Vice President of Finance Operations and Payroll (Immediate Opening)

Vice President of Finance Operations and Payroll

Position overview:

IDEA Public Schools is searching for a Vice President of Finance Operations and Payroll. The Finance Team strives to support the leadership at IDEA as we work together to meet and exceed our ambitious financial and student achievement goals. The Vice President of Finance Operations and Payroll will lead procurement within IDEA Public Schools Texas and payroll functions across IDEA Public Schools, IPS Enterprises LLC, and IDEA Florida. In doing so, the Vice President of Finance Operations and Payroll will be charged with setting and executing on the strategic financial vision for our growing organization and managing staff to sustained efficacy in all aspects of procurement and payroll.

Their mission is to facilitate timely and compliant access to procurement methods and ensure all staff are accurately compensated. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer of IDEA Public Schools, the Vice President of Finance Operations and Payroll will play a critical role ensuring the Purchasing and Payroll Teams are equipped with the resources necessary to maintain compliance in alignment with local, state and federal requirements and achieve our shared mission of ensuring IDEA Public Schools students get to and through college.

Location: This is a full-time hybrid position based in Texas with preference given to candidates who live in Austin, El Paso, Houston, Permian Basin (Midland/Odessa), Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and Tarrant County (Fort Worth), or who are willing to relocate.

Travel Expectation: Up to 50% of the time during the busiest parts of the year.

Compensation & Benefits:

Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $130,100 and $165,700, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity. This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on individual and organizational performance and goal attainment. 

Additionally, we offer medical, dental, vision, and supplemental benefits as well as retirement plans and a generous vacation package. You can find more information about our benefits at https://ideapublicschools.org/careers/benefits/.

In this role you will:

• Lead compliance strategy and implementation for all procurement and disbursement activities in accordance with applicable Texas state laws and regulations
  • Support in obtaining an unqualified audit opinion on the annual financial statements and single audit each year for all entities
  • Ensure no reportable instances of material noncompliance in Financial Reporting and Compliance during the Annual Financial Audit for each entity
  • Keep current on new and upcoming standards related to Financial Reporting and Compliance and update local Financial Reporting Manual to document current processes and controls over financial reporting as well as Local and Federal Grant policies and procedures
  • Assist in the preparation of annual trainings over OMB A-133 compliance requirements to grant managers and other stakeholders within the organization, assist in the performance of monthly audits to ensure federal and state grants are in compliance with the OMB A-133, and communicate results of those audits to management and grant managers on a monthly basis
  • Lead competitive procurement efforts including the preparation of all bidding documents, notice and instructions to bidders, specifications, and form of proposal
  • Coordinate the purchase of materials and equipment for the district by competitive bids, competitive sealed proposals, requests for proposals, government catalog contract purchases, informal quotations, and negotiations following established district criteria and state purchasing rules
  • Design and implement strong systems for the approval of invoices for payment, purchase orders, and the evaluation of purchase requisitions to determine correctness of information, calculations, coding, etc. prior to purchase order conversion
• Strategically improve existing procurement process to best utilize Purchasing Team time and improve customer service
  • Manage the contract request and review process, update and lead on the implementation of the project plan with the Director of Purchasing including establishing a ERP or other software tool to track and manage review and approval workflows
  • Establish robust preferred vendor relationships to best serve the organization and improve end user experience
  • Improve vendor management, ensure appropriate documentation is maintained for all active vendors including CIQ, SB9, SAM.gov and W9 information in Tyler Munis, develop use and volume requirements for vendors to remain active and to be added to Tyler Munis
  • Work to further streamline and centralize procurement options through cooperative agreements and Purchasing Team led competitive bidding and negotiation
• Strategically lead the compensation of all IDEA staff ensuring it is accurate, timely and that team and family members deeply understand their compensation through informed managers, purposefully training touchpoints, high quality professional development and robust reference materials
  • Lead the execution of all regular payroll processes for monthly instructional, monthly non-instructional, bi-weekly hourly, bi-weekly extended, and substitutes
  • Oversee the execution of all compensation streams including campus stipends, athletic stipends, summer school and performance pay process
  • Ensure compliance to all state and federal wage and hour laws and other government entities, and all state and federal reporting executed on time and accurately (including but not limited to TRS, Staff Salary, 941, TWC, W2s, ACA)
  • Leverage processes in Tyler Munis to ensure state compliance, ensure the utilization of Tyler Munis modules are strategic and best use Payroll Team time and resources
  • Maintain and audit staff set up in Tyler Munis systems for each IDEA entity, partnering with external teams to ensure accuracy
  • Partner with the Accounting and Financial Planning and Analysis Teams to ensure accurate account coding for all compensation streams with a focus on fund sources; share all submission files with the IDEA payroll accountant and other stakeholders
  • Partner with Human Assets and Finance Teams to develop annual work and payroll calendars
  • Maintain data and reporting regarding key metrics, develop a dashboard available to mangers to provide additional transparency and visibility to payroll accuracy
  • Strategically partner with other key stakeholders such as the Compensation and Benefits Team, Employee Information Systems and Financial Planning and Analysis to ensure team and family members have access to accurate information regarding the compensation process, and receive a timely response to requests for clarification or corrections
• Partner in the development of internal stakeholders (Executive Directors, Senior Leadership, Advancement Officer, etc.) regarding the importance of financial goals and metrics, strong financial results, strategic annual planning and sustainable long term financial models
  • Ensure high quality support and reference materials are made available to financial managers related to key finance functions
  • Support & identify session content and facilitate Regional Quarterly Financial Management Trainings, Summer Institute, HQ managers, grant managers, APO, PIR and Principal trainings
  • Strategically lead the team to best utilize available reference and supporting materials when responding to requests, identify gaps in resources and partner with the Finance Compliance and Development Team to close gaps
  • Serve as a leader in setting vision regarding the hiring, development and retention of local finance liaisons, Business clerks, across states and regions
• Serve as a model of the finance customer service tenets and lead the Purchasing and Payroll Teams to set a high standard for end user experience across end users
  • Ensure assigned Zendesk tickets are responded to on or before the two business day deadline with a high level of customer service

