Accounting Specialist: Social Work Office of Research & Public Service - UTK

The Accounting Specialist is a key member of the Social Work Office of Research and Public Service (SWORPS) business office and supports the financial and administrative operations of the Tennessee Child Support Employment and Parenting Program (TCSEPP). The Accounting Specialist will collaborate closely with program staff to facilitate financial processes that helps non-custodial parents overcome barriers to employment, pay child support, and build stronger bonds with their children under the TCSEPP project. This position serves as a primary resource for financial transactions, procurement and vendor activity, travel and University card activity, gift cards, petty cash, and related fiscal processes.

The Accounting Specialist processes, reviews, documents, and follows through on financial transactions to help ensure they are accurate, timely, appropriately documented, charged to the correct sponsored project or account, and compliant with University, College, SWORPS, sponsor, grant, contract, and project-specific requirements. The position works closely with program staff, project teams, vendors, and University offices to obtain required documentation, resolve transaction issues, communicate fiscal requirements, and maintain complete and audit-ready financial records.

The Accounting Specialist also provides practical guidance and training to SWORPS staff on established fiscal policies, procedures, and business processes; identifies recurring questions or process issues; and contributes to improvements in procedures, job aids, training materials, and financial processes. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong attention to detail, sound judgment, responsiveness, follow-through, and a customer-service mindset while working in a collaborative and fast-paced environment.

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

The Accounting Specialist II responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Financial Transaction Processing and Compliance

• Process non-labor financial transactions, including invoices, reimbursements, deposits, transfer vouchers, cost transfers, and other assigned accounting transactions.
• Review transactions and supporting documentation for accuracy, completeness, business purpose, required approvals, allowability, appropriate coding, and compliance with applicable University, SWORPS, sponsor, grant, contract, and project requirements.
• Identify missing, incorrect, or noncompliant documentation or transactions and work with staff, project teams, vendors, and University offices to resolve issues.
• Prepare and submit cost transfers and other correcting financial transactions with appropriate explanations, documentation, and approvals.
• Maintain complete, accurate, organized, and audit-ready financial records and provide supporting documentation needed for sponsor invoicing, monitoring, audits, and project closeout.

Procurement, Contract, and Vendor Support

• Process and support purchasing activities, including requisitions, purchase requests, vendor setup, ordering, sourcing, and related documentation.
• Prepare contracts and non-compete justifications for purchases as requested and help ensure required information, pricing, approvals, and supporting documentation are complete before submission.
• Coordinate with vendors and University offices to resolve routine vendor setup, purchasing, and procurement issues.

University Cards, Travel, and Individual Assistance

• Process and review travel expense reports and University card transactions, including OneCard activity used for travel and individual assistance costs.
• Perform first-level review and approval of monthly University card reports in DASH, reviewing business purpose, receipts and supporting documentation, coding, allowability, and compliance with established requirements.
• Identify and resolve documentation, coding, or compliance issues before approval and route completed reports to the Accounting Manager for second-level review.
• Provide guidance on travel, OneCard requirements, supporting documentation, and routine traveler compliance or system questions.

Gift Card and Petty Cash Management

• Manage assigned petty cash activity, including reconciliations, balance monitoring, supporting documentation, and maintenance of accurate and audit-ready records.
• Manage gift card requests, purchasing, inventory, distribution, tracking, and reconciliation in accordance with established procedures and internal controls.
• Maintain accurate records of gift card receipt, custody, distribution, remaining inventory, and reconciliation and resolve or escalate discrepancies or documentation concerns.

Fiscal Guidance, Training, and Process Improvement

• Provide practical guidance to SWORPS employees regarding established fiscal policies, procedures, documentation requirements, procurement, travel, University cards, reimbursements, gift cards, petty cash, and related business processes.
• Support onboarding and fiscal training activities, including office hours, walkthroughs, demonstrations, and other educational sessions.
• Identify recurring questions, errors, documentation gaps, compliance concerns, and process challenges and recommend practical improvements to procedures, job aids, forms, checklists, and training materials.
• Communicate approved fiscal process changes and escalate unusual, complex, or unresolved compliance questions to the Accounting Manager or appropriate BFO or University partner.
• Participate in the implementation and improvement of financial processes and systems across SWORPS and perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Education: 

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

  • An additional two years of progressively responsible accounting and administrative experience can be accepted in lieu of a degree.

• Experience:  2 years of progressively responsible accounting and administrative experience.

   

• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: 
  • Knowledge of procurement, documentation, account coding, internal controls, and compliance practices.
  • Knowledge of or ability to interpret and apply fiscal policies, procedures, sponsor requirements, and documentation standards applicable to non-labor financial transactions.
  • Skill in communicating fiscal policies, procedures, and financial-process requirements clearly and professionally to employees with varying levels of financial knowledge.
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities and time-sensitive deadlines while working independently and collaboratively.
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office and ability to learn University financial and procurement systems.
  • 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

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

• Experience: 

  • Experience in academic environment

  • Knowledge of UT fiscal policies and procedures

• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: 

• Knowledge of State and Federal contracts and financial requirements

• Working knowledge of UT fiscal and HR policies and procedures

• Knowledge of financial applications such as DASH or other enterprise financial systems.

• Knowledge of sponsored-project financial documentation and audit-readiness practices.

Work Location 

• Location:  This position is based in Nashville, Tennessee, with onsite responsibilities at the UT Nashville campus 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:  06
• Anticipated hiring range:  salary will align with qualifications and experience; anticipated hiring range is on the high side of the market range midpoint.
• 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/