Position Title: Associate Dean for Finance and Administration
Department: Finance and Administration
Reports to: CEO and Dean
Exemption: Exempt
Location: North Naples, Florida
Ave Maria School of Law is more than just a place to work; we are an institution dedicated to training the next generation of lawyers in the Catholic intellectual tradition. It is a place where you will feel good about devoting your time and talents.
Overview:
Reporting to the CEO and Dean, the Associate Dean for Finance and Administration is a strategic partner in organizational planning and decision-making across key areas of the law school. In addition to leading the fiscal management of the organization, the Associate Dean will supervise auxiliary services such as the campus bookstore and campus security. The Associate Dean will lead the law school’s efforts to collect and analyze organizational financial data that informs critical organizational priorities and manages financial reporting.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
· Prepare an annual budget of approximately $21 million for approval by the Board of Governors. Project revenue by modeling enrollment, tuition, and attrition. Meet with each cost center manager along with CEO and Dean to review prior year activity and plans for the coming fiscal year. Prepare budget document for Board; update Sage with budget, accounting for projected expense fluctuations to increase reliability of YTD reports.
· Plan, communicate and lead budget planning process to align financial resources with strategic organizational objectives to ensure profitability, efficiency, and cash flow stability. Establish planning process for forecasting accuracy, controlling costs, and mitigating risks through collaborative agile planning.
· Provide information to Comptroller for preparation of monthly financial statements to include payroll reports, bank transactions, quarterly inventory reports, and investment statements. Analyze financial reports to identify issues and trends. Respond to variance questions from the Comptroller. Provide quarterly internal financial reports and annual audited financial statements to bank.
· Manage institutional bank accounts and serve as authorized signer. Monitor bank activity to maintain appropriate balances. Maximize interest earnings through high yield savings or CDs and impact on cash flow. Identify and transmit deposits that need to be processed by Development or Student Accounts.
· Manage institutional investment accounts for endowed funds. Transmit funds to be invested and create new investment accounts. Provide balances of available funds and request release of those funds as they are used in accordance with the terms of the endowment.
· Coordinate with Development regarding donated stock and authorize its sale.
· Monitor student account balances and collection activities. Prepare annual student debt reserve and authorize write off uncollectible accounts.
· Serve as authorized individual to draw funds from the Department of Education for student loan and federal work study. Calculate reimbursement amount due for federal work study and monitor fund balance. Provide annual work study receivable schedule for Comptroller.
· Serve as Trustee for 403B Retirement Accounts along with Human Resources Director. Participate in an annual meeting to review activities and assist with production of documents for annual audit. Authorize bi-weekly payroll contribution files in Empower.
· Manage portfolio of insurance coverages. Meet with agent along with CEO and Dean to review proposed coverages. Complete applications for various lines of coverage and make payment arrangements. File claims, as necessary.
· Participate in annual employee benefit meetings with Human Resources Director, CEO and Dean, and insurance agency. Understand prior year experience with claims and review recommendations for premium cost sharing within budget constraints.
· Process payroll in the absence of the Human Resources Director. Manage payment of all employee benefit premiums to protect employee privacy.
· Serve as the Registered Agent for the Law School for the State of Florida. Ensure annual reports are filed and accept subpoenas. Ensure county business license is renewed annually.
· Prepare information and analysis needed by auditors to support preparation of annual Audited Financial Statements and Single Audit Act Compliance, including fixed asset review, square footage allocations, flex spending account balances, housing deposits at end of fiscal year, deferred faculty salaries, vacation accrual indebtedness, tuition and fee deferrals, prepaid expenses, related party contributions, and benefit allocations by department. Analyze restricted funds and authorize releases as appropriate. Respond to auditor requests during fieldwork for audit selections to verify tuition income, payments, and bank transactions. Authorize confirms of investment, banking, and legal activities. Minimize audit costs through establishing and meeting deadlines. Ensure completed statements are timely uploaded to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.
· Complete annual submission of financial information to the Department of Education through EZ-Audit, uploading documents and providing detailed financial data by required deadline.
· Manage preparation of annual 990 tax filing, answering compliance questions, calculating employee compensation, preparing schedules of contributions, non-cash contributions, endowments, and fundraising activities.
· Ensure that 1098T and 1099 tax forms are completed and distributed by required deadlines.
· Prepare annual filing of financial data to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) by required deadline, drawing upon data from the audited financial statements and calculating expenses across functional categories.
