Assistant Operations Manager

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Overview
Reporting to the Operations Manager, this role provides a broad range of financial and administrative business services that support Yale Ventures operations. The position manages the accurate and timely distribution of commercialization income—including royalties, milestones, annual fees, patent reimbursements, material transfer agreements, and other related payments—while ensuring compliance with institutional policies, contractual obligations, and applicable regulatory requirements. The role applies GAAP concepts to support reporting on financial conditions and to ensure reporting meets internal and external compliance needs.

The position performs day-to-day financial processing in Workday Financials, including Supplier Setups, Supplier Invoice Requests, Expense Reports, Journal Entries, Purchase Orders, Cash Deposits, and monthly accruals. It extracts and analyzes data from multiple sources to produce accurate, value-added reports for unit leadership, and converts financial data into actionable information to support decision-making. The role also performs reconciliations, resolves routine and non-routine discrepancies across systems and reporting tools, and maintains accurate financial records and internal controls to mitigate risk and ensure appropriate use of resources. In addition, the position serves as a key resource for staff regarding financial policies and procedures, supports continuous improvement of financial methods and systems, and maintains royalty/distribution documentation, including efforts to locate and re-establish contact with “lost” inventors.

Key Responsibilities include:

Commercialization Income Distribution Management

• Process commercialization income distributions, ensuring accurate calculations and timely payments.

• Set up and maintain suppliers in Workday; request new Workday Projects as needed.

• Maintain specialized royalty files, records, and distribution lists.

• Notify faculty and external institutions regarding distribution status and related questions.

• Track and locate lost inventors using alumni databases, public records, and other approved tools to support accurate payee records.

Financial Analysis, Reporting & Strategic Support

• Extract data from multiple sources; analyze information and prepare recurring and ad hoc reports that support effective management of operations.

• Translate unit finance objectives into operational priorities; identify financial issues/risks and provide recommendations to leadership.

• Support forecasting, planning, and other decision-support reporting as needed.

Accounting, Reconciliation & Financial Processing (GAAP-aligned)

• Process cash deposits, inventor payments, and journal entries for interdepartmental and external transfers; partner with Treasury to ensure accurate recording of wire payments received.

• Accurately record transactions to the general ledger and/or subsystems; ensure appropriate documentation and adherence to GAAP and reporting considerations.

• Maintain the technology transfer financial system database, including tracking checks received, approved and pending distributions, recovery of legal expenses, and reimbursements.

• Reconcile monthly financial statements and resolve discrepancies independently; correct transactions and follow up to ensure compliance with policies.

• Assist with the Monthly Financial Review Checklist and other period-end activities.

Financial Methods, Systems & Customer Service

• Recommend improvements to practices, processes, and systems to strengthen efficiency, accuracy, and service delivery.

• Provide high-level service to internal and external stakeholders; take ownership of timeliness, accuracy, and relationship management.

• Serve as a primary resource to staff for financial policies, procedures, and routine financial forms.

Compliance, Controls & Risk Management

• Establish, implement, and/or maintain internal controls within areas of responsibility to provide reasonable assurance of accurate financial information, appropriate resource use, and adherence to agreements, policies, procedures, and external regulatory requirements.

• Coordinate communications and approvals with appropriate stakeholders to ensure alignment and compliance.

Required Skills and Abilities

1.Advanced ability to build and maintain complex spreadsheets and financial reports (e.g., reconciliations, pivots/lookup logic, trend analysis), and strong general proficiency with Microsoft 365 tools (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint).

2.Demonstrated skill managing transactions (journal entries, accruals, transfers, etc.) with meticulous attention to detail, strong documentation practices, and the ability to reconcile and resolve discrepancies across systems.

3.Ability to extract and analyze data from multiple sources, identify issues/risks, and develop practical recommendations that support operational and leadership decision-making.

4.Ability to execute high-volume, deadline-driven financial processing and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

5.Excellent written/verbal communication and interpersonal skills to coordinate with both internal and external stakeholders; able to explain policies/procedures clearly and handle sensitive payee/distribution inquiries professionally.

Preferred Skills and Abilities

1.Prior hands-on experience with Workday transactions and reporting (and/or Yale-specific finance reporting tools), enabling quick ramp-up and independent troubleshooting.

2.Familiarity with commercialization income workflows (royalties, milestones, annual fees, patent reimbursements, MTAs), payee management, and maintaining specialized royalty/distribution documentation.

3.Understanding of university financial policies/procedures, internal control design, audit readiness, and compliance with contractual obligations and applicable regulatory requirements.

4.Experience recommending and implementing improvements to financial methods/systems (e.g., standardizing reconciliations, strengthening controls, streamlining reporting, improving data quality).

5.Comfort using database/query or reporting tools to pull and validate data across multiple systems and produce reliable recurring/ad hoc management reports.

Principal Responsibilities

1. Financial Analysis and Reporting: Analyzes information and creates accurate and timely reports that add value to the management of University operations. Applies GAAP to report out on financial conditions. Ensures financial reporting meets the compliance needs of internal and external users. Extracts data from multiple sources. 2. Financial Methods and Systems: Recommends methods to improve practices, processes and systems. Works with internal and external contacts to carry out department objectives. Provides a high level of service that cultivates and maintains strong working relationships and effectively communicates information; takes ownership and accountability for timeliness, accuracy and relationship management. 3. Accounting and Reconciliation: Accurately records enterprise or subsystem transactions to balance sheets, income statements, and other financial records. Performs reconciliations; navigates through systems and reporting tools to independently resolve routine and non-routine discrepancies. Applies entries to the general ledger or subsystems and ensures adherence to GAAP, regulatory requirements and financial reporting considerations. Communicates effectively to unit leadership. 4. Strategic Resource: Translates unit finance objectives into priorities. Reports financial issues and risks and makes recommendations. Contacts appropriate stakeholders to include in communications and approvals. 5. Compliance and Risk Management: Establishes, implements and/or maintains strong internal controls in areas of assigned responsibility to provide reasonable assurance of effective and appropriate resources use, accurate financial information, and adherence to contractual obligations and agreements, policies, procedures, and external regulatory requirements. 6. May perform other duties as assigned. Required Education and Experience Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Business, Economics or Finance and two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Demonstrated application of financial, accounting and economic concepts.

Job Posting Date

08/10/2026

Job Category

Professional

Bargaining Unit

NON

Compensation Grade

Administration & Operations

Compensation Grade Profile

Supervisor; Senior Associate (22)

Salary Range

$61,500.00 - $91,875.00

Time Type

Full time

Duration Type

Staff

Work Model

Hybrid

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

Health Requirements

Certain positions have associated health requirements based on specific job responsibilities. These may include vaccinations, tests, or examinations, as required by law, regulation, or university policy.

Posting Disclaimer

Salary offers are determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education in relation to the position requirements, along with the role’s grade profile and current internal and external market conditions.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through  their hiring department.

The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.

Inquiries concerning Yale's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).

Note

Yale University is a tobacco-free campus.