Operations Financial Analyst

About the role

The Operations Financial Analyst performs complex fiscal, budgetary, administrative, and secretarial duties with a focus on state and district financial oversight requirements. The role serves as a bridge between IT, Operations, and Finance, providing data-driven insights to optimize district technology investments. Daily responsibilities include managing multiple local, state, and capital budgets, maintaining accurate budget data using Linq, requesting vendor quotes, generating contracts, requisitions, invoices, and budgetary reports, handling routine inquiries from IT, Operations, and Finance departments, and drafting informational documents and correspondence.

Responsibilities

• Budgetary Analysis & Reporting
  • Develops sophisticated reporting and forecasting tools to analyze expenditure trends and provide data-backed recommendations to IT/Operations leadership.
  • Reconciles monthly reports for multiple budget codes to ensure Federal, State, and Capital funds are utilized to total capacity while maintaining audit-ready records.
  • Summarizes complex fiscal information into charts, graphs, and comprehensive reports for annual applications, district audits, and categorical fund auditing purposes.
  • Works closely with the budget/finance division to ensure accurate financial reporting and data spreadsheets for all expenditures, including preparing documents for review.
• Procurement & Compliance
  • Manages the creation of quotes, contracts, requisitions, purchase orders, and invoice payments, ensuring all purchases meet equitable stewardship standards according to applicable laws, rules, and regulations of the State of North Carolina and the CHCCS Board of Education.
  • Confirms all items received as ordered and prepares documentation of incoming orders for distribution to district offices and/or school sites.
  • Submits signed approval documentation and invoices to appropriate IT/Operations leadership and accounts payable staff for processing payment.
  • Assists leaders by preparing budget transfer requests to ensure sufficient funds for expenditures are in the appropriate budget line and submits requests to Finance.
  • Leads specific federal and grant filing tasks and manages capital fund fiscal requirements as directed by administration (e.g., E-rate, Safety Grant).
  • Acts as the primary liaison for vendors to resolve billing discrepancies and track the status of high-volume technology orders.
• Administrative & Financial Oversight (IT)
  • Coordinates with IT Administration to ensure the procurement of hardware and software inventory is reflected in the current asset management system.
  • Proactively identifies and drives improvements in financial workflows, including the creation of standardized reporting templates.
  • Establishes and maintains financial databases (LINQ), spreadsheets, and daily/monthly balances for all categorical fund expenditures, staff development/travel reimbursements, and descriptions of items ordered for departmental planning and management purposes.
  • Maintains records of numerous financial transactions throughout the fiscal year.
  • Acts as a point of contact for telephone calls and visitors; facilitates financial problem-solving; provides detailed information regarding department financial activities and programs.
  • Attends all district bookkeeper meetings and any budget-related IT/Capital staff meetings.

Education/Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in accounting or business administration with 2–3 years of experience OR an Associate’s Degree in accounting or business with five or more years of training and experience.
• 1–3+ years of business finance or other relevant experience.
• Previous experience using school district financial software (e.g., LINQ) preferred.
• Advanced knowledge and strong fluency with word processing and spreadsheet formulas and functions; preferred experience working with Google documents.
• Strong equitable analytical and data-gathering skills.
• Self-starter with excellent interpersonal communication and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to multitask, prioritize responsibilities, and work independently.
• Ability to communicate effectively with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to function independently while working in a highly collaborative environment as an effective team player.
• Ability to think strategically, identify, and equitably solve problems.
• Desire to learn and a commitment to excellence.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to safely and successfully perform the essential job functions consistent with the ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards, including meeting qualitative and/or quantitative productivity standards.
• Ability to maintain regular, punctual attendance consistent with the ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards.