Finance & Operations Whiz

Smarty Pants•Johnson City, TN

25d•Onsite

About The Position

Smarty Pants is a market research and strategic consulting firm on a mission to illuminate the business world with brilliant consumer insights, inspiring human stories and ingenious brand solutions. Since 2005, the world’s most powerful brands have relied on Smarty Pants for niche consumer expertise, industry intelligence, creative research acumen, thought leadership, and a contagious passion for everything we do. Smarty Pants leads research and consulting initiatives for tech, entertainment, healthcare, toy, retail, CPG, finance, automotive and apparel/footwear giants. More specifically, we: Serve as strategic consultants – educating and guiding them on trends, marketing strategies, best practices, etc. Design rigorous research programs to meet their unique informational needs Execute those initiatives with our own industry-leading qualitative, quantitative and hybrid research professionals Carefully aggregate and analyze findings, layering on our collective wisdom Create visually-compelling deliverables that energize and inspire Help our clients apply the learning to their business challenges Named the market research and strategic consulting industry’s Best Place to Work, Smarty Pants seeks a tech-forward business coordinator to support the critical financial and operational functions of our growing company. More specifically, we are looking for a person who will fill three specific roles: accounting support to our financial leaders, tech-based operational and compliance support to our virtual research teams, and administrative support to our leadership team. The person who fills this role must be highly organized and efficient and have a strong understanding of complex business structures and processes. S/he will enable our business “machine” to go and grow. S/he must thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving industry and be able to make smart decisions that impact the company’s financial health, workflow systems and operational compliance.

Requirements

Minimum of associate’s degree – ideally in business or relevant field
3+ years in business operations, project coordination in a corporate/business setting
Business experience working with QuickBooks
Familiarity with financial reporting, KPIs and business analytics
Experience with CRM and/or work management systems
Experience in Microsoft systems with strong Excel, Word and PowerPoint skills
Experience with AI-enablement and/or automation
Impeccable organizational skills
Strong communication skills
Tech-forward with efficiency improvement experience
Strong work ethic
Detail, accuracy and efficiency focused
A positive, relationships-first collaboration style
Eagerness to work 5 days per week in Johnson City, TN, headquarters
Must be able to work on a company computer using digital platforms and industry-specific software for up to the full duration of the workday
Must be able to effectively communicate and exchange information via phone, video, reading, writing, studying, analyzing and entering data
Must be able to quickly shift gears and reprioritize tasks and workloads as needed to support the needs of various employees and clients
Must be able to cognitively process business information, analyze situations and goals, and effectively collaborate with others without creating additional or undue work for others
Must be able to travel to client/company meetings. Travel may include: Personal (or rented) automobiles Public transportation such as rideshare, train, bus or airplane International travel that requires a valid US passport

Responsibilities

Precisely enter financial data and support financial tracking and analysis within QuickBooks
Reconcile accounts to ensure accuracy, completeness, and alignment with financial records
Maintain financial dashboards and pipeline tracking tools and generate reports to support financial visibility and decision-making
Perform limited bookkeeping functions – e.g. employee expense reimbursement, research participant incentive payment, etc.)
Accurately input and maintain project and operational data within company work management systems
Manage and update client records within the CRM tool, ensuring data integrity and consistency
Develop, document, and continuously improve processes to streamline workflows and increase operational efficiency
Ensure adherence to financial, data privacy, and internal procedural compliance standards
Manage business certification and recertification processes, maintaining required documentation and timelines
Conduct regular system and process audits to identify risks and ensure ongoing compliance
Oversee company asset tracking and management, ensuring proper documentation and utilization
Manage purchasing, vendor coordination, and shipping logistics
Provide general administrative support to ensure smooth day-to-day operations
Provide high-level administrative and analytical support to C-suite leaders, including data gathering, reporting, and materials preparation to inform strategic decision-making

Benefits

15 paid vacation days
Up to three paid personal/bereavement/floating holiday days
17 days of company closure (President’s Day, Labor Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Indigenous People’s Day, Juneteenth, Thanksgiving and the day after, the day before Christmas Eve through New Year’s, etc.)
Unlimited “Just Get Better” (sick) days
Twice quarterly “Happy Hours” (half-days off) to do rewarding/fulfilling activities outside of Smarty Pants
Paid family medical/maternity/paternity leave (after one year)
Health insurance plan
401K retirement savings plan
A 529 educational savings plan
Automatic supplemental employer contributions to retirement at 3% of salary (after one year)
Nursing mother shipping/storage reimbursement (while traveling for work)
Eligibility for year-end and “spot” bonuses
Employee referral bonuses
Company swag
Phone/data reimbursement/subsidy
The pleasure of working alongside the best and brightest