Financial Assistant

Department: MCC Administration
Salary/Grade: NEX/11

Job Summary:

Provides day-to-day financial & accounting support using an advanced knowledge of applicable skills, methods & practices & some innovation, analysis, & reasoning to choose appropriate alternatives from among pre-defined policies & procedures to complete work that includes successive steps & involves some non-routine problems &/or decisions.

Applies industry and professional standards, university policy and procedure, federal and state laws and other regulations.

Provides administrative &/or clerical support.

Accounting policy & procedure

Additional/special pay

Journal &/or ledger

Payroll

Reconciliation

Reporting

Salary administration

Please note: Currently hybrid schedule working 3 days on-site and 2 remote

Supervisor provides objectives & deadlines. Work is reviewed for fulfillment of objective & deadlines & overall compliance with policy & procedures. EE completes some activities without direction, informing supervisor only of potentially controversial matters, &/or far-reaching implications.

Specific Responsibilities:

Budget:

• Updates calendar, spreadsheets, templates & forms; monitors submissions.
• Completes reconciliation procedures.
• Creates summary reports.
• Analysis, Statements & Reporting:
• Prepares account, budget, cost, expenditure &/or funds analysis.
• Creates reports & queries; reviews for incomplete records, data entry errors, &/or accounting mistakes.

Transactions:

• Supports all basic accounting functions for McCormick IT, such invoice payments, creating requisitions and entering payment requests.
• Serves as backup approver of corporate card lifts, runs reports to track school-wide aging of unreconciled Procurement Card transactions, monitors compliance and sends notifications to departments to avoid card suspensions.
• Prepares faculty expense reimbursements and submits for workflow approval.
• Troubleshoots problems.
• Enters information into database.

Grants &/or Awards:

• Verifies payroll funding entries.
• Corrects charges to various accounts.

Administration:

• Provides excellent customer service, over the phone and in person answering standard questions regarding status of requests, policies and procedures for processing transactions, &/or instructions for completing paperwork.
• Provides administrative support in regard to HR matters such as hiring, onboarding, benefits, compensation, etc.

Training:

• Assists with training of new staff members

Supervision:

• Supervises or leads temporary, part-time or work study students.
• Provides guidance to junior employees.

Miscellaneous

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High school diploma or the equivalent.
• 3 years accounting &/or bookkeeping or other relevant experience.

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

• Excellent computer skills including proficiency in the use of spreadsheet, database and word processing software.
• Familiarity with financial reporting.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration or Accounting.
• Previous experience in a University setting, and knowledge of University financial and HR systems.

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

• Advanced computing skills, namely spreadsheet applications (Excel).
• Ability to work in a team-based atmosphere.

Target hiring range for this position will be between $19.89 - $27.97 per hour. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage.

The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law.

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