Accounting Manager: Social Work Research & Public Service - UTK

The Social Work Office of Research and Public Service (SWORPS) is seeking an Accounting Manager to lead the Accounting Specialist function supporting SWORPS financial and business operations.

Reporting to the Director of Budget, Finance & Operations (BFO), this position provides direct supervision, work direction, training, quality control, workload coordination, and compliance oversight for Accounting Specialists supporting procurement, travel, reimbursements, invoices, purchasing cards, petty cash, gift cards, individual assistance payments, vendor setup, contract-related processes, and other financial activities.

SWORPS manages a complex portfolio of sponsored programs, state-funded projects, service contracts, and internal operations. The Accounting Manager helps ensure financial processes are accurate, timely, consistently documented, compliant with University and sponsor requirements, and supported by strong internal controls.

The successful candidate will be a collaborative and service-oriented manager who can coach staff, manage competing priorities, identify problems, develop practical solutions, and strengthen financial processes across SWORPS.

This is a grant-funded position and is contingent upon the continued funding of the grant. 

The Accounting Manager will:

• Lead and supervise the Accounting Specialist team, including workload coordination, training, coaching, performance feedback, evaluations, schedule management, and daily operational guidance.
• Establish and maintain consistent expectations, procedures, checklists, training materials, and workflows for Accounting Specialist responsibilities.
• Oversee financial processing related to procurement, invoices, vendor setup, purchasing cards, travel, reimbursements, internal transfers, petty cash, gift cards, individual assistance payments, and related transactions.
• Review financial activity for appropriate documentation, approvals, business purpose, account coding, allowability, sponsor requirements, and University compliance.
• Monitor team workload, processing timelines, documentation quality, recurring errors, and compliance concerns and take appropriate corrective or preventive action.
• Provide guidance to Accounting Specialists and SWORPS staff regarding financial processes, documentation requirements, travel, procurement, vendor activity, and related business practices.
• Manage and strengthen internal controls for sensitive financial processes, including petty cash, gift cards, and individual assistance activity.
• Support contract-related and procurement processes, including documentation, vendor coordination, budget review, and other required business-office activities.
• Develop reporting, documentation, training, and process improvements that strengthen accuracy, accountability, audit readiness, and continuity of operations.
• Coordinate with BFO leadership, Research Coordinators, project teams, principal investigators, vendors, the College of Social Work, and central University offices to resolve financial and operational issues.
• Support fiscal year-end activities, audits, sponsor documentation requests, special projects, and other BFO priorities as needed.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, public administration, or a related field.

• In lieu of a degree an additional four years of combined education, training and /or experience in any combination of the areas below can be accepted.

• Experience: 

  • Minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in accounting, finance, procurement, business administration, sponsored-program support, or related administrative work.
  • Experience processing, reviewing, documenting, or reconciling financial transactions.
  • Experience applying policies, procedures, documentation requirements, and deadlines in a business or financial operations environment.
  • Experience providing guidance, training, work direction, or process support to staff or colleagues.
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: 
  • Knowledge of accounting, financial processing, reconciliation, documentation, internal controls, and compliance practices applicable to business operations.
  • Knowledge of procurement, vendor setup, invoicing, purchasing cards, travel, reimbursements, petty cash, gift cards, individual assistance, account coding, and related financial processes.
  • Skill in supervising, training, coaching, assigning work, monitoring workload, and supporting performance accountability for accounting or administrative staff.
  • Skill in communicating financial and procedural information clearly and professionally to staff with varying levels of financial knowledge.
  • Skill in organizing work, managing competing priorities, meeting deadlines and following issues through to resolution.
  • Ability to work independently, take ownership of problems and processes, analyze issues, identify root causes, develop recommendations, and implement approved solutions.
  • Ability to develop and maintain procedures, checklists, training materials, reports, tracking tools, documentation standards, and internal control processes.
  • Ability to coordinate with BFO, Accounting Specialists, Research Coordinators, program staff, PIs, project directors, vendors, central offices, and university partners to resolve issues and improve service.
  • Ability to use Microsoft Office, Excel, financial systems, and related business applications.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience: 

  • Three or more years of progressively responsible accounting, finance, procurement, sponsored-program support, business operations, or related administrative experience.

  • Experience supervising, leading, training, or providing work direction to accounting, financial, or administrative staff.

  •  Experience working in higher education, research administration, public service, nonprofit, government, or sponsored-program financial operations.

  • Experience applying University of Tennessee fiscal policies, procurement practices, travel requirements, HR/timekeeping procedures, DASH, SAP/IRIS, or related university systems.

  • Experience developing procedures, training materials, reports, reconciliation tools, workflow improvements, or internal controls.

   

• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: 

• Knowledge of higher education, sponsored programs, research administration, public service, nonprofit, or complex grant-funded financial operations.

• Knowledge of University of Tennessee fiscal policies, procurement practices, HR/timekeeping processes, travel requirements, and financial systems.

• Skill in Excel, DASH or other ERP systems, SAP/IRIS or legacy financial systems, reporting tools, workflow tracking, or process documentation.

• Ability to lead process improvement, develop staff training, strengthen internal controls, and create consistent procedures across a distributed team.

Work Location 

• Location:  This position is based in Knoxville, Tennessee, with onsite responsibilities at the UT Conference Center or other approved University locations.
• Position may be eligible for a hybrid work arrangement consisting of two days of at home work per week.  Hybrid arrangements are subject to University and unit requirements and may be adjusted based on business needs.

Compensation and Benefits 

• UT market range:  09
• Anticipated hiring range:  between the midpoint and 75% of the range
• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions 

Applications will be reviewed as received and interviews can begin as soon as 7 days from posting.

Interested individuals should provide the following:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

About The College/Department/Division 

 The Social Work Office of Research and Public Service (SWORPS) is an applied research center of the University of Tennessee College of Social Work (CSW).  We are a dynamic and close-knit interdisciplinary team of individuals with a shared vision of thriving communities with equitable outcomes for all. We do that by building partnerships that leverage research, technology, and human connection to improve lives in Tennessee and beyond.

Over the past fifty years, SWORPS has worked with local nonprofits such as the United Way of Greater Knoxville, University of Tennessee departments and faculty researchers, state agencies such as the Tennessee Department of Human Services, and federal agencies like the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Our annual portfolio consists of 25-40 sponsored projects spanning a wealth of different content areas, but one common thread -each project contributes one more building block for thriving communities with equitable outcomes for all.

Learn more about SWORPS and some of our programs and resources by visiting our webpage: https://www.sworps.tennessee.edu/