Required experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, management, finance, business or another relevant field. Master of Accountancy or Business Administration preferred
• 10 years of work experience with 5 years finance, payroll, accounting or auditing experience; preferably non-profit or educational setting
• Ability to plan and conduct financial and management audits
• Knowledge of state school finance and the willingness to learn other states education finance systems
• Able to manage and monitor multiple projects at once, often under pressure with competing priorities and tight turnarounds while maintaining composure, ensuring quality, and achieving results
• Able to analyze and interpret data and statistics to identify trends, draw conclusions, and develop strategies and tactics that that yield results and achieve goals
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of privileged and sensitive information

Goals:

You will be responsible for leading your team to meet the following ambitious goals:

1. 90% of requisitions and Concur expenses are reviewed and approved within 2 business days
2. 80% of contracts are executed within 8 business weeks of submission
3. 80% invoices paid within 30 calendar days of invoice entry date (except at fiscal year-end, May-June)
4. 98% Overall accuracy on processed payrolls​ 
5. 99.5% W-2 accuracy across all entities
6. 99% overall on-time rate for payroll processing deadlines

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At IDEA we recognize that racism, bias, and privilege exist in society. We are committed to an organizational culture that promotes awareness and inclusivity for our students and staff, and supports their path to positively impact our broader society. We are committed to recognizing the impact of racism and privilege, and commit as an organization to have equitable practices, policies, and structures.  Visit https://ideapublicschools.org/dei/ to learn about IDEA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Anti-Racist and Anti-Bias commitment.

Learn more about IDEA

• https://ideapublicschools.org/our-story/
• https://ideapublicschools.org/careers/leadership/
• https://ideapublicschools.org/our-approach/
• https://ideapublicschools.org/our-story/impact-magazine/
• https://ideapublicschools.org/our-story/history/
• https://ideapublicschools.org/blog/introducing-our-revised-core-values/