Financial Officer

Financial Officer | 80% (Part-time)

Who We Are

Vancouver Christian School is a large, diverse, non-profit, K-12 independent school located in East Vancouver, British Columbia.  A vibrant and close-knit community of 900 students, VCS is a proud leader in Christian education celebrating over 70 years of history in the region.  From the early days of our Christian Reformed roots to the building of a new, modern campus in the heart of Vancouver, VCS is dedicated to preparing students for a life of transformation and service through excellent, Christ-centred education.

Join our Team

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced accounting professional to join our team to support our school through the Business Office.

You will be an integral part of a supportive team that greatly cares about creating a school environment that actively supports our students’ faith, learning, and growth.  We love working and learning in a new, modern building and are looking for an individual who values being part of a warm, faith-filled, welcoming community that seeks to serve others through their professional skills.

As the Financial Officer reporting to the Director of Finance in the Business Office, you will ensure our school continues to be good stewards of our financial resources through your professional integrity and knowledge of sound financial accounting principles, standards and procedures.  Working with a team, you will be responsible for performing a variety of general accounting functions that support the operations of our school, including accounts payable and receivable functions, preparation of tuition and donation receipts, collections, month-end financial procedures, general ledgers, bank reconciliations, budgeting, and quarterly and year-end financial reporting.

Having experienced rapid growth in the last few years, you will have the opportunity to drive the development and implementation of business improvement projects, processes, and systems that will improve the operations of the school.

Requirements

Ideally, you will have a post-secondary education in Accounting or Commerce with a Chartered Professional Accountant designation or are working towards the CPA designation.  In the absence of a CPA designation, you will have a minimum of 3 years of full-cycle bookkeeping experience.  Experience in an educational setting or a non-profit organization would be an asset.  You will also need to be familiar and comfortable with a range of office productivity tools and business technologies including the Microsoft suite of products, Sage, and XLGL and the ability to embrace new technology will be essential.

You will succeed in this role if you can demonstrate a high level of integrity, honesty, and personal motivation in the oversight of school resources that will enable you to perform your duties to a high standard of quality and accuracy while completing work on time with minimum supervision.  You understand the importance of confidentiality and meeting regulatory requirements and your critical thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills will enable you to develop solutions and support business improvement projects.  Your experience and understanding of working with non-profit organizations would be a definite asset.

VCS is a school community passionate about Christian education and we are looking for people who can demonstrate their commitment to a Christ-centred life through involvement in a faith community and who understand and acknowledge the mission, vision, and community standards of VCS.

As a small, close-knit community of staff, this position will work predominantly onsite in our Business Office.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• In collaboration with others, perform a variety of general accounting functions that support the operation of a non-profit school, including accounts payable and receivable functions, preparation of tuition and donation receipts, collections, month-end financial procedures, general ledgers, bank reconciliations, budgeting, and quarterly and year-end financial reporting.
• Support the school in the sound stewardship of its resources through the development and  maintenance of robust procurement and purchasing policies and practices and assist in the review of contracts for goods and services.
• Working with school leaders and relevant stakeholders, participate, contribute and occasionally lead business process improvements including systems implementations and upgrades, policy review and development and other special projects that support the business functions of the school.
• Work with the business office team to ensure all data and information are accurate and current in all  aspects of the systems and processes of the school to effectively manage risk and liability and ensure all legal and regulatory compliance requirements are met.
• Contribute to the overall team and school community by performing other duties as required.

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

• Professing Christian who is a member of a Christian church community willing to commit to VCS’ mission, vision and community standards.
• Return a satisfactory Criminal Record Search.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Post-secondary education in Accounting or Commerce with a Chartered Professional Accountant  designation or working towards the CPA designation is highly preferred or, in the absence of the CPA  designation, a minimum of 3 years of full cycle bookkeeping experience.

KEY CRITERIA

• Able to demonstrate a high level of integrity, honesty and personal motivation in the oversight of school resources and to ensure accountability for completing work on time and accurately with  minimum supervision.
• High level of critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills that would enable you to  effectively identify issues and problems as they arise and to use sound judgement and appropriate strategies when applying solutions.
• High level of capability in ensuring accuracy of work through your keen attention to detail, capacity  to process information correctly and application of techniques that ensure data integrity and  accuracy while ensuring compliance with accounting standards, procedures and internal controls.
• High level of adaptability, time management, planning and workload prioritisation skills that will  support your ability to manage competing priorities and changing demands, management of  workloads and ensure that all deadlines are met.
• Strong capability to maintain the confidentiality of information and protection of information  according to privacy requirements.
• High level of interpersonal, conflict resolution, communication and negotiation skills that will enable  you to achieve results and work effectively and collaboratively within a team to as well as to foster strong relationships at all levels of the school.
• High level of proficiency and comfort working with a variety of computer devices, systems, office  programs, processes and other technologies with the ability to learn new systems and technologies quickly. Experience with Google and Microsoft Office suite of products, Sage and XLGL would be a definite asset.
• High level of oral and written communication skills to ensure respectful, professional, and clear  communication that fosters understanding and supports a culture of grace and respect.
• Demonstrates a passion for lifelong learning, professional development, a desire to serve  others and a willingness to participate and contribute to the spiritual fabric of our school.