Staff Spotlight - Menhaj Ulhaq

You may remember Menhaj Ulhaq from the Winter Warmer, where he was recognized at the Special Recognition Awards last December for his collaboration efforts with a new team member. Before his time at Yale, he worked for the US Army in Afghanistan and was granted a special immigrant visa to come to the US with his family in 2016. He later joined the university as a temporary worker in various projects, including the switch from Oracle to Workday, before being offered a permanent Finance position in December 2017. Thrilled at the opportunity to work in his field of study (he has a master’s in accounting), Menhaj has dedicated his time to becoming the best employee he could be. 

He and his team work on DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) awards and frequently partner with different Yale business offices, such as FRMS (Faculty Research Management Services) and the School of Medicine, and provide numerous post-award financial analyses and financial reports to various sponsors.  

What do you love most about your team?  

I enjoy a lot about my team and my department (Sponsored Projects Financial Administration - SPFA). But the most important is teamwork. Our department has three to four teams with different jobs and responsibilities. 

Each team is cross-trained for all the different teams’ jobs. When there is a need for help, it doesn’t matter what team you belong to or what job you do; the other teams can pitch in and help. That is one of the great things about my department. I also love the environment we’ve created here in Finance. I’ve received so much support from all the teams I’ve worked with, and the atmosphere is welcoming and inviting. 

Can you talk about some of the projects you’re looking forward to this year? 

As a financial analyst, I love Excel. And now I’m learning about Power BI. My goal is to convert the reconciliation and financial report we prepare for our sponsors using Power BI. It will eliminate manual work and allow the work to be automated. Right now, I’m just learning from Google and YouTube, and I know I can rely on my team members when I have questions, which is helpful. A co-worker in my previous team inspired me; she used Power BI for her reconciliations and financial reports. Using this on my projects and within my new team would be a great application. It’s a fantastic way to improve our work, and I hope I can provide that. I’m also working on other smaller projects for my team. 

Can you share any memorable or funny team bonding moments?  

A highlight for me was the Employee Appreciation week, where the team went bowling in Woodbridge after work hours. Managers planned different activities to build morale and have their teams connect outside the office. Surprisingly, I was good at bowling even though I’d never played before, and I won! 

Tell us a little more about you.  

I have five children, four girls and one boy, which is typical back home in Afghanistan. Whenever I mention my children, I get surprised looks because they think I’m so young. I got married at 21 and have been happily married ever since!