Accountant Lead / Post-Award Research Administrator

Fermilab is America’s premier laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.  We support discovery science experiments in Illinois and at locations around the world, including deep underground mines in South Dakota and Canada, mountaintops in Arizona and Chile, CERN in Europe and the South Pole.

We are strategic risk takers, innovators, and collaborators. We are engineers, scientists, technicians, administrative professionals. We are 1,800 employees advancing knowledge for the benefit of humankind. Fermilab has been at the forefront of particle physics for more than 40 years. We build world-leading accelerators and detectors to conduct some of the most advanced particle physics experiments possible. We collect and analyze the data from those experiments with some of the most powerful computers in the world. We conduct this research on a 6,800-acre prairie, 35 miles outside Chicago, a treasure that has been designated a National Environmental Research Park.

Fermilab’s Accounting Department seeks an Accounting Lead to join our diverse team as a Post-Award Research Administrator within the Department’s Sponsored Programs & Corporate Accounting Office. This position will offer the successful candidate the opportunity to join the laboratory at an exciting time within its history. This person will provide financial and administrative assistance to the Laboratory’s Sponsored Programs and Corporate Accounting Office (SPCA). S/he will work closely with the SPCA Manager and Controller in performing complex and diverse financial and administrative duties, especially as they relate to pre-and post-award administration of sponsored program funding. The Laboratory’s SPCA Office administers the non-DOE funding at the Laboratory. As such, this office’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, establishing new non-DOE accounts; coordinating project renewals and extensions; invoicing; monitoring and reporting non-DOE expenditures and available funding; and overseeing compliance with regulations imposed by both federal and non-federal sponsors. The ideal candidate will serve in a lead capacity and will participate in the training of other personnel. 

•    Prepare/analyze financial statements/reports for management, Department of Energy, and others within or outside of the Laboratory.

•    Provide customer service to researchers and department administrators relative to their sponsored awards; and perform the related accounting and compliance functions within the Sponsored Programs and Corporate Accounting Office.

•    Monitor expenditures to ensure compliance with Laboratory and sponsor policies and regulations, reconcile grants and contracts on a monthly basis, prepare sponsor-required financial reports, and support internal and external audit requests.

•    Train Laboratory personnel on compliance policies and procedures.

•    Document compliance policies and procedures.

•    Assist with month end close duties, including reconciliation of sub-ledger accounts to the general ledger.

•    Analyze problems and discrepancies and then propose/implement corrective actions.

•    Assist the Manager and Controller with resolving audit findings, as well as developing and implementing corrective action plans.

•    Connect with employees and external sponsors for purposes of resolving issues and discrepancies in a timely, accurate and compliant manner.

•    Perform other duties as assigned by reporting manager.

•    Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting/Business required.

•    Master's degree or accounting related professional certification such as CPA or CMA is preferred.

•    Experience in compliance for a government entity is preferred.

•    Minimum of 5 years of accounting experience at a medium to large organization. Government / Not for profit / University experience a plus.

•    Ability to work Independently.

•    Excellent oral and written communication skills. 

•    Strong analytical thinker who can use sound accounting and financial management principles to solve accounting and reporting problems.

•    Ability to multitask and prioritize assigned competing priorities and deliverables.

•    Detail oriented.

•    Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and Oracle

Mental Concentration, repetitive Motion, Sitting, Standing, Tight Work Schedule, Light, Visual Demanding.

 

Fermilab is an Equal Opportunity Employer and believes a diverse and inclusive environment based on mutual respect is essential to our mission. Fermilab is committed to recruiting and developing the most hardworking people and does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, country of birth, geography/postal code, disability, marital status, parental or gestational status, or other non-merit factor.

Fermilab and FRA requires all members of the public to produce a REAL-ID, or equivalent, to access the Fermilab Campus for interviews or career events. A list of acceptable forms of ID can be found here: https://get-connected.fnal.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/REALID-Documents.pdf If a candidate is selected for an interview but does not possess any of the equivalent documents, we may schedule a virtual interview.