Finance Specialist III - Innovation Lab for Crop Management

As an individual contributor you will model and support a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellbeing and continually seek to understand how your role, behaviors, and actions impact the success of this culture.

Position Summary

While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.

The Business Manager will report to the Section Head of Plant Breeding, with a dotted line reporting relationship to the Assistant Director of Finance and Budget, who provides financial oversight for all of SIPS. The Business Manager will be responsible for managing financial and contracting aspects of the ILCI program. This position will be responsible for managing a large number of subcontracts - potentially 25 or more - with far-flung institutions across the world, in various time zones. Furthermore, Feed the Future Innovation Labs, such as ILCI, act as their own grant-making bodies, requiring frequent contract and subcontract amendments, which the Business Manager is responsible for managing. The Business Manager position will involve close collaboration with programmatic and institutional leadership at partner institutions, domestically and abroad; success in this role will require mastering key actors, roles and institutions, as well as a working understanding of the operational scope for each subcontract. ILCI's award is a Cooperative Agreement with the donor; the position will require close communication and collaboration with relevant program officers and administrators at USAID, and mastery of relevant policy and compliance aspects of ILCI's award.

The Business Manager will be the primary liaison between ILCI's Management Entity (ME) and relevant offices at Cornell related to administration of the grant, i.e., the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), the CALS Office of Sponsored Research, the Business Service Center (BSC), etc. As part of the program's ME, the Business Manager will work closely with other key leadership and administrative roles on the program, including the Program Director, Associate Director(s), Program Manager, and other roles to be determined. This hybrid (remote / in-person) position requires an ability to work independently yet as an integral part of the management and broader project teams; discipline, communication, responsiveness and motivation are key elements to success.

Visa sponsorship and relocation assistance are not available for this position. This is a fixed-term position with the possibility of renewal annually through 9/24/2029, contingent on successful performance and continued funding.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 3 to 5 years relevant experience or equivalent combination.
• Strong working knowledge of budgeting and accounting policies and practices, grant and contract management, personnel policies and procedures
• Ability to create and manage financial reports, to project expenses and revenue, and to explain these reports/outcomes to others.
• Superior knowledge of spreadsheet creation and management using MS Excel
• Strong working experience with financial and contracting software platforms, e.g., RASS, Kuali, etc.
• Proven experience managing contracts and subcontracts
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Self-motivated, highly organized, and able to consistently deliver against expectations
• Strong interpersonal skills and a demonstrated ability to communicate with a broad range of people, from diverse backgrounds
• Attention to detail and organizational skills; ability to effectively manage a large, complex project with dozens of subcontracts and institutional partners in multiple countries
• Ability to work quickly, effectively under pressure, to use judgment in accomplishing tasks that are of urgent, sensitive, or confidential nature
• Comfort in working in an environment where change in process/procedures is the norm
• Possess strong professional writing skills
• Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and wellbeing.
• Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds
• Must be willing and able to travel domestically and internationally to meet with project partners, including principal investigators, financial officers, and institutional leadership in ILCI project counties; travel may be on short notice, and may require multiple trips per year, approximately one to two weeks in duration each Maintain a valid passport; acquire visas as needed for specific travel

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in financial or business administration
• Proven experience working in sponsored research / grant management within higher education institutions
• Proficient in use of specific Cornell administrative and financial computer applications such as Kuali Financial System, IDR dashboards, and Workday.
• Knowledge of the donor community for international agricultural research projects, in particular prior experience working with projects or programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Prior experience working with national agricultural research institutions outside the United States, particularly with organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa and / or Latin America
• Working knowledge of French, Spanish or Portuguese

How to Apply

You must submit both a resume/CV and a cover letter.

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Non-Union Positions

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience
• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position
• Unique applicable skills
• Academic Discipline

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EEO Statement:

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University's heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual's genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff to all identities and backgrounds. We encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.