Financial Operations Specialist

American University•Washington, DC

4d•$25 - $28•Hybrid

About The Position

The Financial Operations Specialist is responsible for the day-to-day business operations essential to carrying out purchasing, payroll, and other financial transactions in the School of Public Affairs. This position serves as the primary contact for SPA faculty and staff for general financial administration and various procurement and expense management issues to ensure that the needs of the SPA community are met. Additionally serves as the main point of contact for SPA departments and programs as well as central offices (Accounts Payable, Procurement and Contracts, etc.) regarding financial inquiries and assistance. The position requires general supervision.

Requirements

Associate Degree in Business, Accounting or other relevant field, or equivalent in education, training and experience required.
2 - 4 years’ relevant experience in an academic or office setting required.
Intermediate experience with Microsoft Office, especially Excel, Word, and Outlook required.
Strong analytical skills and attention to detail required.
Ability to recognize potential problems and address them proactively is required.
Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills are essential.
Strong time management skills with the ability to organize and plan work to deal with multiple competing priorities and tasks is essential.
Must be able to work both independently and as part of a highly collaborative team.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Accounting, or other related field preferred.
1 - 3 years’ budget and administrative experience preferred.
<1 years’ experience in expense transaction review and tracking preferred.
Knowledge of academic institutions and familiarity with the various divisions and offices within (and the respective functions of) large organizations preferred.
Familiarity with financial and personnel software and databases, including Workday, Colleague Financial, MicroStrategy Business Intelligence, and SharePoint preferred.
Prior experience in a university setting a plus.

Responsibilities

Manage all internal contractual and discretionary allocations for SPA faculty, staff, and students.
Maintain the established database to track spending on individual awards.
Provide guidance to faculty members on appropriate spending for awarded funds.
Track and report on spending and income in endowed and internally restricted accounts in order to provide assistance to Chairs, Program Directors, and Deans as needed.
Conduct regular reviews of operating and non-operating accounts to ensure that financial transactions are completed successfully and accurately, using Workday.
Run Workday budget reports for programs, centers, institutes, departments, and internal offices upon request.
Proactively identify and address potential issues, and notify supervisor in the event of new or unusual problems or issues that arise.
Provide supplemental financial administration support to special programs and projects as assigned by the Asst. Dean or the Dean.
Review, approve, and occasionally initiate financial transactions actions such as: disbursements, expense reports, and requisitions prior to submission to Accounts Payable.
Review and ensure financial transactions are in compliance with University and SPA policies, procedures, and best practices.
Responsible for reviewing financial transactions for budgetary compliance, proactively addressing and resolving potential issues with customers, and providing recommendations to a number of different stakeholders.
Oversee the administration of all SPA Purchasing Cards (Pcards) and Travel Cards assigned to SPA faculty and staff.
Ensure cardholders are reconciling transactions within required time periods and using appropriate documentation for all transactions.
Provide training and assistance to cardholders to ensure consistent card management across SPA.
Work with SPA faculty and staff on any contracts for goods or services and ensure that the faculty and staff are abiding by the associated SPA and University policies.
Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with faculty and staff within SPA.
Provide training to full time staff, graduate assistants, and program staff on processes and procedures necessary to incur and record financial transactions and to understand necessary budget reports for managing unit and program budgets.
Supports the SPA Budget team as needed.
Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned.