NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE

GENERAL INFORMATION

JOB TITLE: Accounts Payable/ Office Assistant

DEPARTMENT: Business Office

POSTED DATE: 5/5/2022

FLSA STATUS: Non-Exempt

SUPERVISOR: Controller

STARTING SALARY: $17.06 Hourly

Grade 9 on the Staff Salary Schedule

Benefits: Excellent benefits package, including medical, dental, paid sick leave, retirement, and tuition benefits. For more details about benefits, go to https://www.nmc.edu/hr/.   Link to Regular Faculty & Staff Flexible Benefits Summary

 

POSITION SUMMARY

The position performs various accounting functions, including entering data into accounting system, such as accounts payable, billing and receivables journals, processing accounts payable, reconciling accounting records, customer service, administrative services, and mail processing.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Associate’s degree (Required)
• Between 1-2 years of related experience (Required)
• Associate’s degree in accounting/business (Preferred)
• Experience and skills in databases processing accounts payable (Preferred)
• Banner experience (Preferred)
• Customer Service Experience (Preferred)

 

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

_ (Critical)_ Assists with reviewing and processing invoices, codes expenses, prepares accounts payable checks, ensures proper approvals, and issues checks for payment.

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(Critical) Reconciles vendor statements and responds to vendors' inquiries regarding accounts payable.

_ _

(Critical) Processes student payments and refunds for classes, transcripts, graduation, housing, flight fees, parking, etc.

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(Critical) Responds to employee, vendor and student questions and refers as appropriate.

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(Critical) Provide administrative support to the department including sorting incoming and outgoing mail, filing, answer phones, accepting and processing credit card payment over the phone, and ordering supplies.

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(Critical) Special projects as needed.

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(Critical) Balance and proof accounts payable Banner reports and track on Excel.

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(Very Important) Records and maintains financial data, and prepares reports.

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(Very Important) Prepares journal entries as needed.

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(Very Important) Assists in developing and maintaining Accounting policies and procedures.

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(Very Important) Assist Lead Bookkeeper with invoice payments on Accounts Receivable receipts._ _

 

FOUNDATIONAL COMPETENCIES

ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND INTEGRITY Displays honesty, trustworthiness, and ethical behavior. Earns respect. Behaves in a straightforward manner with others with no hidden agendas. Builds trust and credibility through reliability and authenticity. Leads by example; words and actions are consistently aligned.

COMMITMENT TO LIFELONG LEARNING

Actively pursues learning and development. Stays current in content area, acquiring and refining technical and professional skills.

COMMITMENT TO QUALITY SERVICE, RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Displays a commitment to excellence and to providing quality service to learners, coworkers, or others they serve. Consistently seeks feedback and looks for ways to improve service, promote quality, and make effective use of college resources.

CREATING/CONTRIBUTING TO A CULTURE OF INNOVATION AND THOUGHTFUL RISK-TAKING

Creates/contributes to an environment of safety and trust. Seeks to solve problems rather than affix blame. Willing to experiment and learn.

AGILITY/ ADAPTABILITY/TOLERANCE FOR AMBIGUITY

Easily adjusts to organizational and environmental changes; adapts responses and tactics to shifting or evolving situations; deals effectively with ambiguity and uncertainty.

 

VALUING ALL PEOPLE

Genuinely interested in others. Shows concern and empathy for others. Shows patience, understanding, and acceptance of people with varied backgrounds and perspectives. Treats learners, coworkers,

and direct reports respectfully and fairly.

COLLABORATION/TEAMWORK Actively and enthusiastically works with others to achieve a shared common goal. Gives credit and recognition to those who have contributed. Shares information and own expertise with others to enable them to accomplish group goals. Creates a sense of belonging in the team and a culture of inclusion. Collaborates across boundaries. Looks at problem solving at the institutional level (not just in own area or department). Open to sharing resources, working with other departments and organizations.

ACCOUNTABILITY/PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Meets commitments and keeps promises; gets things done. Acknowledges and learns from mistakes. Holds self and others accountable. Takes responsibility for achieving goals.

 

 

GENERAL COMPETENCIES BUILDING EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS — BASIC+

Importance: Very Important

Relates well with all kinds of people in a variety of situations. Develops and maintains effective communication and relationships. Gets along with others; treats others politely; demonstrates tact and respect for others from varied backgrounds or with different perspectives. Demonstrates understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, and empathy to others. Is approachable; makes time for others. Is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences. Gets along with others; treats others politely; demonstrates tact and respect for others from varied backgrounds or with different perspectives. COMMUNICATIONS / ACTIVE LISTENING — BASIC+

Importance: Critical

Has good sense of who needs to know what and keeps others informed. Communicates in a clear, concise, organized, and compelling manner. Gives others their full attention; listens without interrupting. Seeks to understand others' points of view. Interprets both the words spoken, and the non­verbal cues used by others. Listens attentively without interrupting; able to restate verbal communications in own words; gets point across when speaking; composes routine written communications following established guidelines and using appropriate grammar.

