A) JOB SUMMARY
Under the general direction of the Executive Director of Finance, this position is responsible for the financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting processes in accordance with Public Sector Accounting Standards, Camosun College accounting policies, and statutory requirements. Working closely with the Vice President Administration & CFO, this position organizes and coordinates the annual process for the development of the College’s annual budget building exercise. The Director provides guidance to schools and departments as they develop program and project budgets, and advice to effectively manage the financial resources they are accountable for. The Director has responsibility for the Payroll, Benefits, and Employee Services units and provides leadership, technical advice and support to the Associate Director.
Providing advice to operational managers and recommending improvements to the Chief Financial Officer and/or the Executive Director, Finance related to financial reporting, internal controls, payroll, benefits, HR Operations, procurement and student registration processes to meet increased accountability is a key responsibility of the position.
B) REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS
Reporting to the Executive Director, Finance, the Director Financial Reporting and Budgets provides leadership to:
- Associate Director, Employee Services
- Accountants
- Financial Analyst (Camosun Foundation)
C) ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
Financial Reporting and Data Integrity
- Produces monthly and quarterly financial and management reports for the Board of Governors and the Ministry, accurately and on time. Ensures all reports are prepared in compliance with generally accepted accounting standards (GAAP), Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS) and other regulations applicable to B.C. public sector.
- Prepares other financial reports as required by the province of B.C., Canada Revenue Agency, Statistics Canada.
- Has ownership of all external client financial reporting, including research or other grantors/partners, and provides oversight to ensure integrity of reporting.
- Maintains the integrity of the College’s financial records and systems by monitoring all aspects of the College’s ERP software (Colleague) that impact Finance including Purchasing, Accounts Payable, General Ledger (Finance module), Accounts Receivable and Cash Receipts (Student module), and Payroll and HR Operations (HR module), as well as other integrated or related systems in use at the college.
- Develops financial models to assess viability and impact of new projects and initiatives in conjunction with schools and departments including research and revenue-generating activities.
- Develops and implements financial tools and/or systems that align the budgeting process with strategies, goals and objectives and assist schools and departments in monitoring key performance indicators.
- Monitors and analyzes actual financial results against approved and projected budgets for revenues and expenditures and reports any budget variances – and recommended actions to mitigate – to school and department managers.
- Leads the effective and efficient use of the College’s financial systems, which systematically and accurately records and reports financial transactions in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.
- Develops, utilizes and provides training on the financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting software (Axiom) to the Finance team members and other users in the College.
- Develops and maintains complex databases and financial modeling and analytical tools (Axiom budgeting, reporting, planning and forecasting software) and other college systems.
Budgeting and Planning
- Under the direction of the Vice President Administration & CFO, develops the College’s annual consolidated budget and multi-year forecasts and projections to meet College and other statutory reporting requirements
- Plans, communicates and oversees the budget building process including developing supporting processes and tools.
- Provides advice and guidance to support the development of specific operational and project/program budgets and business plans for the College’s schools and departments including research to identify solutions for budgetary, funding and other financial matters.
- Develops and implements new methods, policies and procedures to improve efficiencies, establish best practices and standardization for budgeting, financial management, and improved internal financial controls across the College.
- Develops, maintains and monitors position control system to ensure funding available for new hires and that the establishment of new positions comply with approved budget and related policies and procedures.
- Monitors regulatory and reporting requirements relating to budgets and forecasting and implements appropriate changes to procedures and processes to ensure compliance.
- Monitors and analyzes cash flow for forecasting and to provide information for budgeting decisions made by senior management.
- Develops, coordinates and/or provide training to the College community on tools and processes with respect to overall budget management.
- Interacts and consults with personnel from other post-secondary institutions, the Ministry and external parties regarding budget and funding issues.
Employee Services
- Ensures optimized support for collaborative and integrated delivery of payroll, benefits and HR operations, including all aspects of employee transaction processing and related records maintenance.
- Ensures appropriate systems, processes and procedures are in place to support the Human Resources department meet their service goals, as well as stakeholders across the college.
- Monitors services, processes and tools on a continuous basis to ensure alignment with client needs.
- Ensure continuous improvement in the employee life cycle operational processes of the College.
- Connects and collaborates with leaders in the post-secondary sector to understand leading operational practices and inform continuous improvement at the College.
