Job Description
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is a 501(c)3
nonprofit and consortium of universities that manages and/or operates
world-leading astronomical observatories—including the Hubble Space Telescope;
James Webb Space Telescope; Vera C. Rubin Observatory; the Gemini Observatory;
the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Observatory and many more—on behalf of the scientific
community through our Centers: the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI);
the NSF National Optical/Infrared Laboratory (NOIRLab), and the NSF National
Solar Observatory (NSO). Our mission is to enable transformational research in
astrophysics and to share the wonders of the universe with the public. AURA
partners with federal agencies, universities, scientific institutions, and
industry collaborators around the world to advance exploration, discovery, and
education.
Position Summary
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is seeking a
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to serve as AURA's senior financial executive,
providing strategic leadership and oversight for all financial operations,
including accounting, budgeting, treasury, investments, procurement, award
administration, contracts, compliance, and financial reporting. In partnership
with the President, Center Directors, Corporate Vice Presidents, the AURA Board
and its committees, Center Councils, and finance leaders across the
organization, the CFO ensures the long-term financial strength, regulatory
compliance, operational effectiveness, and responsible stewardship of AURA's
resources in support of its scientific mission. This role is eligible for hybrid
work and will require 2-3 days of on-site presence in our Baltimore or
Washington, DC office. Link to apply:
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The business and administrative support functions for AURA’s programmatic
centers are provided by two independent divisions, which are coordinated through
AURA’s CFO. Central Administrative Services (CAS) serves AURA’s ground-based
Centers, funded primarily by cooperative agreements with the National Science
Foundation (NSF), and also provides a portion of services to AURA Corporate
Headquarters (HQ). CAS delivers accounting, finance, budget, procurement,
contracts, proposal and award management, travel/relocation services, and
business IT services. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), funded
primarily by contracts with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), receives its services from the Business Resource Center (BRC), which
provides similar services to CAS, and is dedicated to the space telescope
Center, along with providing certain services to AURA HQ. The AURA CFO also
oversees all other AURA HQ financial activities and operations not performed by
CAS or BRC.
The CFO will set an ethical, compliance-focused tone to ensure all financial
practices, policies, and procedures are properly adhered to by all AURA staff
worldwide and that all staff understand their role in ensuring the
organization’s financial success. As a member of executive leadership, the CFO
will play a key role in strategic planning, risk mitigation, and
resource-allocation decisions.
Key Responsibilities
* Financial Strategy and Planning:
* Lead financial strategy for a federally funded research organization,
including long-term financial planning, scenario modeling,
funding-continuity planning, and risk mitigation related to federal
appropriations, contract and cooperative agreement renewals, award
closeouts, and potential changes in agency funding priorities.
* Translate the strategic plan and directives into an effective and
efficient financial structure that safeguards AURA against financial
risks.
* Develop and implement financial strategies that support AURA’s strategic
plans and goals, including capital requirements, investments, staffing,
long-term budgetary planning, and cost management.
* Provide financial analysis and guidance on all activities, plans, targets,
and business drivers.
* Maintain a comprehensive understanding of key internal and external
stakeholders’ evolving needs and their financial constraints.
* Financial Management:
* Manage AURA’s financial operations, including accounting, budgeting,
forecasting, treasury, tax compliance, cash management, financial
reporting, and financial risk management.
* Serve as a financial steward, helping center leaders understand the
financial implications of any proposed business opportunities or
initiatives.
- Oversee budget creation and monitoring.
- Ensure timely preparation and submission of financial statements and
reports to auditors, funding and regulatory agencies, Board of Directors
and internal AURA HQ and Center leadership.
* Oversee indirect cost strategy, rate development, cost allocation,
billability assessments, and timing differences arising under federal
awards, including coordination with federal sponsors, where appropriate.
* Awards and Contracts Management:
* Provide executive oversight of federal and non-federal award financial
management, including proposal budgeting, allowable cost compliance,
indirect cost recovery, billing, drawdowns, subrecipient monitoring, award
closeout, and audit-ready documentation for federal research and
development awards, ensuring compliance with all requirements and
regulations.
* Coordinate with research teams to develop budgets and financial reports for
award proposals and ongoing projects.
* Monitor grant and contract expenditures and ensure proper allocation of
funds.
* Oversee financial controls, reporting, and compliance processes related to
government-owned property, capital equipment, construction-in-progress,
inventory, and other assets acquired or managed under federal agreements,
including coordination with property, procurement, contracts, finance, and
Center leadership.
* Procurement Management:
* * Provide executive oversight of AURA’s procurement function to ensure
purchasing practices support the organization’s mission, financial
stewardship responsibilities, and obligations associated with providing
services to NSF-funded Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
(FFRDC).
* Ensure procurement policies, procedures, and internal controls align with
applicable federal requirements, award terms and conditions, Uniform
Guidance, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) principles as applicable,
and AURA’s standards for competition, documentation, cost reasonableness,
and allowability.
* Promote procurement practices that preserve the objectivity, independence,
transparency, and public-interest obligations expected of an FFRDC,
including appropriate management of organizational conflicts of interest,
supplier relationships, and privileged information.
* Partner with center leadership, awards management, legal, compliance, and
research teams to support timely, compliant procurement of goods and
services needed for scientific operations, major projects, facilities, and
federally funded research activities.
* Oversee procurement risk management, including supplier performance,
contract administration, audit readiness, documentation quality, and
continuity of critical supply chains.
