Financial Operations and Administrative Coordinator

Job Responsibility:

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Job Summary

Reporting to the Financial Manager, the Financial Operations and Administrative Coordinator supports the day-to-day financial operations by performing various financial administration duties for the Department of Medicine, and its Divisions and Training Programs. The Department of Medicine is the largest clinical department within Queen's Health Sciences and encompasses 14 specialty divisions, 10 Royal College training programs, 130 faculty and 60 administrative staff. The Financial Operations Coordinator carries out these duties while collaborating with key stakeholders at Queen's University, Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization (SEAMO) and the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. The incumbent will serve an important customer service function for the departmental executive leadership team, Division Chairs and Program Directors, and provides advice on the financial administration of the department. The Financial Operations and Administrative Coordinator will participate on key departmental committees such as the Departmental Advisory Committee and the Resources Committee. The Financial Operations and Administrative Coordinator must function with an exceptional level of accuracy, confidentiality, judgement, and efficiency in a fast-paced and high-volume environment with tight timelines. The incumbent is expected to act with initiative, make decisions independently, work collectively and consult with other staff as required. This position will identify solutions to problems, and opportunities for increased efficiencies and enhanced reporting and methodologies.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Plan and coordinate financial related processes for the department. This includes but is not limited to providing financial verification letters to staff and faculty, and processing maternity, paternity, and sick leave financial documents for the Human Resources team.
• Coordinate the complete financial onboarding process for all new full-time faculty members, including providing advice and responding to queries surrounding the complex departmental compensation scheme for physicians and overhead costs that physicians are responsible for.
• Coordinate the financial administrative process for setting up physician corporations in the payroll system.
• Responsible for supporting the administration, planning and day-to-day financial operations for the Translational Institute of Medicine (TIME).
• Responsible for supporting the administration, planning and day-to-day financial operations for the Translational Medicine Graduate Program.
• Acts as a primary contact and liaison to Division Chairs and Program Directors on the financial administration of budgets and accounts.
• Coordinates all financial aspects of required new staff training and onboarding. Contributes to the development of training materials and/or provides or participates in training delivery.
• Provides guidance and instruction to program and divisional assistants on financial procedures, including but not limited to how to follow proper Queen's processes for all types of purchases. Act as a resource for all faculty members and Principal Investigators to provide guidance and advice on the policies and procedures for their professional remuneration and research project accounts and answer any administrative financial process inquiries.
• Provide recommendations to the departmental administrative senior staff to identify solutions to problems, and opportunities for efficiencies and enhanced reporting and methodologies in the financial portfolio while tracking solutions to ensure issues are resolved. Reconcile month-end Procurement Card online. Allocate credit card transactions to the correct accounts, verify HST and releases transactions to Financial Services; ensure all departmental credit card holders submit month-end credit card statements with supporting documentation for each transaction for audit purposes.
• Proactively inform Senior Staff of potential challenges and problems based on inquiries received.
• Assists set up of endowment and expendable trust accounts with donors and advancement, and acts as a resource for trust and endowment accounts.
• Proactively work with the relevant Divisions to ensure that trust and endowment accounts are being utilized appropriately and effectively on an annual basis to meet desired advancement goals. Monthly monitoring and report generation of advancement and endowment accounts.
• Provides support to faculty with the financial administrative process associated with the University Hospital Kingston Foundation funds.
• Proactively work with Divisions to ensure effective and regular use of Divisional accounts.
• Monthly monitoring of billing summary reports for each Division. Work with relevant Division Chairs as issues arise and follow up with individual faculty and SEAMO colleagues as needed.
• Provide back up support for the other team members who also support the finance portfolio of the department. This includes but is not limited to departmental locum orientation and tracking, termination notices, and monthly report distribution.
• Maintain files and records in line with records retention requirements.
• Undertakes other duties as required in support of the department.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor of Commerce and/or Business Administration
• Several years (minimum 5+) experience of financial administration and administrative experience in an organizationally relevant environment, preferably in a health science setting.
• Demonstrated knowledge of standard accounting practices and account administration experience.
• Knowledge and experience of university structure, financial and administrative systems (i.e., PeopleSoft, FAST, acQuire, ERS), policies and procedures considered an asset.
• Demonstrated proficiency of Microsoft Excel.
• Promotes diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
• Satisfactory Criminal Records Check required.
• Consideration may be given to an equivalent combination of education and experience.

SPECIAL SKILLS:

• Strong project management, organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to work well under pressure and accommodate and manage shifting priorities and diverse demands. Ability to multi-task is essential.
• Excellent organizational and planning abilities. Sense of responsibility and superior attention to detail.
• Ability to ensure that recommendations and solutions are appropriate and that issues are resolved in a timely manner.
• Ensure that issues are escalated appropriately as needed.
• Ability to take initiative and responsibility for projects from beginning to completion with little supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including a high degree of diplomacy and confidentiality, with the ability to interact professionally with a diverse range of individuals and at all levels.
• Extensive knowledge of university structure, academic regulations, policies, procedures and financial/administrative systems and the collective agreements.
• Ability to generate financial reports from financial accounting systems.
• Ability to draft policies/proposals, present reports/findings.
• High degree of initiative and ability to work independently. Proven ability to maintain confidentiality with highly sensitive data.
• Ability to work with complex software and run a wide range of queries with a corresponding ability to interpret the results.
• Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills.
• Outstanding attention to detail.
• Investigative, research, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent judgment and discretion when making decisions and recommendations about the financial administration of the department.
• Flexibility in working hours to accommodate fluxes in the financial cycle.

DECISION MAKING:

• Make daily financial operation decisions and resolve related problems within guidelines.
• Sound judgment in decision-making, including resolving account and administrative problems as they arise, referring only very unusual issues to senior staff.
• Find solutions to unanticipated problems; decide whether complexity of the problem warrants the involvement of more senior staff.
• Prioritize time and duties to ensure that work is completed in a timely fashion to ensure deadlines are met.
• Recommend new procedures and changes to existing procedures as deemed necessary.
• Ability to provide solutions and recommendations in meetings with individual faculty members, committee members or senior management.
• Assess employees' financial training needs and make recommendations for internal or external financial training to attain proficiency.
• Ability to decipher multiple accounts and direct revenue and expenses.
• Interpret and apply financial policy and procedures as appropriate, within appropriate external guidelines and Queen's University guidelines.
• Makes recommendations regarding the departmental budget and finances.
• Recommend new procedures and changes to existing procedures in order to positively impact the department's operations, meet internal and external audit requirements, and to mitigate both financial and legal risk to the Department.

Employment Equity and Accessibility Statement

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Queen's is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, visible minorities, Aboriginal Peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The University provides support in its recruitment processes to applicants with disabilities, including accommodation that takes into account an applicant's accessibility needs. Candidates requiring accommodation during the recruitment process are asked to contact Human Resources at View email address on ca.edajobs.com.