GLOBAL AWARENESS / INTERNATIONALLY SKILLED — BASIC +

Importance: Important

Understands the complexities and interdependency of world events and issues. Understands one's own culture and history in relationship to others. Is open to new opportunities, ideas and ways of thinking. Is self-aware about identity and culture; demonstrates sensitivity and respect for differences. Demonstrates respect for cultural differences.

STRATEGIC UNDERSTANDING / LEADERSHIP — BASIC

Importance: Very Important

Explains how their role supports NMC's mission and vision. Recognizes opportunities to help the organization accomplish its goals. Considers a broad range of internal and external factors in establishing goals and priorities. Consistently ensures a fit between individual or group actions and the organizational mission/strategy. Understands the mission and vision of the organization and works to implement this within the context of individual role and immediate group work; understands personal contribution to the department and the department’s role in the organization.

 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES       

           

ACCOUNTING SYSTEM INTEGRATION (FINANCE) — BASIC+

Importance: Very Important

Understands the relationship between operational tasks and their impact on the financial processes and results. Develops sound working knowledge of applicable processes that impact daily activities.

 

ARITHMETIC (GENERIC) — PROFICIENT

Importance: Critical

Performs computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division correctly using whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percentages. Identifies and performs calculations required by day-to­day tasks efficiently and correctly; performs arithmetic conversions correctly.

 

ATTENTION TO DETAIL (GENERIC) — BASIC+

Importance: Very Important

Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail and small facets of work. Is attentive to important details in work; recognizes and corrects detail errors; identifies and corrects omission of important details in work given by others – e.g., dates, cost parameters, etc.

 

CUSTOMER SERVICE FOCUS (GENERIC) — PROFICIENT

_Importance: Critical     _

Is positive and professional in appearance and demeanor. Personifies role model as a service provider. Responds to customer needs with respect and courtesy. Respects diverse groups. Takes ownership of customer concerns or problems. Offers sincere apologies and makes genuine attempts to fix problems. Quickly resolves customer service problems to the extent of employee's authority. Is a creative solution finder. Confidentiality is kept. Patiently and effectively deals with angry customers. Looks at things from the perspective of the learner/customer. Confronts negative attitudes of co­workers. Addresses challenging customer service issues effectively; enlists the help of others to develop creative solutions to non­routine problems.

 

FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING KNOWLEDGE (FINANCE) — BASIC+

_Importance: Critical     _

Knowledge of generally accepted finance and accounting principles and other accounting pronouncements and their applicability to the business. Understands and applies current practices for financial management. Complies with guidelines that are relevant to daily tasks under the direction of supervisor; follows policies and practices that have been developed consistent with GAAP.

 

KNOWLEDGE OF COMPANY POLICIES AND BEST PRACTICES IN FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING (FINANCE) — BASIC+

_Importance: Critical     _

Awareness of and adherence to company policies and procedures and/or excellent practices in the finance field. Complies with department and job specific policies and practices for own job.

 

KNOWLEDGE OF TAX LAWS AND REGULATIONS (FINANCE) — BASIC+

Importance: Very Important

Uses current information and knowledge of applicable tax laws and regulations to ensure compliance. Complies with minimal requirements to process reports and filings in own area­ e.g., payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, income taxes, etc.

 

PROBLEM SOLVING (GENERIC) — BASIC+

_Importance: Very Important      _

Diagnoses a situation and determines what relevant information and/or procedure to use; uses reason to generate and evaluate alternatives and to determine a course of action. Identifies and investigates routine problems; collects needed information to outline a proposed solution to problem.

 

TECHNOLOGY SKILLS (GENERIC) — BASIC+

_Importance: Very Important      _

Knows when and how to use tools appropriate for the job such as computers and appropriate software, e­mail, etc. Uses technology without assuming that technology solves problems. Effectively operates any necessary equipment and software application; knows which applications and technology are best suited to job tasks.

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LEADERSHIP

Does not serve in a formal supervisory capacity.