* Use procurement data, spend analysis, and vendor management practices to
identify opportunities for cost savings, process improvement, supplier
diversity, and consistent procurement practices across AURA centers.
* Financial Systems and Technology:
* Provide oversight to the operations and maintenance of AURA financial
systems, including Deltek Costpoint.
* Coordinate with AURA’s Corporate IT team on financial systems,
cybersecurity-adjacent financial controls, ERP governance, data integrity,
reporting, and overall IT strategy.
* Continue efforts to migrate and integrate separate instances of Deltek
Costpoint, to provide a single, well-controlled ERP platform and reporting
environment across AURA.
* Financial Risk Management:
* Evaluate financial risk exposure, develop mitigation strategies, and be
accountable for coordinating cross-organizational response.
* Oversee financial risk management for complex obligations, including
postretirement benefits, vacation and postemployment benefit liabilities,
contract termination exposures, actuarial assumptions, and related federal
award reimbursement or billability considerations.
* Audit and Compliance:
* Maintain a strong control environment and audit-ready culture that
supports timely financial statement audits, Government Auditing Standards
reporting, Uniform Guidance single audits, sponsor reviews, internal
reviews, and timely remediation of any findings, observations, or
process-improvement recommendations.
* Ensure AURA’s financial practices comply with all federal, state, and
local regulatory requirements, including U.S. GAAP, Uniform Guidance, FAR,
and agency requirements, as applicable.
* Cash Management:
* Oversee liquidity, cash-flow forecasting, treasury, banking relationships,
investment strategy, and credit facilities to ensure AURA can meet
operating, award, payroll, procurement, subaward, lease, and other
obligations under cost-reimbursable and pay-as-you-go funding models.
* Optimize the handling of banking and investment relationships and initiate
appropriate strategies to enhance cash positions.
* Leadership and Collaboration:
* Lead and mentor staff, driving performance and retention by fostering a
culture of enablement, respect, growth and development, and continuous
improvement.
* Collaborate with other senior leaders as well as internal and external
partners to develop and implement strategic initiatives that ensure AURA
activities align with current and anticipated resources and client and
governance requirements.
* Serve as a key liaison with external financial stakeholders, including
auditors, regulators, and financial institutions.
* Interact with each of the AURA Center Management Councils, the AURA Audit
Committee, and the AURA Board regarding financial policy development,
interpretation, and implementation, as well as providing financial
management guidance to each Center’s management.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
* Executive-level financial leadership experience in a complex, federally
funded, nonprofit, research, academic, government contracting, or FFRDC-like
environment.
* Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP and Internal Revenue Code for not-for-profit
organizations, FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Government Auditing
Standards, Uniform Guidance, FAR principles as applicable, federal cost
principles, indirect cost recovery, and sponsor compliance requirements.
* Demonstrated ability to oversee financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting,
treasury, liquidity, federal award accounting, procurement, contracts,
subrecipient monitoring, internal controls, audit readiness, and enterprise
financial risk.
* Ability to advise senior leadership, the Board, audit committee, center
leadership, and scientific leadership on financial strategy, funding risks,
resource allocation, compliance, and long-term sustainability.
* Experience leading finance, procurement, contracts, compliance, and financial
systems functions across geographically distributed and matrixed operations.
* Effective communication, influence, negotiation, and change-management
skills, with the ability to synthesize complex financial, operational,
compliance, and scientific-program information into actionable
recommendations.
* Demonstrated commitment to ethical leadership, transparency, continuous
improvement, service orientation, and a strong control environment.
* Demonstrated ability to lead and develop high-performing teams across
different geographies and time zones.
* Willingness to understand and appreciate the unique operations of each AURA
center.
Education/Experience:
* Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a
related field required; active CPA certification preferred. MBA, MPA, or
other relevant advanced degree a plus.
* 15+ years of progressively responsible financial management experience,
including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
* Extensive experience in a large not-for-profit, federally funded research
organization, government contractor, higher education/research institution,
FFRDC-like environment, or similarly complex regulated organization
preferred.
* Demonstrated experience with federal awards, contracts, cooperative
agreements, indirect cost rates, cost allowability, single audits, Government
Auditing Standards audits, Uniform Guidance compliance, procurement
oversight, and audit readiness.
* Experience advising executive leadership, boards, audit committees, and
program leaders on financial strategy, compliance risk, liquidity, long-term
planning, and operational decision-making.
* Experience leading ERP, financial systems, reporting, process improvement,
and internal control initiatives across multiple business units or centers.
Note: The annual salary range for this title is $260-325,000. The posted salary
range represents a general guideline; however, STScI considers a number of
factors when determining base salary offers, such as internal pay equity, the
scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's experience,
education, and skill, and current market conditions.
Candidates are asked to submit one PDF that includes a resume & cover letter.
The cover letter should address why the candidate’s interest and experiences are
well suited for the role. Applications received by August 21, 2026 will receive
full consideration.
Please ONLY use this link to apply:
[
Individuals needing assistance with the employment process can contact us
at careers@stsci.edu. [careers@stsci.edu]
Compensation & Benefits
* Explore our benefits:
[
- Relocation Assistance
- Comprehensive health, dental, and retirement benefits.
- Flexible work arrangements and potential travel opportunities to AURA
facilities.
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Job Tags
Full time, Contract work, For contractors, Work at office, Local area, Worldwide, Relocation, Relocation package, Flexible hours