Financial Support Specialist

Occidental College; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 28,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Occidental College is seeking a Financial Support Specialist in Facilities Management to provide primary financial and administrative support for the department. The role manages capital projects and operating expenses from contract initiation through closeout, develops dashboards, monitors variances, and ensures compliance with institutional policies.

You will coordinate budget tracking, invoicing, vendor onboarding, and audit readiness, while supporting asset capitalization and tax compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance or Accounting or related field to position duties or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Two years of experience in business operations, financial analysis, or project accounting.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), including advanced Excel functions such as pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and conditional formatting; Google Workspace (Drive, Folders, Forms); Adobe Acrobat; and other productivity tools applicable to position responsibilities.
• Familiarity with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and ability to learn College-specific procurement, contracting, bidding, and invoicing systems.
• Demonstrated ability to be detail-oriented and thorough; skilled at anticipating, identifying, and preventing potential problems, including auditing invoices against contracts to ensure accuracy and payment only for verified work completed.
• Strong commitment to producing high-quality, precise work in a high-volume, high-accountability environment.
• Basic understanding of construction financial concepts including Schedule of Values, retainage, lien waivers, and the distinction between hard and soft construction costs.
• Familiarity with professional service agreements and AIA contract documents, as well as basic GAAP principles as they apply to capital projects and asset capitalization.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize raw financial data into clear, concise reports, dashboards, and short summaries for executive leadership.

Responsibilities

• Maintain real-time "Actual vs. Budget" logs for all active capital projects and operations expenses; report variances or burn rate concerns to Project Managers.
• Facilitate routing and execution of professional service agreements and construction contracts; ensure all legal and insurance requirements are met before work commences.
• Serve as the primary contact for vendor onboarding and procurement inquiries within the College's ERP system; assist in RFPs and bid tabulations.
• Review, audit, and validate "Applications for Payment" from contractors to ensure alignment with schedules, terms, and project progress, and maintain audit trails.

Skills

Budget forecasting

Financial analysis

Contract administration

Vendor onboarding

Invoicing

Stakeholder communication

Audit readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance or Accounting

Tools

Excel

Pivot tables

VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP

Google Workspace

ERP systems

Adobe Acrobat

Job description

Title: Financial Support Specialist

Department: Facilities Management

Duration:Indefinite

Employment Status: Non-Exempt, Full-Time, 40 hours per week

Job Summary

Reporting to the Accounting Manager, Facilities, the Financial Support Specialist serves as the primary financial and administrative support for the Department, managing facilities capital projects and operational expenses from contract initiation through closeout. The Financial Support Specialist oversees budget tracking, forecasting, contract administration, procurement support, and invoicing to ensure projects remain fiscally sound and compliant with institutional policies. The Specialist develops financial reports and dashboards, monitors variances, supports bidding and vendor onboarding, and ensures accuracy and compliance in payment processing and project documentation. Acting as a point of contact with internal stakeholders, the Specialist supports audit readiness, asset capitalization, and process improvements to enhance departmental efficiency.

Job Duties

• 30% - Financial Management - Maintain real-time "Actual vs. Budget" logs for all active capital projects and operations expenses as assigned. Identify and report potential variances or "burn rate" concerns to Project Managers. Assist the AVP of Facilities and Accounting Manager in cash-flow forecasting and year-end financial closing activities. Update monthly financial dashboards and reports to visualize project spending and contingency reserves. - (Essential)
• 30% - Contract, Procurement & Financial Administration - Facilitate the routing and execution of professional service agreements and construction contracts (AIA documents); ensure all legal and insurance requirements (COIs) are met before work commences. Serve as the primary point of contact for vendor onboarding and procurement inquiries within the College's ERP system. Assist in the preparation of Request for Proposals (RFPs) and the tabulation of competitive bids. - (Essential)
• 30% - Invoicing & Documentation - Review, audit, and validate "Applications for Payment" from contractors and consultants to ensure billed amounts align with the approved Schedule of Values, contract terms, and project progress. Identify discrepancies and coordinate resolution with project teams. Assist with the collection and verification of unconditional lien waivers and closeout documentation, ensuring adherence to contractual requirements and institutional financial controls prior to final payment. Maintain comprehensive, well-organized project financial records, ensuring a clear audit trail to support accurate financial reporting, compliance reviews, and capital expenditure tracking. - (Essential)
• 10% - Operational Support - Serve as a point of contact with the Business Office, preparing and validating documentation for asset capitalization, financial reporting, and tax compliance related to capital expenditures. Other duties as assigned. - (Essential)

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance or Accounting or related field to position duties or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Two years of experience in business operations, financial analysis, or project accounting.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), including advanced Excel functions such as pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and conditional formatting; Google Workspace (Drive, Folders, Forms); Adobe Acrobat; and other productivity tools applicable to position responsibilities.
• Familiarity with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and ability to learn College-specific procurement, contracting, bidding, and invoicing systems.
• Demonstrated ability to be detail-oriented and thorough; skilled at anticipating, identifying, and preventing potential problems, including auditing invoices against contracts to ensure accuracy and payment only for verified work completed.
• Strong commitment to producing high-quality, precise work in a high-volume, high-accountability environment.
• Basic understanding of construction financial concepts including Schedule of Values, retainage, lien waivers, and the distinction between hard and soft construction costs.
• Familiarity with professional service agreements and AIA (American Institute of Architects) contract documents, as well as basic GAAP principles as they apply to capital projects and asset capitalization.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize raw financial data into clear, concise reports, dashboards, and “at-a-glance” summaries for executive leadership, and to identify spending trends or risks to proactively alert leadership to potential budget overruns.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to effectively collaborate and communicate with diverse stakeholders including contractors, project managers, and senior institutional leadership such as the Business Office and CFO.
• Effective interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to work across functions, disciplines, and organizational levels in a collaborative environment, including managing financial workflows across multiple concurrent capital projects at varying stages of completion.
• Ability to adapt and perform effectively in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment with shifting priorities due to construction schedules, project delays, or emergency repairs, while maintaining strong organization, time management, and planning skills.
• Ability to self-motivate, work independently, and maintain a high level of organization and productivity while managing competing priorities.
• Ability to provide informal leadership, training, and guidance to stakeholders on financial processes and documentation requirements, ensuring compliance and consistency across project workflows.

Preferred Qualifications

• Coursework or background in accounting or project/financial management.
• Prior experience working within a college, university, or non-profit environment, specifically understanding fund accounting and restricted capital budgets.

EXPECTED HIRING RANGE: $20.19/hr-$28.37/hr

If you are offered this position at Occidental College, your final base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills, education, experience, and/or geographic location. In addition to those factors, Occidental complies with applicable pay equity laws and considers internal equity among current employees when developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the base salary range for the role. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a generous compensation and benefits package.