Temporary Finance Assistant (Cornell Botanic Gardens); Ithaca, New York

Temporary Finance Assistant (Cornell Botanic Gardens); Ithaca, New York

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Temporary Finance Assistant

Nonexempt

Cornell Botanic Gardens

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)

Ithaca, New York

Who We Are

CALS is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University’s second-largest college. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education, and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: natural and human systems; food, energy, and environmental resources; and social, physical, and economic well-being.

Cornell Botanic Gardens is a living plant museum comprising over 3,800 acres of University land in three major areas: the Botanical Gardens, Arboretum, and Natural Areas. An administrative unit of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), Cornell Botanic Gardens manages and protects these areas to support teaching and research at Cornell University; to preserve habitats and rare/endangered plants; and for public use for learning and recreation.

What You Will Do

As a Temporary Finance Assistant, you will work under the general direction of the Administrative Manager to provide a wide range of financial, budgeting, and accounting support to the Cornell Botanic Gardens. Responsibilities include:

• Processing financial transactions, including general ledger transfers, salary transfers, fund transfers, internal billing, and distribution of income and expense edocs in accordance with department and university procedures.
• Conducting monthly financial reviews to ensure appropriate funds management and compliance.
• Maintaining department accounts in Kuali Financial System (KFS), including establishing new accounts, editing accounts, and closing accounts.
• Processing invoice payments, travel reimbursements and payments to speakers.
• Reviewing expenditures on grants and contracts, tracking labor distribution charges, and preparing Salary Transfer edocs and other corrections as needed.
• Purchasing supplies for business and administrative operations and submitting purchase order requests, including procurement of vehicle and equipment capital assets.
• Assisting with other business unit projects, including monitoring and maintaining records for all-risk and vehicle insurance, updating the capital asset inventory, and maintaining department financial information for staff, and other duties.

What We Need

We are looking for a talented individual who excels at building and maintaining effective relationships with different stakeholders, has proven finance-related skills and experience, and is enthusiastic about supporting the Cornell Botanic Gardens. Specifically, we need someone who has the following:

• Associate's Degree and 2+years of relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Accounting experience and/or formal coursework in accounting applications.
• Must be able to understand and accurately apply account numbers, sub-account, object codes, rules, and policies to transactions and understand the impact on financial statements.
• Demonstrated ability to compile, analyze, and report on complex financial data.
• Excellent customer service skills with demonstrated ability to communicate and work with a broad range of people, such as outside vendors and all levels of Cornell faculty, staff and students, exemplifying Cornell values at all times.
• Attention to detail/accuracy, organizational skills, and multi-step project skills.
• Demonstrated accountability in all work responsibilities, including the ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with utmost discretion and integrity and meet critical deadlines.
• Knowledge of how to balance conflicting priorities, make informed choices, and use sound judgment in completing urgent tasks.
• Operate with independence within a cooperative team framework, applying resourcefulness and efficiency to regular tasks, consulting with the supervisor on questionable situations and prioritization challenges, showing initiative and presenting ideas and solutions whenever possible.
• Expertise in Excel and standard business productivity software.
• Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members.

If you possess these experiences and skills, this may be the role for you! There are a few other qualifications that we would view as incredibly helpful in this role, including:

• Familiarity with Cornell University financial systems and applications.
• Expertise in Oracle Analytics Services Dashboards, Kuali Financial System (KFS), Workday, and other data management/productivity tools.
• 2+ years of experience with financial record keeping and financial processing.

This is a temporary, part-time position at 12 hours per week and will be located in Ithaca, New York. This is a six-month term appointment that is contingent upon available work, funding, and performance.

This position is considered hybrid, with the opportunity to work remotely within New York State one or more days per week.

Compensation is $26.08/hour.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Life. Changing.

No relocation assistance is provided for this position. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

How to Apply

You must submit both a resume/CV and a cover letter.

When applying through our system, please attach your application materials (resume/CV and cover letter). You can upload documents either by “dragging and dropping” them into the dropbox or by using the “upload” icon on the application page. For more detailed instructions on how to apply to a job at Cornell, visit How We Hire on the HR website. If you are an internal employee, please log in to Workday.

University Job Title:

Temporary Financial Assistant

Job Family:

Temporary Finance/Budget/Planning

Level:

No Grade - Hourly

Pay Rate Type:

Hourly

Pay Range:

Refer to Posting Language

Remote Option Availability:

Hybrid

Company:

Contact Name:

Janet Camilli

Contact Email:

[email protected]

Job Titles and Pay Ranges:

Non-Union Positions

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience

• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position

• Unique applicable skills

• Academic Discipline

To learn more about Cornell’s non-union staff job titles and pay ranges, see Career Navigator.

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For general questions about the position or the application process, please contact the Recruiter listed in the job posting or email [email protected].

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2025-11-10

About Us

Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students and staff impart an uncommon sense of larger purpose and contribute creative ideas to further the university's mission of teaching, discovery and engagement. With our main campus located in Ithaca, NY, Cornell's far-flung global presence includes the medical college's campuses on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Doha, Qatar, as well as the Cornell Tech campus located on Roosevelt Island in the heart of New York City.

We offer a rich array of services, programs and benefits to help employees advance in their career and enhance the quality of personal life, including: employee wellness, workshops, childcare and adoption assistance, parental leave, flexible work options.