Associate Administrative Officer

Duties and Responsibilities

• Reviews and approves financial transactions for assigned financial unit(s) in the Oracle Cloud system, including procurement requisitions, expense reports (including travel and entertainment), and procurement card expense reports.
• Maintains an extensive understanding of the university’s chart of accounts and departmental use of Project Portfolio Management POET structure, as well as travel and procurement policies.
• Maintains an extensive understanding of institutional and departmental policies.
• Uses excellent professional judgment and integrity to evaluate the appropriateness of expenditures and possesses the maturity and confidence to address questionable transactions either directly or by escalating them, if needed.
• Ensures every component of a requisition or expense report is accurate prior to approval.
• Affords best practices in the review and management of financial resources, addressing any needed changes or adjustments in a timely manner.
• Maintains big picture perspective to ensure that all expenditures are evaluated to assess impact on departmental operational needs and financial goals.
• Works with the CBO on annual budget development and quarterly forecasts.
• Analyzes quarterly financial reporting to support departmental fiscal management.
• Prepares journal entries for quarter-end close.

Human Capital Management

• Deep understanding of the staff HR life cycle from onboarding to retirement.
• Advises on routine HR processes and identifies more complex situations that require the involvement of others.
• Assists employees with self-service transactions, as needed.
• Maintains an extensive understanding of HR functions in Oracle and related connections with Oracle financial data.
• Analyzes and processes complex transactions with forethought to implications and required communications.
• Performs other duties on the HR spectrum as assigned.

General Administrative Operations

• Improves processes and procedures;
• Analyzes and streamlines business processes;
• Buils and maintains strong working relationships with team members and key constituents;
• Establishes, communicates, and modifies departmental processes in response to changes in university policies and procedures;
• Participates in recurring meetings, trainings and round table discussions to enrich the experience and resources available to staff;
• Maintain an understanding of institutional and departmental financial policies related to areas such as travel, procurement, expense, and time reporting to ensure compliance and proper stewardship of university resources.
• Demonstrates a willingness to support colleagues to encourage the implementation or fulfillment of strategic goals and priorities.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is required.
• Degree in Finance or Accounting is preferred.
• Minimum of 2 years of related experience is required.
• Expertise in Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
• Demonstrated ability to work in an environment requiring strong attention to detail is necessary.
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and in a highly collaborative setting is necessary.
• Aptitude to solve problems in a timely manner and prioritize responsibilities appropriately is necessary.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are necessary.
• Professionalism, maturity, and experience with the prudent handling of confidential and highly sensitive information is necessary.
• Skill in organizing resources and establishing priorities is necessary.
• Demonstrates a continuous improvement mindset; ability to identify efficiencies is preferred.
• Experience with Oracle or similar ERP systems, and familiarity with Vanderbilt policies and procedures is preferred.
• Knowledge of not-for-profit auditing policies, standards, and procedures is preferred.
• Ability to effectively communicate accounting information, policies, and/or procedures in a manner easily understood by the customer is preferred.