Accounting and Administration Coordinator

Description

Merit School of Music seeks a full-time Accounting and Administration Coordinator to support the Finance and Administration team with account reconciliations, payroll processing and inquiries, and hiring and onboarding support. The successful candidate will be a detail-oriented communicator with excellent Excel skills and some accounting background. You do not need to have been an accounting major, but familiarity with debits, credits, account reconciliations, and spreadsheets will provide a strong advantage. Discretion and confidentiality are essential when working with the sensitive information required by this role.

Reporting to the Directors of Finance and HR, the Accounting and Administration Coordinator will take ownership of their areas of closing monthly revenues and expenses, including preparing credit card reconciliations, student tuition reconciliations, and bank and balance sheet reconciliations. The coordinator will be responsible for payroll entry and answering employee payroll inquiries. They will enter new employees into Paylocity (Merit's Payroll & HRIS) and follow through on completing onboarding documents. They will enroll new employees in required training, post job announcements, and draft offer letters. You should bring a desire to grow into the role and expand your areas of learning and responsibility beyond what's highlighted here.

Passion for inclusion, diversity, equity, anti-racism, and Merit's mission to provide access to music education, is a must.

Organizational Overview

Merit School of Music is a community music school located in Chicago's West Loop. Our primary goals are to help young people transform their lives and experience personal growth through music by providing access to sustained participation. For more than 40 years, Merit has been home to a diverse community of talented young musicians and has acted as a springboard for achieving full musical and personal potential. Our 100 passionate and experienced teaching artists provide access to high-quality music education, engaging over 3,000 students annually at our downtown location and in area schools and community centers.

Merit students, who reflect Chicago's socioeconomic and ethnic diversity, have the rare opportunity to learn together, dream together, teach each other, and broaden their horizons as they build inspiring lives through music. Merit develops musicians and provides young people with the tools they need to excel in life, with 100 percent of our graduates accepted to conservatory or college.

Merit School of Music is committed to building a world where historically underrepresented groups can access quality music education. Simultaneously, Merit works towards becoming an organization that accurately reflects the city's demographics throughout all layers of the organization. Merit is dedicated to being an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and anti-racist organization and continually examines efforts in this area.

Reporting Relationship

The Accounting and Administration Coordinator reports to the Directors of Finance and Human Resources.

Job Responsibilities

Responsibilities of the Accounting and Administration Coordinator include, but are not limited to:

Accounting in support of the Director of Finance (50%)

• Prepare monthly and annual reconciliations of bank accounts, general ledger accounts, and credit card statements

• Reconcile student tuition and other revenue (rentals and donations) monthly

• Prepare annual 1099s in January

• Assist with the annual financial statement audit after our August 31 fiscal year-end

• Help prepare Form 990 after the completion of the audited financial statements

• Other projects, as capacity allows

Payroll and administration in support of the Director of Human Resources (50%)

• Input mid-month payroll and review month-end payroll as prepared by the payroll clerk

• Independently respond to employees' payroll and Paylocity inquiries

• Initiate, track, and finalize onboarding documentation within Paylocity

• Track and schedule training for staff and faculty, including management training and mandated reporter training for new hires, and annual anti-harassment training for all employees

• Post job announcements to various job boards and draft and collect offer letters for successful job candidates

• Other projects, as capacity allows

Keys to Success

The ideal candidate will possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

Must-have characteristics

• Accounting knowledge: while you do not need to have majored in accounting or finance, you should be familiar with debits and credits and reconciling accounts. We are happy to accept professional experience over formal training.

• Spreadsheet skills: You should be very comfortable with Excel. This should include using filters, formulas, or pivot tables to retrieve required data quickly.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills: You need to respond timely to emails in a polite and professional manner

• Organized and skilled at prioritizing: you will need to identify the differences and overlaps between tasks of competing urgency and importance and manage your activities accordingly

• Flexible mindset: willingness to learn new skills and think creatively to support various projects. The right candidate will be comfortable working independently and collaboratively.

Educational and Experiential Requirements

Bachelor's degree or 1-3 years equivalent relevant experience in accounting or administration. This role requires a mix of accounting and administrative skills.

Schedule

This is a full-time, overtime-exempt position. The accounting and finance team typically works from 9 AM to 5 PM central, with flexibility available for strong performers. In respect of work-life balance, overtime is the exception, not the rule. This will primarily be a remote role but may require some in-person availability with plenty of advance notice provided.

COVID-19 Precautions

Merit School of Music requires all employees to provide proof of vaccination and booster shots against COVID-19. Please plan accordingly. Merit invested heavily in its HVAC system to improve ventilation throughout the building. Face masks are recommended to everyone who enters the Joy Faith Knapp Music Center. At offsite events, Merit employees must follow the precautions taken by the host institution.

Compensation and Application

Compensation is commensurate with experience but based on a starting salary of $45,000 - $50,000 annually.

To apply, please upload your resume detailing your relevant experience and qualifications for this role using this link. Applications will be accepted through Sunday, February 19, 2023. Materials should be compatible with Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat PDF.

ALAANA/BIPOC people, trans and gender-nonconforming people, and women are encouraged to apply.

For more information about Merit School of Music, please visit www.meritmusic.org.

Merit School of Music is committed to enhancing the diversity of our musical community, recognizing that by providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning environment for our students, we are preparing them for personal and professional success in an increasingly multicultural and global society. The Merit community recognizes that it has a responsibility for creating and sustaining a learning and working environment where difference is valued, and where equity and inclusion are practiced.