Financial Data Specialist

Chester County Intermediate Unit; Downingtown (Chester County); On-site; USD 62,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

The Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) is seeking a Financial Data Specialist to support the Student Services Division with budgeting, financial reporting, and billing systems. This role provides data analysis, prepares reports for the Budget Coordinator and program supervisors, and serves as a liaison to district and charter school partners.

Located at the Educational Service Center in Downingtown, PA, the position emphasizes confidentiality, accuracy, and teamwork within the Business

Qualifications

• Experience with budgeting and financial reporting for education programs.
• Ability to analyze financial data and present concise reports.
• Familiarity with confidential payroll information and sensitive tasks.

Responsibilities

• Extract monthly financial data from the accounting system and assemble reports for review.
• Prepare and analyze reports for grants, pricing, and program finances.
• Create charts/graphs to summarize Student Services finances for staff.
• Manage SSR system administration and billings for districts and agencies.
• Coordinate annual budget processes and maintain budget status reports.
• Support staff with Excel spreadsheets and budget record keeping.

Skills

Budgeting

Data analysis

Communication

Confidentiality

Education

Bachelor's Degree in related field

High School Diploma

Tools

Excel

Microsoft Office

Job description

A vacancy exists for a Financial Data Specialist within the CCIU's Division of Student Services. This position will be located at the Educational Service Center in Downingtown, PA.

Are you motivated to create brighter futures for students, families, and the entire community? If so, we want you on Team CCIU! At the CCIU, we pride ourselves on the creativity, dedication, and collaborative spirit that our employees bring to their work every day, and we know that achieving success together takes a team approach!

Summary

This project staff Financial Data Specialist position provides administrative and financial data support to the Budget Coordinator, Student Services Directors, Assistant Directors, Supervisors, and the Business Office for budget and financial operations of the Student Services Division. This position supports the budget processes, billing, cyclical reporting, and the organization and analysis of financial data for the Division. This position retrieves, organizes, and analyzes all student services financial reports. This position is responsible for support to special education supervisors and secretaries in the distribution and use of financial data relating to each program. The position prepares, analyzes, and monitors billing of special requests for student services from districts and charter schools. This position monitors and troubleshoots problems related to the electronic Student Services Request (SSR) system. This position provides support to staff in the areas of expenditure assignments and tracking, billing procedures and systems, and general budget information. This position is knowledgeable about data sources and utilizes this knowledge to extract and analyze raw data and create summary and special reports for special education supervisors, assistant directors, and the director. This individual is an effective liaison between the supervisor, Student Services staff, other IU departments, school district personnel, provider agencies, and independent contractors. Responsibilities involve knowledge of confidential payroll information and handling sensitive tasks in a confidential manner while exercising independent decision-making.

Essential Job Responsibilities

FINANCIAL REPORTING

• Extract financial information from the CCIU accounting system monthly and assemble into report format for review by budget coordinator. Identify unusual expenditures and research to provide information and collaborate with SS Supervisors in developing further courses of action.
• Prepare monthly financial reports for grant and marketplace programs. Develop charts to assist SS supervisors in analyzing their program finances. Identify unusual expenditures and research to provide information to program supervisors.
• Compile and organize data into charts and graphs to provide concise information on Student Services finances and other applicable subjects.
• Execute and track personnel payroll ASN changes to maintain budget integrity throughout the year. Pull ADP reports for Student Services employees on a monthly basis, verify completion of recently requested ASN changes, and identify incorrect ASNs. Prepare ASN change forms as needed based on this research.
• Interact with the Business Office to obtain detailed information and convert the data into customized reports for special education supervisors, assistant directors, and the director.
• Serve as liaison for Budget Coordinator and maintain excellent working relationships with directors, accountants, supervisors and secretaries in Business Office and Student Services.