· Prepare a Registration, Billing, Disbursement, and Loan Processing Schedule for each semester to facilitate coordination between these various departments and enable smooth operations.
· Serve as Primary Designated School Official for the Department of Homeland Security, meeting with the liaison official and filing required renewal applications. While primary processing for international students resides with the Registrar, it is important to have redundancy in the event of employee turnover.
· Serve as authorized school official for Veteran’s Certifications using the VA Educational Platform, ensuring continuity in the event of employee turnover. Ensure certifications for veteran enrollment and tuition and fees are made in a timely manner and that funds are received and applied to veteran student accounts.
· Manage Auxiliary Services including the bookstore and café operation to enhance the student experience on campus beyond the classroom. Monitor Bookstore sales and work with manager to plan merchandizing. Ensure book orders are timely submitted to on-line bookstore vendor. Coordinate with departments to provide a resource for branded gifts. Calculate and pay monthly sales taxes to the State of Florida. Work with outside vendor to provide a self-service café.
· Coordinate with school attorneys to ensure that trademarks are registered, providing examples of usage and merchandise as required.
· Serve as point of contact for Tuition Exchange, approving export applications for current employees and coordinating with Admissions to approve import applications for accepted students. If an import application is approved and the student enrolls, coordinate with student accounts for tuition waiver for each semester of enrollment.
· Manage campus security and emergency response. Ensure all campus community members are enrolled in E2Campus, our emergency notification system. Monitor hurricane activity and coordinate response and messaging. Serve on Threat Assessment Team. Meet regularly with contracted security supervisor and respond to concerns or suggestions to improve campus safety. Collect local crime information and file annual Campus Safety and Security Survey with the federal government by required deadline. Ensure updated reports are published on the campus website.
· Monitor enterprise software’s impact on the compilation of data needed to perform financial and data reporting functions to ensure its implementation supports institutional requirements.
· Hire, train, and supervise finance and administration department staff and receptionists. Conduct appropriate annual and semi-annual performance evaluations.
· Other duties as assigned by the CEO and Dean. This job description is not intended to be all inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties to meet evolving and ongoing needs of the department and institution.
Job Qualifications:
Required:
· Master’s business administration with a concentration in finance.
· Prior experience in higher education administration and or Finance leadership role, minimum 8 years of experience.
· Prior experience with accreditation and other institutional reporting requirements.
· Knowledge of accounting principles and budgeting techniques.
· Must have ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with government and accreditation agency officials, faculty, staff, and students.
· Must have excellent interpersonal skills; be flexible, creative and a good communicator; and demonstrate an ability to achieve goals and meet customer service standards.
· Must be willing to maintain professional and technical expertise through continuing education and membership in professional organizations.
· Must exercise excellent judgment and discretion regarding sensitive personal and financial information.
· Must be proficient in Microsoft Office products, specifically Excel and Word, and experienced with database applications.
· Must be able to analyze, assess, provide insights, and identify trends and propose business strategy, plans and options going forward.
· Knowledge of business and management principles.
· Ability to direct, manage, implement, and evaluate department operations.
· Ability to establish department goals and objectives that support the strategic plan.
· Ability to effectively plan, delegate and/or supervise the work of others.
· Ability to lead, motivate, develop, and train others.
· Commitment to the Law School’s core values and mission.
Desired:
· Experience with Sage (finance software) and Student Information Systems.
· Excellent Microsoft Office 365 skills (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and the ability to become proficient in Teams/Zoom.
· Experience in law school administration and higher education.
Job Type: Fulltime salary position, year-round.
Salary Range: $150K- $180K, based on relevant experience and education.
Benefits: All Ave Maria School of Law Benefits eligible immediately
Ave Maria School of Law recognizes the inherent value and dignity of all members of the human family. It values equal opportunity and seeks racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity. The Law School does not preclude admission or retention of students or employees on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, military status, or status as a veteran or disabled veteran. The Law School maintains its Catholic character but is open to persons of all religious faiths who respect the goals of Ave Maria School of Law and whose conduct does not undermine the Law School’s religious goals or compromise its Catholic identity.
Pay: $150,000.00 - $180,000.00 per year
Application Question(s):
- Do you have an MBA in Finance?
- Do you have Higher Education Experience?
Education:
Experience:
- Finance: 8 years (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
