Senior Finance Associate - J-PAL North America

J-PAL North America, an economics research center at MIT, is actively recruiting for a Senior Finance Associate (MIT job Financial Administrator 2, SRS). Working at J-PAL North America means being part of a vibrant, collaborative team of professionals who are committed to translating research into innovative policy solutions that are effective in reducing poverty. As a regional office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), J-PAL North America is part of a network of hundreds of researchers at universities around the world, including some of the world’s leading economics researchers. J-PAL North America works closely with J-PAL’s global headquarters and six additional independent regional offices in Africa, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to generate cutting-edge research, policy outreach, and training. This position is based on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts and provides a hybrid work schedule with some days in the office and some days remote.   

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

At J-PAL North America we understand that inequity is often institutionalized into policies and systems, and that these inequities contribute to cycles of poverty and a lack of opportunity for a great portion of the population, particularly women, people of color and other marginalized populations. We approach our work with the following staff values and are actively engaged in creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable culture where everyone can feel a sense of belonging and effectively contribute to the work. We seek applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences that can help to broaden our perspective and approach to economics research and policy. 

To learn more about our work and team culture, visit www.povertyactionlab.org/na. 

Opportunity Overview

As a member of the J-PAL North America team, you’ll be part of a Nobel-prize winning scientific movement that can transform US policy making. The Senior Finance Associate works under the supervision of the Finance and Operations Manager to conduct a broad range of grant and finance activities. As a Senior Finance Associate, your primary tasks will involve a range of accounts payable and receivable activities, reviewing funding opportunities, preparing and submitting proposals, developing cost estimates and budgets for events and trainings, tracking and monitoring the financial performance of grants and other funding streams, preparing grant and financial reports, and participating in award closeouts. For this position, we are looking for candidates with a bachelors degree and 3 years of experience with grant administration, accounting, or financial administration. We seek applicants from diverse backgrounds and especially encourage candidates with lived experience with the social policy issues that J-PAL North America aims to address through its work.  

Key Responsibilities

Conducts a broad range of grant and financial administration activities for J-PAL North America, which may include the following activities:

• Assists in funder research and proposal preparation and serves as a project manager for submission of funding proposals. 
• Completes the pre-award administration of grant/contract activities such as reviewing solicitations and determining necessary components; and managing renewal and submission applications. 
• Develops budgets for grant proposals and manages grant funds in accordance with MIT and donor regulations. 
• Tracks and monitors the financial performance of grants and contracts to ensure compliance with MIT and sponsor policies and consistency with approved award budgets. 
• Participates in the sponsored project closeout process; submits final reports and certificates. 
• Liaises with MIT offices and partner organizations. 
• Creates progress reports, and generates financial reports in accordance with specific grant requirements. 
• Monitors project deadlines and deliverables. 
• Prepares and submits requests for no cost extensions and other necessary changes to grant agreements. 
• Coordinates the receipt of award documentation; maintains proposal and funding records and compiles information and documents needed for audit inquiries.  
• Works with staff to prepare cost estimates and budgets for events, custom trainings and other activities and helps with reconciling related expenses.
• Tracks proposals, manages under-recovery, cost sharing, subcontracts, etc. 
• Reviews and approves financial transactions, such as reimbursements for travel and corporate card payments. 
• Manages service contracts and vendor relationships, including procurement. 
• Processes and tracks expenses and processes reimbursements and other payments. 
• Prepares cost estimates, invoices/billings and collects funds for services. 
• Monitors vacation tracking and enters salary allocations. 
• Monitors and analyzes actual and projected costs and identifies potential overruns.  
• Prepares budget reports, budget forecasts, and financial analyses and projections. 
• Assists with preparation of and reporting on annual operating budget for J-PAL NA. 
• Performs monthly and fiscal year-end closing processes. 
• Recommends and implements process improvements and develops and documents best practices. 
• Manages special projects and performs other duties as assigned.