 

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

 

Banner

Calculator

Desktop computer

Fax machine

MS Excel

MS Word

Printer

Scanner

Telephone

 

 

WORK ENVIRONMENT

LIFTING ACTIVITIES WEIGHT HEIGHT DISTANCE FREQUENCY

Most frequently lifted object: under 10 lbs.; waist level; 1-9 feet (Occasionally)

Heaviest object lifted: under 10 lbs.; waist level; 1-9 feet (Occasionally)

NON-LIFTING REPETITIVE ACTIVITIES

Arm Movement (Several times per day)

Gripping (Continuously)

Sitting (Continuously)

Standing (Several times per day)

Talking (Several times per day)

Typing (Continuously)

Walking (Several times per day)

Writing (Several times per day)

OTHER PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Prolonged visual work

MENTAL DEMANDS

Intense Concentration

Performing Multiple Functions/Activities

 

OTHER CHALLENGES

Heavy work volume

Precise accuracy requirements

Production deadlines

Safeguarding organization assets and property

 

 

CONTACTS WITH OTHERS

 

INTERNAL CONTACTS

Employees in your own work unit or department — Purpose: share information (Daily)

Employees in your function — Purpose: share information (Daily) Managers in your function — Purpose: investigate or research (Several times per week)

Senior executives in your function (None/Very little contact)

Employees in departments outside your function — Purpose: Interact with or advise (Daily)

Managers in departments outside your function — Purpose: Interact with or advise (Several times per week)

 

EXTERNAL CONTACTS

Vendors, Suppliers, Subcontractors — Purpose: investigate or research (Daily)

Accountants, Attorneys, Consultants — Purpose: share information (None/Very little contact)

Federal/State Regulatory and Compliance Authorities — Purpose: share information (Quarterly) Customers — Purpose: Interact with or advise (Daily)

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed in this job description are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

COMPUTER SKILLS

To perform this job successfully, an individual will have computer skills, including knowledge of and the ability to use the Internet, email, calendaring software, and word processing software.

 

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read, analyze and interpret the most complex documents.  Ability to respond effectively to the most sensitive inquiries or complaints.  Ability to write speeches and articles using original or innovative techniques or style.  Ability to effectively present lectures and information to students and academic area leadership in a clear and understandable manner.

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems.  Ability to deal with nonverbal symbolism (formulas, scientific equations, graphs, musical notes, etc.,) in its most difficult phases.  Ability to deal with a variety of abstract and concrete variables.

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and smell.   Walking and standing are required and sitting for long periods of time.  Lifting up to 50  pounds and periodic heavy exertion may be required.  Specific hearing and vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions when traveling between campus buildings.  The noise level in the work environment is usually loud to moderate.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY NOTICE

Northwestern Michigan College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, religion, disability, genetic information, height, weight, marital status or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities and admissions. Read more at nmc.edu/nondiscrimination.

Michigan Law requires that a person with a disability or handicap requiring accommodation for employment must notify the employer in writing within 182 days after the need is known.

 

 

HOW TO APPLY

APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE AT HTTP://WWW.NMC.EDU/JOBS. Applications submitted by 8 AM ON MAY 19 2022, will receive first consideration.  This position will remain open until filled. For assistance call 231-995-2612 or 1-800-748-0566 x52612 or email hr@nmc.edu

 

Required Skills Required Experience

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: 

1. Bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Leadership, Outdoor Education, or relevant field experience.
2. Experience providing leadership to co-curricular outdoor recreation/education programs and services.
3. Knowledge of and experience with evidence-based program evaluation. 
4. Knowledge of personnel administration, marketing, fiscal management, and facility/equipment management related to outdoor recreation and adventure-based programs and services.
5. Current Wilderness First Responder or the ability to obtain within the first 3-months of employment.
6. Familiarity with the industry standards and preferred practice for outdoor recreation and adventure-based programs and services. 
7. Experience managing student employees including training, scheduling, and payroll.
8. Current American Red Cross Instructor or the ability to obtain within the first 6-months of employment.
9. A valid driver’s license and the ability to drive 12-passenger vans.

 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: 

1. Instructor level certification or training verification in at least one land and water-based outdoor pursuit. 2. Experience implementing service learning, leadership development, environmental education, and/or a range of technical and professional training programs. 
2. Experience leading a broad range of outdoor pursuits and special events. 
3. Experience with developing and implementing policy and procedures in compliance with industry standards or preferred practice. 
4. Experience with multigenerational and multicultural participants. 
5. Knowledge of opportunities for outdoor recreation and education in the region. 
6. Experience with team-building exercises. 
7. Lifeguard certification

 

HOW TO APPLY: 

The complete application will include a cover letter, resume and contact information for three professional references. The review of applications will begin immediately and continue until a qualified candidate is selected.

**Note: A pre-employment background check, as well as a satisfactory driving record, will be required as a condition of hire.

Shenandoah University is committed to enriching its educational experience and culture through the diversity of its faculty, administration, and staff. All candidates are strongly encouraged to include a statement in their cover letters addressing ways in which they may be able to contribute to that commitment.

Shenandoah University values the unique and diverse perspectives of individuals and communities locally and globally and seeks to foster mutual understanding in an inviting community where individuals are welcome and respected. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran’s status or on any other basis protected under applicable law.