Bookkeeper & Operations Specialist

Penbrothers International; Makati; Remote; PHP 469,000 - 759,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work from home

Job summary

Penbrothers International is seeking a Bookkeeper & Operations Specialist to be the primary bookkeeping resource for its growing operations. You will handle day-to-day bookkeeping, AR and student accounts, payroll support, HR admin, and cross-functional operations with a hands-on, independent approach.

Proficiency in QuickBooks and strong Excel skills are essential, with the opportunity to assume greater financial ownership as processes transition in-house.

Qualifications

• 3-5+ years of hands-on bookkeeping experience or equivalent relevant experience.
• Strong and practical experience using QuickBooks; QuickBooks Online experience is highly preferred.
• Ability to independently manage core bookkeeping activities with minimal supervision.
• Strong Excel skills, including VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, and other intermediate-to-advanced functions.
• Experience with accounts receivable, invoicing, payment processing, reconciliations, and financial records.
• Experience preparing payroll data or supporting payroll processing is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day bookkeeping across the organization's businesses.
• Maintain accurate financial records in QuickBooks.
• Record revenues, expenses, transactions, and other accounting activities.
• Support month-end activities, reconciliations, journal entries, and financial record maintenance.
• Transition bookkeeping activities from external to internal team.
• Identify discrepancies and maintain accurate records.

Skills

QuickBooks

Excel skills

English communication

Multitasking

Attention to detail

Independent work

Tools

Claude

ChatGPT

Gemini

Job description

About Penbrothers

Penbrothers is an HR & remote talent management partner and one of the fastest-growing companies in the Philippines. We provide talented Filipinos with global opportunities in high-growth startups and dynamic companies, from the comfort of their own homes.

About the Client

Our client is a US-based education group operating multiple businesses across private education, tutoring, online learning, and educational consulting.

The organization operates five brick-and-mortar private schools, an online school serving students internationally, and an educational consulting business. Its physical locations also operate as tutoring centers outside regular school hours.

As the business continues to grow and bring more financial processes in-house, the team is looking for a highly capable bookkeeping and operations professional who can provide hands-on support across multiple business functions.

About the Role

We are looking for a Bookkeeper & Operations Specialist to serve as the primary bookkeeping resource supporting the organization's growing operations.

Bookkeeping will be the core of the role, with additional responsibilities across payroll preparation, accounts receivable, student accounts, HR administration, and day-to-day operations.

This is a hands‑on role suited for someone who is highly organized, comfortable managing multiple priorities, and confident working independently across different business functions. The ideal candidate will be highly proficient in QuickBooks and able to take ownership of bookkeeping activities with minimal training.

As more accounting activities transition from an external finance provider to the internal team, this role will have an opportunity to take on greater ownership of the company's financial operations.

What you’ll do

Bookkeeping & Financial Operations

• Manage day-to-day bookkeeping activities across the organization's businesses.
• Maintain accurate and organized financial records in QuickBooks.
• Record revenues, expenses, transactions, and other accounting activities.
• Support month-end activities, reconciliations, journal entries, and financial record maintenance.
• Help transition additional bookkeeping activities from the external accounting firm to the internal team.
• Identify discrepancies, resolve accounting issues, and maintain accurate records.

Accounts Receivable & Student Accounts

• Manage invoicing and collection activities for private school and tutoring services.
• Monitor outstanding balances and follow up on declined, missed, or overdue payments.
• Process payment arrangements and account adjustments within established guidelines.
• Maintain accurate student financial records and payment information.
• Communicate professionally with parents and guardians regarding payments, balances, and account concerns.
• Coordinate payment schedules and resolve account‑related questions.

Payroll Support

• Prepare payroll information for salaried and hourly employees.
• Review and consolidate employee hours and applicable pay rates.
• Export timekeeping data from the company's CRM and organize and validate the information in Excel.
• Prepare finalized payroll data for submission into the company's third‑party payroll system.
• Maintain accurate payroll records and supporting documentation.

Operations & Administrative Support

• Provide day‑to‑day operational and administrative support to the Controller/Operations Manager.
• Assist with HR‑related administrative tasks and employee records.
• Maintain spreadsheets, reports, documentation, and other operational records.
• Support processes across private school, tutoring, online education, and consulting operations.
• Coordinate information across multiple companies and business functions.
• Assist with special projects and process improvements as needed.

Process & Technology Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve bookkeeping, administrative, and operational workflows.
• Support the team's continued adoption of cloud‑based tools and AI‑enabled processes.
• Use tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, or similar AI platforms to improve efficiency, documentation, and workflow automation.
• Adapt quickly as processes and systems evolve.

What You Bring

• 3-5+ years of hands‑on bookkeeping experience or equivalent relevant experience.
• Strong and practical experience using QuickBooks; QuickBooks Online experience is highly preferred.
• Ability to independently manage core bookkeeping activities with minimal supervision.
• Strong Excel skills, including VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, and other intermediate‑to‑advanced functions.
• Experience with accounts receivable, invoicing, payment processing, reconciliations, and financial records.
• Experience preparing payroll data or supporting payroll processing is preferred.
• Strong attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple priorities across different business functions.
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills.
• Comfortable communicating professionally with parents, employees, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
• Able to work independently while maintaining close collaboration with the Operations Manager/Controller.
• Comfortable working across multiple systems, companies, and processes.
• Familiarity with AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar platforms is a plus.
• Education or school‑industry experience is not required; strong bookkeeping experience is the priority.

Our Hiring Process & AI Disclaimer

We use AI tools to streamline our application process—including an initial conversation with an AI Interviewer. All hiring decisions are made entirely by humans: our Talent Acquisition team guides your full candidate journey and makes all evaluation decisions.

You are welcome to use AI for CV refinement and research, but real‑time AI assistance during interviews or skill assessments is strictly prohibited to ensure an authentic evaluation.

What You’ll Get

• Meaningful work & Growth: We take every opportunity to stretch ourselves and deliver an excellent client experience.
• Employee as our biggest asset: We are genuinely invested in our people’s career and welfare.
• Global reach & local impact: Get to work with high-growth startups and dynamic companies from the comfort of your own home.
• Powering global startups: We’ve created 1,400 Filipino jobs that empower global start-ups to focus on growth.