Accounting Specialist, Norris University Center

Department: Norris University Center Admin

Salary/Grade: NEX/10

Norris University Center, located at 1999 Campus Drive, offers spaces, services and guidance for student learning, community engagement and belonging. It is home to dining options, meeting rooms as well as a bookstore, box office, bank, art gallery and more. Learn more about Northwestern's Norris University Center here: https://www.northwestern.edu/norris/index.html

Job Summary:

• Manages the Norris University Center Box Office, a unit within the Norris Business and Finance area
• Provides a variety of financial processing and accounting support to Norris units to ensure proper recording/reporting of sales as well as compliance with industry and professional standards, university policy and procedure, federal and state laws and other regulations.
• Using initiative and an intermediate knowledge of applicable skills, methods and practices, chooses appropriate alternatives from among pre-defined policies and procedures to complete routine work that involves standard problems and decisions.
• Provides administrative and/or clerical support, including limited AP/AR-related processing, to the broader Business and Finance area.
• Supervises Norris Box Office student employees

Pay Range: The pay range for the Accounting Specialist is $22.00 - $24.71 per hour, depending on experience, skills, and internal equity.

Principal Accountabilities:

Budget 10%

• Maintains, compiles and reviews data within spreadsheets and/or databases.
• Completes standard reconciliation procedures.
• Completes analysis and standard summary reports.
• Coordinates and/or provides information for annual salary review process.
• Completes functions/tasks associated with the annual budget open/close processes.
• Contributes to budget creation for the box office and ensures goals are met

Analysis, Statements and Reporting 10%

• Performs data entry in spreadsheets and/or databases.
• Completes standard, pre-defined analysis, reconciliation and/or summary reports.
• Records journal entries and creates reports
• Performs financial account reconciliations and transaction research

Transactions 30%

• Creates sales events and establishes business rules to be applied to related transactions
• Provides review and oversight of various types of financial transactions.
• Enters individual and/or summary of transactions into journals and/or general ledger or other NU enterprise system.
• Completes and maintains transactions in enterprise systems.
• Reviews, ensures approval, prepares, processes, reconciles and provides receipts (as appropriate) for transactions.
• Troubleshoots problems; performs vendor/account research as needed; obtains additional information from or provides instruction and guidance for customers/vendors; corrects or escalates.
• Performs vendor/account research as needed.
• Obtains additional information by phone, US- or e- mail from customers/vendors; corrects or escalates.
• Maintains Chart of Account lists.
• Prepares and delivers bank deposits.
• Enters information into database.

Administration 20%

• Provides excellent customer service, over the phone, by electronic communication, and in person, answering standard questions regarding status of requests, policies and procedures for processing transactions, and/or instructions for completing paperwork.
• Establishes/maintains customer relationship management protocols and standards for the box office staff as agents, for clients interested in selling admission or registrations to an event.
• Instructs and advises regarding options and appropriate courses of action and follows-up inquiries to ensure customer satisfaction.
• Serves as an escalation point for troubleshooting client/customer and systems issues.
• Works with the Assistant Director of Finance to encourage timely sales reconciliations and PCI-DSS compliance at Norris payment processing units.
• Completes other administrative and/or clerical activities such as filing, faxing, sorting, copying, organizing meetings; reserving AV equipment, etc.

Training 10%

• Provides training and support to box office student staff members

Supervision 20%

• Hires, supervises, and evaluates temporary, part-time NU student staff with Federal Work Study allocations.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High school diploma or the equivalent.
• 2 years accounting and/or bookkeeping or other relevant experience

Minimum Competencies:

• Excellent computer skills including proficiency in the use of spreadsheet, database and word processing software
• Familiarity with financial reporting

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and two years work experience in a leadership role within a customer service area and higher education/college union/student activities setting.
• High level of self-motivation and demonstrated capacity for independent judgment, planning, evaluation, and decision-making.
• Technical knowledge of ticketing software/platform, audio-visual equipment extremely helpful.
• Ability to establish and maintain professional relationships with student and professional staff, Division colleagues, and the University community.
• Experience with the following: accounting policies/procedures; accounts payable; accounts receivable; audit; balancing; bank deposits; budget; business continuity planning; cash receipt; chart and/or account coding; expense reimbursement; inventory; journal and/or ledger; payroll; purchase orders; recharge; reconciliation; reporting; transfer charges; treasury

Preferred Competencies:

• Communication - ability to communicate respectfully with students/ professional staff in order to resolve customer service issues, updates to Supervisor and feedback to student staff.
• Management - ability to manage student staff effectively, maintain a high level of professionalism as well as provide feedback.
• Service - employs an expansive definition of customer service such that attention to detail, establishing rapport and empathy, identifying needs, responsiveness, etc. are integrated within their role, interactions, collaborations, and supervision.
• Learning - promotes curiosity of process, improvement of procedures, and the learning and development necessary to bridge the two.

Benefits: At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness: Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth and Development: Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern's non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.