Student Financial Services Senior Analyst
Location
Waterloo, ON | Canada
Job description
The incumbent works closely with the Manager, Student Financial Services and Finance Business Systems Analysts to ensure that there is operational support and collaborative project support for Student Financial Services. They will be expected to thoroughly understand financial systems, and are responsible for recommending process improvements to guide the team’s work. The incumbent also interacts with other University partners on process improvements and strategic initiatives. The incumbent will support accounting for and reporting of student revenue and receivables, acting as a functional expert in relation to the student information system.
Execute and support daily operations of the Student Financial Services team
- Apply business and system knowledge to ensure accurate assessment of tuition and fees
- Monitor processes related to tuition assessment, student registration, UHIP administration and payroll payment plans
- Monitor and ensure the quality of student account information (amounts billed, amounts owing) and adjustments in the student system
- Manage the termly batch refunding process on the student information system
- Prepare clearing transactions (examples include but not limited to payments and invoices for campus partners and external partners, annual write-offs)
- Advise Student Financial Services team on complex, non-routine transactions
- Use judgment in applying knowledge of University policies and procedures and other published guidelines to Student Financial Services business processes
- Identify, recommend and implement improvements in business processes with a focus on improving the efficiency of operations and the accuracy of results while maintaining appropriate internal controls
- Provide a high quality, consistent level of customer service to students, parents, campus partners and external partners
Apply functional system expertise
- Provides functional system analysis and project leadership in system development related to financial systems and integrations across the University while supporting major more complex business processes
- Collaborate with Finance, IST and other campus partners on system upgrades, including testing and ongoing maintenance of the student information system
- Proactively identifies opportunities to improve business processes and prepares systems requests, anticipating outcomes with potential financial implications
- Advise on business case development for new initiatives or enhancement of existing use of the student financial system
- Optimizes application of technology, business, and accounting with regards to finance/financial system to transform business processes & reporting
- Participate in projects within relevant deadlines
- Establish project priorities to ensure responsiveness to stakeholders’ requests including timelines and progress to completion
- Provides documentation to Finance management team and UW campus partners to support informed decision making
Leading and training the Student Financial Services team
- Provides functional day-to-day guidance and support to the Student Financial Services team
- Oversee and manage regular processes according to determined frequency
- Ensure all process documentation is created, complete, and updated regularly
- Identifies training needs for business-critical functions
- Supports team with regular system updates and changes that impact day-to-day workflow and responsibilities
- Oversees implementation of new systems, or policies/procedures as needed,
- Contributes to goal-setting and strategic planning for the department (with Manager and BSA)
- Supports Manager with hiring, training, and mentoring Student Financial Services team
- Supports achievement of Student Financial Services team members’ performance goals by promoting professional development and progression opportunities
- Leads the planning and coordination of cross-functional activities as needed
- Provides Manager with input into performance reviews of Student Financial Services team members
- Responds to escalated inquiries from Student Financial Services team as appropriate
Provide advice, training and direction on policies, procedures and best practices
- Keep current in advances in the industry and be familiar with new technology, using this knowledge to recommend improvements to existing processes
- Participate in working groups to understand and contribute to planning and decision-making
- Apply a strong understanding of tuition and student fee assessment to be able to provide advice to and respond to inquiries of team members, students and campus partners as required,
- Contributes to the development, improvement and promotion of strong internal financial controls to minimize risks
- Provide ongoing training and support to team members and campus partners on relevant processes and forms
- Provides strategic advice on initiatives for communications to students and campus partners
- Represents SFS at events and meetings as required
- Ensure effective and timely communication
- Refer changes in policies or procedures to the Manager, Student Financial Services
Accounting for and reporting of student revenue and receivables
- Account for and report on student revenue and receivables, which are material amounts in the University’s financial statements, as follows:
- Apply a strong understanding of system-based processes within the student information system to ensure that transactions originating in the student information system are processed and interfaced to the University’s financial system as expected
- Apply a strong understanding of the financial system, generally accepted accounting principles, and the University’s requirements for accounting for and reporting on student revenue and receivables to complete required accounting for student revenue and receivables
- Support team in the preparation of account reconciliations
- Review and analyze relevant account balances in the financial system and address discrepancies
- Respond to internal requests for financial information
- Address accounting requirements for the month-end and year end close processes, including responsibility to prepare specific year end working papers supporting the financial statement preparation
- University degree, courses in accounting, business, or information systems preferred
- Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation considered an asset
- Minimum 3 years’ experience in an accounting/finance related environment
- Experience in business/systems analysis and projects
- Experience in an enterprise-wide computerized student information system
- Experience in a not-for-profit and/or post-secondary environment preferred
- Demonstrated leadership and advising
- Conceptual thinker who is able to research, investigate, analyze and recommend current and potential changes to business processes
- Familiar with project management methodologies
- Demonstrated project management and leadership across multiple stakeholders
- Demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate
- Recognized as a team player who interacts respectfully and builds consensus
- Exceptional computer skills, eg MS Excel, Word
- Outstanding customer service skills
- Exceptional attention to detail
- Confident public speaker an asset
- High degree of discretion, judgment, tact and diplomacy
- Superb time management skills to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines
- Knowledge of FIPPA, AML, AODA, is an asset
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations .
The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.
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