SPECIAL PROJECTS & BILLING

• Serve as the administrator for the SSR system in Filemaker. Troubleshoot problems from both customers and secretaries preparing new agreements. Develop and propose changes to SSR system to facilitate efficiency and improved customer service to districts and charters.
• Create Requests for Student Services (SSRs) and Scopes of Work (SOWs) for all services and agreements that utilize negotiated pricing for districts and agencies within and outside of Chester County; distribute to districts and agencies; track accuracy during the quarterly billing process; liaison between the business office and the program supervisor to maintain a comprehensive revenue stream as services are provided and completed.
• Conduct research, gather, and analyze information regarding Student Services billing, revenue, expenditures and other related financial data.
• Disseminate billing information, reports and materials to Student Services and other departments as directed by Budget Coordinator.
• Monitor internal billing process for employee sharing between Student Services programs. Train secretaries and supervisors on existing and new procedures; track invoicing and revenue to the appropriate programs.
• Obtain employee benefit information from Human Resources for use by Budget Coordinator in and in developing special pricing for contracts and creating annual budgets for programs and grants.
• Prepare billing summary for each marking period and an annual summary at the end of each fiscal year. Prepare report to show comparison of billing for previous year to current year billing by marking period. Autopsy and rectify discrepancies and implement procedures to prevent reoccurrence and ensure accurate billing.
• Prepare special billing reports using raw data converted into a user-friendly and resourceful document.
• Develop costs and recommend pricing based on prior year and current data for negotiated pricing and distribute to supervisors, Assistant Division Directors, and directors to create and manage SSRs that are needed for the current year.

ANNUAL BUDGETING

• Assist program supervisors with revenue summaries for individual programs within Student Services for use in marketplace budget analysis and creation. Analyze and extract raw data from Student Services databases and Request for Invoicing database to include in summary.
• Schedule budget meetings and maintain budget status reports throughout the budgeting process.
• Enter budget data into the Business Office budget system. Maintain updates during the process. Identify cost behavior patterns for programs, capturing fixed and variable expenses. Work with the business office to add missing expenditure ASNs, maintaining consistent and accurate reporting.

STUDENT SERVICES DIVISION SUPPORT

• Obtain raw data reports from the Business Office to convert into customized reports for Special Education Supervisors, Assistant Directors, and the Director.
• Retrieve and analyze information from budgets, billing reports, student services requests, invoice requests, and expenditure reports and develop meaningful reports for special education administrators and supervisors.
• Provide support to secretaries in developing spreadsheets and working with all aspects of Excel to maximize technology use.
• Prepare annual Excel spreadsheets for Student Services program secretaries and supervisors using current budget information and post to e SharePoint/Teams to enable secretaries and supervisors to accurately track expenditures such as supplies, travel, conference travel and miscellaneous. Assist secretaries with entry of expenditures and respond to specific questions regarding budget and expenditures.
• Provide support to staff in the areas of expenditure assignments and tracking, billing procedures and systems, and general budget information.
• Respond to budget inquiries from administrators, supervisors and secretaries regarding correct ASN
• Prepare, analyze, and present budget reviews for Student Services programs on behalf of the budget coordinator.
• Manage CRESS grant process by preparing and distributing applications and guidelines to SS staff. Create board budgets for awards and distribute the funds to the appropriate budgets. Monitor spending for CCRES grant budgets with assistance of staff accountant. Obtain financial and final reports required to collect the remaining 10% of grant award.
• Process MA district reimbursements.

BUDGET COORDINATOR OFFICE OPERATIONS

• Maintain and manage an electronic storage system for all data, financial reports, and other reports for access by supervisors.
• Handle confidential calls and inquiries, e-mail, mail, and correspondence.
• Provide instruction to CCIU and school district personnel on departmental procedures, systems, electronic programs, and resources.
• Prepare annual summary of total budgets by supervisor, including both marketplace and grant budgets for use by Division Directors.
• Coordinate, track, and participate in special projects and reports such as reevaluating rates for classrooms, staff assignments, and other programs within student services.
• Update skills related to new systems, procedures, technology and other topics as suggested to and by supervisor.
• Perform other duties as deemed necessary by the supervisor

Qualifications

• High school Diploma required, Bachelor's Degree in related field preferred
• Prior secretarial/clerical experience required; Budgeting and grant processing experience preferred
• High proficiency in Excel and other Microsoft Office products required
• Working knowledge of general accounting principles preferred
• Working knowledge of special education processes and procedures & school district operations preferred
• Proficiency/training in e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation software, databases, paperless initiative and electronic storage systems preferred

Professional Or Other Required Clearances

• Current police, child abuse, and FBI fingerprint clearances within 1 year required

Salary Range

Project, Level 13, $62,046 - $77,557/yr.

Placement Details

Placement on band is based on years of direct experience in a comparable role. 260 day position, 7.5 hours per day, 5 days per week

Equal Opportunity Employer

Chester County Intermediate Unit is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Chester County Intermediate Unit ensures equal employment opportunities regardless of race, creed, gender, color, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability. Chester County Intermediate Unit has a policy of active recruitment of qualified minority teachers and non-certified employees. Any individual needing assistance in making an application for any opening should contact the Department of Human Resources at 484-237-5085.