supports a university accounting-related area or program
Manages financial operations &/or analysis in support of area/unit's mission & in coordination with central offices such as HR, Budget, Financial Aid, Facilities, Purchasing, IT, Provost, etc
Reviews a portfolio of multiple schools/depts' financial operations comprised of work that involves some complex problems &/or decisions
Participates in determination of budget including fiscal resource allocation of appropriated, discretionary, endowment &/or gift revenues
Prepares analysis & reports
Provides account research
Assists with budget projects
Updates budget estimates & provides commitment tracking support for all financial activity
Ensures lead schedules are prepared
Guides units of responsibility through university budgeting and forecasting processes, reviews budget and forecasting submissions
Acts a Budget Office expert on units and functions within portfolio of responsibilities
Coordinates &/or provides information for the annual salary review process
Reviews & reconciles actual expenses to budget per NU Audit guidelines
Approves funds reallocation within budget as necessary & appropriate
Creates daily, monthly, annual, &/or project end analysis & reports regarding area/unit, grants &/or awards, accounts, funds, payroll, expense &/or revenue allocation, customer service activity, etc
Prepares financial analysis and lead schedules for supplies, equipment, &/or personnel decisions
Records journal entries and creates reports
Performs financial account reconciliations, statement analysis, and transaction research
Provides support for annual audit workpapers and quarterly financial statement workpapers
Maintains, and updates financial models and analysis
Provides review and oversight of all types of financial transactions some of which may be complex in regard to size or duration of account
Enters individual &/or summary of transactions into journals &/or general ledger or other NU enterprise system
Reviews; ensures approval based on alternatives regarding practice & policy; analyzes and classifies transactions in accordance with established chart or coding of accounts; creates new accounts; prepares, processes, reconciles & provides receipts (as appropriate) for transactions
Processes transfer &/or appropriation charges & may balance &/or close accounts
Troubleshoots problems; performs vendor/account research as needed; obtains additional information from or provides instruction & guidance for customers/vendors; corrects or escalates
Maintains Chart of Account lists
Prepares & delivers bank deposits
Accesses multiple banking systems to process transactions, retrieve information, &/or initiate wire transfers
Provides financial policy interpretation to determine the validity of customer requests & ensure compliance
Contacts outside agencies, banks &/or banking systems to obtain clarification of rules &/or regulations
Controls account availability for all chart strings
Provides support for internal &/or granting agency audit requests
Reviews status of related university accounts, transactions and processes; troubleshoots issues as needed
Reviews PI funding status on a monthly basis
Works with Dept &/or Research Administrator regarding financial grants management issues
Provides data for grant proposals; submits proposals
Develops &/or administers budgets; coordinates IRB/IACUC, OSR/ASRSP transactions, &/or effort reporting
Interacts with faculty, staff &/or funders to build relationships, transfer knowledge, &/or advise on research policies & procedures
Monitors commitments and expenditures to ensure compliance with granting agency guidelines
Verifies accurate set up of sponsored project accounts
Processes & presents data & information through the application of database, graphic & spreadsheet software
Obtains data by downloading from enterprise systems; develops and runs queries
Identifies sources for data & information to be used & completes special financial projects such as (enter in explanation of special projects):
Performs general office support activities
Manages operation of or interaction with a computer system or system processes that support the area or program
Ensures that area service level goals are met
Provides training and support to related university units or program participants; maintains website and training materials
Supervises temporary, part-time or work study students
Provides work direction to others
Performs other duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major such as accounting, business administration, finance, or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience
2 years financial, budgeting &/or preparing account reconciliations or financial statements along with financial analysis or other relevant experience
Strong proficiency with spreadsheets, databases, and word processing software
Knowledge of financial reporting principles and transactional accounting practices
Excellent judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential information with discretion
Strong customer service skills and ability to work effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders
High attention to detail, accuracy, organization, and follow-through
Preferred
3+ years of financial operations experience preferred, including budgeting, account reconciliations, financial reporting, or related financial analysis work
Company
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university that offers academic programs across various fields of study. It is a sub-organization of Northwestern Athletics.
5001-10000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Northwestern University has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (325)
2024 (308)
2023 (280)
2022 (282)
2021 (184)
2020 (155)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$98.02MKey Investors
National Peanut BoardAdvanced Research Projects Agency for HealthGRAMMY Museum
2024-10-30Grant
2024-10-04Grant· $34M
2023-11-28Grant· $0.02M
Leadership Team
Diego Klabjan
Professor
Henry Bienen
Interim President
Recent News
2026-01-25
Digital Journal
2026-01-23
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