Financial Secretary - School Support

Charles County Public Schools•La Plata, MD

3d•Onsite

About The Position

This position provides district-wide oversight and guidance for school financial operations. The Financial Secretary will interpret and apply Board policies, administrative procedures, state requirements, accounting standards, and internal control expectations to school financial operations. They will monitor financial activity across schools to identify inconsistencies, control weaknesses, unusual transactions, overdue reconciliations, negative balances, documentation gaps, or other areas of risk. The role involves developing, recommending, and maintaining standardized procedures, forms, checklists, calendars, and operating guidance for school financial processes. Additionally, the Financial Secretary will advise administrators and school financial staff on complex or sensitive financial matters and recommend corrective action when necessary. They will coordinate and support internal and external audits of school financial records, assess the effectiveness of internal controls, and conduct periodic reviews of school financial records and practices to promote compliance, accuracy, consistency, and audit readiness. The position also provides technical assistance to schools in resolving audit findings, reconciling discrepancies, correcting financial records, and strengthening local procedures. The Financial Secretary will serve as a subject matter expert for Oracle Financials and other financial systems, analyze system transactions, and recommend system enhancements. They will provide individualized coaching and support to schools with complex financial issues and develop professional learning resources. This role also acts as a backup to all school financial secretaries.

Requirements

High School Diploma required
Five years of financial secretary experience required
Advanced knowledge of accounting principles, reconciliations, financial reporting, budgeting, cash controls, purchasing, and records management.
Ability to interpret policies, procedures, regulations, agreements, and complex financial information and translate them into practical operating guidance.
Ability to analyze large or complex data sets, identify trends and exceptions, and prepare clear findings and recommendations.
Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and enterprise financial systems; ability to learn new technology quickly.
Ability to develop and deliver effective training to adult learners with varied levels of financial knowledge.
Ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, reviews, and school support needs with limited supervision.
Excellent written, verbal, presentation, consultation, and customer-service skills.
Ability to exercise sound judgment, discretion, diplomacy, and confidentiality in sensitive situations.
Ability to build collaborative working relationships with administrators, school staff, central-office departments, vendors, auditors, and community stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Associate Degree Preferred
in a school environment preferred

Responsibilities

Provide district-wide oversight and guidance for school financial operations, including student activity funds, school budgets, purchasing, procurement cards, deposits, receivables, disbursements, reconciliations, ticket sales, athletic funds, fundraising, and other school-based financial activity.
Interpret and apply Board policies, administrative procedures, state requirements, accounting standards, and internal control expectations to school financial operations.
Monitor financial activity across schools to identify inconsistencies, control weaknesses, unusual transactions, overdue reconciliations, negative balances, documentation gaps, or other areas of risk.
Develop, recommend, and maintain standardized procedures, forms, checklists, calendars, and operating guidance for school financial processes.
Advise administrators and school financial staff on complex or sensitive financial matters and recommend corrective action when necessary.
Coordinate and support internal and external audits of school financial records, including preparation of documentation, review of findings, and monitoring of corrective action plans.
Assess the effectiveness of internal controls related to cash handling, deposits, purchasing, disbursements, segregation of duties, inventory, ticket control, and financial record retention.
Conduct periodic reviews of school financial records and practices to promote compliance, accuracy, consistency, and audit readiness.
Provide technical assistance to schools in resolving audit findings, reconciling discrepancies, correcting financial records, and strengthening local procedures.
Maintain documentation of reviews, findings, recommendations, corrective actions, and follow-up status.
Serve as a subject matter expert for Oracle Financials and other financial, purchasing, payment, reporting, or school activity systems used by the district.
Analyze system transactions, workflow issues, account coding, budget errors, interface problems, access concerns, and data inconsistencies, coordinate resolution with Fiscal Services, Payroll, Procurement, Human Resources, and Technology.
Create and maintain reports, dashboards, tracking tools, reconciliations, and data analyses that support operational decision-making and compliance monitoring.
Recommend system enhancements, access controls, automation opportunities, and process redesigns that improve accuracy, efficiency, and accountability.
Provide individualized coaching, technical assistance, and problem-solving support to schools with complex financial issues or staffing transitions.
Develop user guides, job aids, presentations, frequently asked questions, and other professional learning resources.
Act as backup to all school financial secretaries.