Special Assistant for Finance to the Executive Vice President

Part-Time position - Posted 12/18/2024

Position Summary

The Special Assistant for Finance to the Executive Vice President supports the Executive Vice President in the stewardship of the University’s financial resources with delegated authority in supervising critical financial functions of the University including accounting, purchasing, investments, and other related business matters. This is a halftime position with the potential to increase to fulltime depending on employee skillset and university needs. There is flexibility for some remote work within job functions.

Role qualifications

• Strong ability to work collaboratively with the senior leadership team and create goodwill with the University’s Board of Trustees, staff, faculty, parents, and students
• Goal-oriented with excellent analytical skills and accounting and finance knowledge, with the ability to confidently make decisions and recommendations to the Executive Vice President
• Ability to inspire, build morale and collaboratively lead projects
• Commitment to the Articles of Faith, Mission and Objectives of the University; desires to be a role model for students by demonstrating an active Christian faith in personal example and in work-related responsibilities

Position Responsibilities

• Sets goals and objectives and manages available resources to achieve objectives, without need for frequent follow up
• Supports the Executive Vice President in data analytics regarding financial resources necessary to support both short- and long-range planning
• Supports the Executive Vice President in overseeing excellent cross training among accounting and finance staff as well as documentation of institutional knowledge, processes and procedures
• Supervises budget preparation and leads staff in generating budget analytics and projections necessary to support the Executive Vice President and President’s Cabinet in budget decisions
• Monitors budget variance reports, advising Executive Vice President of projected discrepancies
• Supports the Executive Vice President in overseeing the institution’s accounts in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and oversees the preparation of financial statements and other financial reports for internal and external constituencies
• Supports the Executive Vice President in overseeing effective practices regarding investments, cash management, debt management, accounts receivable, and accounts payable
• Provides leadership in building morale and supporting the professional development of employees within Accounting and Finance
• Serves as an administrative staff liaison to the Finance, Facilities & Audit Committee and the Audit Subcommittee of the University’s Board of Trustees on matters related to accounting, finance and audit
• Supports the Executive Vice President in implementing policy and producing analytical material for the Endowment Committee of the University’s Board of Trustees
• Other duties as assigned

Required skills and experience 

• CPA or CMA preferred; with equivalent knowledge and experience in accounting and finance considered
• Strong communications skills, both oral and written
• Excellent problem-solving skills

Education

• Masters of Accountancy, Masters of Business Administration, or equivalent, preferred

Physical demands and work environment

• Physical demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to walk; stand; sit; use hands; reach with hands and arms; balance; stoop; talk and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Work environment: The noise level in the work environment is usually minimal.

The employee is expected to adhere to all University policies.

Diversity

JBU desires to increase the diversity of its faculty, staff, and students to honor how all humans are created in the image of God, to reflect better the diversity of the Kingdom of God, to further our Christian commitment to justice, and to increase the quality of our educational experience. JBU is pursuing the goal of teaching and working in an intercultural environment and encourages applications from people interested in serving a diverse body of students. For more information, visit our diversity webpage. 

About JBU

Information describing the university is available online.

Apply

To apply, please upload the following documents to the "Upload Your Documents" page:

1. Cover Letter
2. Your resume or CV
3. Staff Application (completed and signed)

Only complete materials will be reviewed. Applicants selected for an interview will be contacted by the university.

Contact information:

Office of Human Resources
John Brown University
2000 West University Street
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
Phone: 479.524.7197
e-mail: jobs@jbu.edu