NW Foundation Financial Operations Specialist

SALARY:

POSITION TITLE:

DEPARTMENT:

JOB DESCRIPTION:

EMPLOYMENT TERMS: Full-time, 12 months

PRIMARY DUTY:

The Financial Operations Specialist supports the Northwest Foundation’s financial operations, including investment reporting, journal entries, account reconciliations, scholarship accounting, financial reporting, audit preparation, gift processing, accounts payable, and budget and forecast activities. The position participates in cross-training with the Accounting Clerk to provide backup coverage and continuity of finance operations.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Performs professional accounting work of a complex nature.
• Ensures compliance with generally accepted accounting principles in executing, analyzing, verifying, and reporting transactions of a fiscal nature.

• Research, track and resolve accounting or documentation problems and discrepancies as part of the internal accounting controls.

• Perform cash management activities and assist with investment reporting and related reconciliations.

• Assist with preparation of audit work-papers and assist with auditors’ fieldwork requests.
• Assist with annual budget preparation and monitoring.
• Provide excellent departmental customer service.
• Serve as liaison with departments.

• Maintain, and strive to improve, accounting processes and procedures required to execute departmental functions at the highest level of quality.
• Recurring and special journal entries to record financial activity accurately and timely.
• Process gifts and cash receipts in accounting and donor management systems and reconcile related records.
• Assist with annual IRS Form 1099 reporting.
• Produce ad hoc financial reports as needed (budget versus actual, account detail reports, etc.)
• Assist with scholarship accounting, including recording and reconciling scholarship activity.
• Process accounts payable, including reviewing supporting documentation, entering invoices, and assisting with payment processing.
• Participate in cross-training with the Accounting Clerk and provide backup support for assigned functions.
• Perform other accounting functions and duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS:

Education: A bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related with 3 to 5 years of financial experience is required. Certification/License: Valid driver’s license required.

Preferred Candidates: Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation preferred, but not required. Experience with Blackbaud Financial Edge, Raiser’s Edge, or similar accounting and donor management software is preferred. Experience in nonprofit or fund accounting, financial reporting, investment reconciliations, and audit preparation is also preferred.

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Knowledge of non-profit (fund) accounting principles and practices with ability to apply general accounting principles in the recording of expenditures, revenues, and allocations.

• Thoroughly understands institutional, state, and federal policies, procedures, and restrictions

• Self-motivated and highly detail oriented with experience preparing financial statements and managing high-level reconciliations.
• Proven strategic thinker with the ability to see the big picture and proactively identify opportunities for improvement.
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills with the ability to work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to adhere to professional ethical standards, exercising the highest level of integrity.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

This position will work the normal hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with an hour lunch break. Must be able to work additional hours during peak times and work in an environment of constant demands and frequent interruptions; Requires some travel with the ability to have reliable transportation; Professional dress or attire is expected                              

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Requires some leadership responsibilities working with volunteers, committees, and students

TYPICAL PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Prolonged sitting and standing with the use of a personal computer and telephone; No regular lifting responsibilities, but could include occasional lifting up to 25 pounds

COMMUNITY:

Northwest Missouri State University located in Maryville, Missouri, a community of 12,000 with a diverse economy and a strong industrial base. Maryville is located 45 miles north of St. Joseph, Missouri, 90 miles north of Kansas City, Missouri, and 110 miles southeast of Omaha, Nebraska. For more information visit the city’s website at www.maryville.org.

UNIVERSITY:

With an enrollment of more than 8,500 students, Northwest is a coeducational, primarily residential four-year university that offers a broad range of undergraduate and selected graduate programs on its Maryville campus and through Northwest Online.

Founded in 1905, Northwest boasts a high retention rate and a graduation rate in the 95th percentile among its peers. Additionally, results of the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory show Northwest students are more satisfied than students at national peers, and 78 percent of Northwest students report they would repeat their university experience, compared to 75 percent of students surveyed nationally at their respective institutions.

Furthermore, the University is a national model for student success and career placement with 93 percent of bachelor’s degree earners and 98 percent of master’s degree earners securing employment or continuing their education within six months of completing a degree at Northwest, according to the most recent data. 

Northwest places a high emphasis on profession-based learning to help graduates get a jumpstart on their careers while maintaining competitive tuition rates and generous financial assistance to help minimize the financial barriers students may face when pursuing a college degree.

Students have opportunities to build their résumés with experiences on campus in nearly every area of study, including the Horace Mann Laboratory School, National Public Radio affiliate KXCV, the R.T. Wright Farm, Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area,  a partnership with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency or Knacktive, a student-driven integrated digital marketing communications agency. In conjunction with its emergency and disaster management program, Northwest organizes and hosts Missouri Hope, an annual mass casualty training exercise that attracts first responders and emergency workers from throughout the nation and provides hands-on training in preparation for a natural disaster.

The University’s vibrant and diverse learning community also offers more than 150 student organizations, and textbooks and a laptop are included in tuition, saving students an estimated $6,900 over four years. Northwest offers 1,200 student employment positions, allowing students to build professional skills through its internationally benchmarked student employment program. 

For more information about Northwest and its performance, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/aboutus/facts/.