Research Operations Specialist - Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

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POSITION SPECIFICS

Join a dynamic team at the forefront of life sciences research and innovation!

The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State, one of five large institutes under the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research (OSVPR), is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Research Operations Specialist to support research operations, specifically related to human resources, finance, and core facilities operations across a diverse and interdisciplinary research and education landscape.

The Huck Institutes supports faculty from across multiple Colleges, hosts more than 30 cross-College Centers and Institutes, supports six interdisciplinary graduate degree programs, supports 11 core facilities that house state of the art instrumentation, and manages research buildings that host collaborative teams of researchers from across the university.

Key Responsibilities include the following:

• Daily management of Huck operating budget and post award management of grants at the unit level.
• Serve as point of contact for Finance OST hub staff as unit level representative to process labor distribution plans, journal entries, travel and expense reconciliation, account and other master data management, Purchasing, non-PO invoice payments and any other financial transactions.
• Approve all financial transactions in SIMBA under $15,000 and approve all goods and services expenses under $15,000 in SAP Concur.
• Approve Travel Reports in SAP Concur
• Serve as back up to approve transactions over $15,000 for the Managing Director.
• Monitor account balances and budget committed funds in institute IOs as needed.
• Manage entries in the commitments and needs database to track committed funding for Huck co-hires, chairs, seed grants, etc...
• Enter supplemental payments and appointments as needed into Workday and approve appointments and HR changes as needed in Workday as the unit level approver.
• Prepare monthly routine and ad hoc reports for the Director and other stakeholders using data from both SIMBA and Workday.
• Serve as point of contact for Huck faculty and staff and PIs for all research operations and financial questions.
• Work with OSVPR central internal/external billing team to ensure monthly core facility usage charges are posted correctly.

Skills and Experience:

• The successful candidate must have experience working with research grants and preferably experience entering and approving transactions in SAP, specifically, labor distribution, purchasing and travel/pcard reconciliation.
• Must be able to multitask and manage a high volume of tasks and requests.
• Ability to understand and interpret university and federal/state funded research policies
• Experience working with large data sets to create reports in excel
• Experience working in SAP, SIMS, SAP Concur, ServiceNow, Workday, Adobe Acrobat Sign is preferred.

Work Arrangement: The Institute is supportive of flexible work arrangements when aligned with the ability to meet the needs of the unit and the essential duties of the position. Questions related to flexible work should be directed to the hiring manager during the interview process.

MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES

SALARY & BENEFITS

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Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page.

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