Leadership and Administration
- Leads and supervises managers and unionized support staff including recruitment and selection, training, performance planning, evaluating, and performance management where appropriate.
- Provides training, training opportunities and guidance to direct reports to enable them to perform their job duties and stay current in their position.
- Directs professional development and continuous improvement in each of their direct reports.
- Establishes clear performance expectations for each direct report to ensure the realization of the strategic and operational objectives.
- Ensures that direct reports are appropriately adhering to policies and procedures and meet service excellence standards.
- Contributes to effective employee and labour relations by administering the collective agreement, representing management in the grievance process and consulting with Human Resources regarding collective agreement interpretation, as appropriate.
- Establishes annual performance goals in conjunction with the Executive Director, Finance; reports on progress against those objectives semi-annually and annually; conducts a parallel performance management process with own direct reports.
- Establishes a high personal standard of performance by actively participating in relevant education seminars and training programs.
- Recommends improvements to address changes in the risk environment arising from changes to both internal and external environments.
- Ensures best practices in operating the accounting functions of the department.
- Is a key participant in decisions involving ERP maintenance, upgrades, new module implementation, and future replacement projects. Also participates in needs identification, software evaluation, testing, and implementation.
- Makes recommendations to the Executive Director, Finance on policies, procedures, and processes in support of position accountabilities.
D) OTHER FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Research and recommend cost-effective, financial process improvements (with a focus on automation)
- Serve on various internal College committees and attend information and other sessions.
- Lead or participate in special projects, both within the Department and across the College, and participate on task force study teams as required.
- Lead presentations or training sessions on financial awareness topics for the College community.
- Act for the Executive Director or other Finance Managers during vacation and other absences.
- Performs other related duties, as assigned.
Qualifications
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree combined with a CPA designation, current and in good standing. Masters degree (MPAcc or MBA) is an asset.
- Minimum of seven years relevant experience at a mid to senior management level in financial reporting, budgeting, program costing, budget modeling and financial operations.
- Demonstrated expertise with computerized accounting, reporting and data management systems including developing and maintaining systems in an integrated computerized decentralized environment.
- Demonstrated proficiency in database management and spreadsheet applications.
- Experience in coordinating complex projects, including either leading or participating in multi-partnership initiatives.
- An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
Successful completion of a police information check is required.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
- Strong analytical and accounting skills related to Financial Administration and Systems.
- Comprehensive working knowledge of budgeting and forecasting technique as well as proficiency with financial statement analysis.
- Knowledge of post-secondary system college operations, or other public sector organizations, including business processes, revenue and cost components and drivers of these measurements, and compliance and other mandatory reporting applicable to a post-secondary institution.
- Thorough knowledge of the Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS), the College’s financial policies, procedures, Provincial Core Policies and applicable provincial Acts and Regulations.
- Customer service focus by understanding the business from the customer’s perspective and by keeping in regular contact to understand business priorities and issues.
- Ability to multi-task, prioritize and organize to meet deadlines, and effectively develop, plan and undertake multiple projects simultaneously.
- Proven track record of effective team management and implementing change, resulting in improvements to service quality, staff productivity and systems efficiency. This experience in a unionized environment is desirable.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse group of Deans and Directors, Chairs and Managers, Faculty, Support Staff and college committees.
- Demonstrated interpersonal, supervisory and communication skills, both written and verbal.
- Demonstrated ability to work as part of a management team.
- Proven ability to exercise tact and diplomacy, confidentiality, and conflict resolution skills.
- Proven ability to deliver results under pressure, against time constraints and in a rapidly changing environment.
- Have an understanding of and respect for the diverse values and culture of a post-secondary environment.
- Ability to multi-task, prioritize and organize to meet deadlines, potentially developing, planning and undertaking multiple projects simultaneously.
- Effective presentation and group facilitation skills, including strong listening skills.
- Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and changing priorities while managing multiple projects and maintaining high levels of client service.
- Demonstrated ability to work between functional units within an organization and create strategic partnerships.
- Ability to use Microsoft software applications at an advanced level with strong, in-depth knowledge and application of Excel functions and formulas.
This posting closes on October 18, 2023.
Job Types: Permanent, Full-time
Salary: $78,085.09-$134,008.85 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Disability insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Vision care
- Work from home
Schedule:
Work Location: In person
