Financial Coordinator

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This position is being offered as a contract.

Term: 12 months

Job Description:

Primary Purpose

The Financial Coordinator (FC) provides support to the Financial Operations Manager (FOM) by monitoring financial activity within all areas of the Schoo,l including the Waterloo Eye Institute Clinic, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), Advanced Standing Optometry Preparatory Program (ASOPP), the Centre for Ocular Research and Education (CORE), Canadian Vision Imaging Centre (CVIC), and the Centre for Sight Enhancement (CSE). S/he is the first point of contact for faculty and staff in regard to research funding, personal reimbursement, Unit4 and WatProcure. The FC supports the FOM by contributing to financial project management, training and process documentation, financial reporting and reconciliations. The incumbent supports the FOM by ensuring compliance with financial management policies required for effective and efficient operations and all university financial policies and procedures.

Key Accountabilities

Financial Administration & Compliance

• Helps maintain the integrity of the School of Optometry’s Unit4 GL structure by reviewing invoices prior to submission to Finance and assessing appropriate account/work order/activity to which the expense is to be charged
• Review and submit weekly and special event POS deposits. Ensure that revenue and tax allocations are properly reported to Central Finance.
• Create and review journal entry transactions including interdepartmental billings and ensure compliance with University policies, applicable tax rules and expense transfer approvals.
• Supports CPD programs including the WEI Conference and Tradeshow, and various course offerings. Tracks sponsorship agreements, invoicing (creates & tracks) and enrollments of external attendees (through invoicing or Ecommerce) as required. Provides similar support for ASOPP.
• Leads the procurement process for the school providing WatProcure training, support and troubleshooting for faculty and staff. Ensure compliance with Policy 17 requirements.
• Concur reviewer for all Optometry units. Ensure that expense submissions are properly authorized and follow all relevant university and/or sponsor eligibility requirements and guidelines.
• Coordinate the documentation of financial processes and procedures within all units of the School.
• Participate in or lead the development of new and updated processes and procedures with regards to financial matters.
• Provides guidance to faculty members on university financial rules and policies as they relate to operating and research funds.
• Monitors FPER reimbursements and follows up with faculty at risk of missing deadlines.
• Unit4 and WatProcure Coder for the School, ASOPP and CORE.
• Assists Students with preparation of expense claims for travel and out-of-pocket expenses.

Financial Reporting

• Extract data from the Clinic Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system to support robust clinic reports and Key Performance Indicators and other reporting as required.
• Analysis of financial information and data from EMR and financial systems to support planning and decision making
• Prepares initial School and Clinic monthly financial reporting for review by the FOM.
• Tracks and reconciles Plant Operations charge outs and projects billed to the school. Follows up on any discrepancies.
• Create ad hoc reports as required.

Research Finance & Financial Project Management

• Perform financial analysis of WEI research centres (CORE and CVIC, etc.) projects and reporting for submission to the leadership team. These reports will be a combination of high-level org unit reports and individual project reports with a focus on profitability by partner and project.
• Develops and manages a calendar of CORE’s research project activities including organization of contracts and agreements, deliverables and end dates. Ensure that invoices are issued promptly when contract milestones are met.
• Liaise with Office of Research and WEI research centre leadership teams on outstanding payments, purchase orders, agreements and work order closures.
• Monitor spending levels on research project grants and provide the leadership team and PIs with information to manage their grants and any risks to the School.
• Support clinical research industry contracts from application through to final reporting as required. This support may include budget development through to expense tracking and reconciliation. Provide regular updates to clinical research steering committees.
• Assists PI in the preparation of research budgets for major contracts and research grants.

Clinic Financial Administration

Cross-trained with the Clinic Finance Manager in order to provide flexibility and coverage to clinic operations. Expected to assume the Clinic Finance Manager role on average one day per month, more often during peak vacation times. Such duties may include:

• Performing daily deposits and financial reconciliation/submission for both OHIP and non-OHIP revenue; monthly reconciliations, third party billing & internal charge outs.
• Addresses front end user errors and financial questions from clinic staff.
• Works towards becoming an expert in the EMR. Provides training and support on the finance module as required.
• Participate in internal audits and educational initiatives focused on financial matters
• Occasional Saturdays may be required.

General Duties

• Occasional support for events, and special projects
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Education

• College diploma or university degree, preferably in a business-related discipline or equivalent education and experience

Experience

• 3 years of related financial experience with a solid understanding of accounting principles and practices, preferably in an academic environment
• Prior experience in health care or in a regulated professional environment would be an asset
• Ability to manage multiple projects and responsibilities and to prioritize is critical
• Previous experience with in an electronic medical record system is an asset

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• MS Word - Intermediate
• Excel - Intermediate
• PowerPoint - Basic
• Other - SharePoint, Unit4, Concur, PowerBI and Microsoft Access are desirable
• Ability to communicate, both orally and in a written format, information at all levels of the organization is essential
• Ability to communicate financial information to both financial and non-financial audiences is required
• Tact, judgement and diplomacy are essential

Equity Statement

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 coordinated 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+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

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 hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.