Finance Coordinator

The Geology and Geophysics Department seeks a full-time, entry-level Finance Coordinator to manage post-award grants and contracts and serve as the primary liaison with university offices. Responsibilities include reconciling accounts, monitoring grant activity, guiding faculty on compliance, preparing journal entries, advising on payroll adjustments, and managing foundation and professorship accounts. The role ensures accurate financial oversight and keeps faculty and staff informed of university policies related to budgets, overhead, and other regulations. Ideal for a detail-oriented professional looking to support research administration in a dynamic academic environment.

Duties Include:
45% Finance: Reconcile professorship accounts, ensuring accurate year-end budgets, appropriate spending, and compliance. Execute budget and expenditure transfers and provide monthly reconciliations to account holders. Coordinate and lead account authority holder meetings to review financial performance and spending appropriations. Confirm account balances for honorific salary payments on professorship accounts and advise faculty on spending allocations. Reconcile faculty-awarded state-appropriated research support funds to ensure accurate tracking and compliance. Process internal and external invoices for recharge centers and maintain the master database. Assist with vendor enrollments for external clients and communicate with accounting personnel at external clients to secure payments. Process journal entries for internal invoices. Deposit cash, checks, and money orders via the CARD system for external invoices as well as departmental reimbursements.

40% Post-Award Administration: Advise Principal Investigators (PIs) on funding agency policies, ensuring compliance with budgets, reporting, and regulations. Manage all stages of the award lifecycle, from account setup and modifications to invoicing, subcontract management, and award closeout. Execute budget and expenditure transfers, no-cost extensions, and monitor payroll and effort for audit readiness. Reconcile cost-shared accounts and maintain accurate expenditure records, providing monthly financial summaries to PIs. Identify and resolve budgetary issues, including spending appropriations, offering actionable recommendations. Support timely and accurate quarterly, annual, and final reporting to funding agencies. Coordinate and lead PI meetings to review financial status and guide spending decisions. 

10% Other Duties and Special Projects: Provide support for additional duties and special projects as assigned by the Assistant to the Chair/Business Manager and Chair to meet departmental needs. Serve as backup for the Assistant to the Chair/Business Manager as needed.

5% Grants/Contracts Liaison: Serve as the primary post-award contact for the Dean’s Office and respond to inquiries from central administrative offices, the Chair, the CCM, and Principal Investigators (PIs) regarding grants and contracts. Participate in campus and college work groups, meetings, and trainings as needed to ensure effective communication and compliance across all stakeholders.

Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree

LSU values skills, experience, and expertise. Candidates who have relevant experience in key job responsibilities are encouraged to apply— a degree is not required as long as the candidate meets the required years of experience specified in the job description.

Advanced in the following job competencies required:
Effective Oral, Written, and Non-Verbal Communication, Service to Customer and Institution, Delivery Results, Decision Making and Problem Solving, Prioritize and Multi-task, Mathematical reasoning, Attention to detail, Collaboration, Ethics/Integrity and Attendance.

Preferred Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or related field with 1 year Professional work experience; experience in grants administration, accounting, finance, or related field.

Salary: Up to $50,000

This position regularly engages in financial matters and must undergo a credit check per FASOP HR-04.

Background Check - An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check.

Benefits - LSU offers outstanding benefits to eligible employees and their dependents including health, life, dental, and vision insurance; flexible spending accounts; retirement options; various leave options; paid holidays; wellness benefits; tuition exemption for qualified positions; training and development opportunities; employee discounts; and more!

Positions approved to work outside the State of Louisiana shall be employed through Louisiana State University’s partner, nextSource Workforce Solutions, for Employer of Record Services including but not limited to employment, benefits, payroll, and tax compliance. Positions employed through Employer of Record Services will be offered benefits and retirement as applicable through their provider and will not be eligible for State of Louisiana benefits and retirement.

All candidates must have valid U.S. work authorization at the time of hire and maintain that valid work authorization throughout employment. Changes in laws, regulations, or government policies may impact the university’s ability to employ individuals in certain positions.