Temporary Academic Financial Manager

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Temporary
• End Date if Temporary: 03/1/2027
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building: Morningside
• Salary Range: $67,300 - $76,000

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Director of Finance and Operations in the Biomedical Engineering Department (BME) within The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS),  this 6 month full time position will be responsible for assigned academic and financial functions within the Department. The incumbent will manage student personnel appointments and related HR functions; analyze and reconcile student, payroll, financial aid and student accounts, resolve related issues; manage hiring of casual staff, work-study students, GRA’s and TA’s, workflow of departmental requests for student and casual staff appointments and reappointments, prepare academic job postings, student related transactions; monitor and approve time entries. Manage Graduate Financial Aid (GFA) and related functions for the department. Assist with management of BME academic course schedules and related functions. Prepare departmental analytical student, payroll, personnel reports using Columbia’s systems (ARC, FDS, FinSys, PAC, SSOL, SDR), manage personnel and financial records. Track student rosters, registration status, appointment status, visa status, and all details necessary for onboarding and payroll.  Manage general office operations and resources, BME personnel and student directory. Provide support during limited after hours student and faculty events.  Perform other duties and responsibilities as required. Ensure compliance with all applicable university policies.

Responsibilities

Personnel appointments and payroll (50%):

Manages hiring, reappointment and payroll of student officers (GRAs, DRAs), casual staff, work-study students and related HR (PAF / TBH) transactions; prepares job postings; collects hiring requests and related data, resolves administrative issues, addresses matters related to visas / immigration with the DFA, Assistant Director of Finance and Operations, central School and University offices (Dean’s Office, ISSO, RPIC). Monitors and approves related time entries. Maintains and manages the workflow, tracking system and data collection and timely updates for student funding; Reviews, updates, prepares, submits GFA (graduate financial aid). Reconciles student accounts. Manages appointments record keeping. Prepares budgets and monitors actual expenses for assigned personnel categories; manages personal and confidential information. Provides support for faculty hiring process. Responsible for overseeing time tracking (TLAM) of student workers and providing relevant guidance to faculty. Monitors and resolves payroll suspense for student employees. Serves as a knowledge resource for faculty and students on student appointments.

Academic planning (15%):

Manages BME academic course schedules: in coordination with the Academic and Student Affairs Manager, collects information from faculty; prepares, updates, submits, distributes the Curricular Planning Schedule; is an expert user of departmental and university-wide systems and software for academic planning; owns the process of preparing all BME class schedules and classroom requests; liaises with the Registrar’s Office; works with faculty in maintaining files / tools for academic scheduling and planning.

Financial Analysis and Reporting (10%):

Prepares analytical financial, personnel and student reports using Columbia’s systems (ARC, FDS, FinSys, PAC, SSOL, SDR); maintains financial, personnel and academic records, and tracking database.

Support HR and Student Operations (10%): 

Manager and budget director in student and staff onboarding, course and academic management, reporting and tracking, where necessary.

Office Management (5%):

Plans and oversees management of departmental customer-facing operations and shared resources including space, equipment, shared office calendars and other physical and virtual infrastructure. Prepares and provides BME academic programs overviews to prospective students including in-person information; plans resources and executes logistics for student admission processes. Responsible for interviewing, hiring, and training assistants for BME’s front office. Aids in tracking lab materials/equipment purchased for departmental research and administrative use. Provide limited support for student and faculty events.

Planning. Technology and Innovation (5%):

Proactively identifies opportunities for student appointments and related workflow process improvements and champions their implementation. Examples include development of a comprehensive departmental student database and automated funding approval workflow.

Student organization advising (5%):

Provides advising to BME Student Groups (including but not limited to BMES, GoBME) on financial planning and budgeting; works with the student leadership on annual planning and advises on developing budgets for group activities.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required.

Minimum two years of experience related to administration, finance, human resources or payroll required; academic planning, academic / student affairs experience preferred. Preferred: higher education work experience; Columbia’s policies, procedures and systems (ARC/FinSys/FDS/PAC) experience; accounts payable / purchasing experience; analytical / data-oriented work experience. 

Must have strong organizational, interpersonal, oral and written communication and analytic skills, customer service focus and demonstrated ability to work as part of a team.

Must possess advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables and formulas Must be able to work with diverse student population. Must be able to develop, analyze and present comprehensive academic and financial reports.

Must be able to exercise good judgment, prioritize, work under pressure and deadlines with minimal or no supervision, take ownership and carry out multiple assignments. 

Must possess a mission-oriented attitude, high degree of personal integrity and ethics, and be trustworthy with sensitive, confidential information.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.