Financial Analyst

Staff - Non Union

Job Category
M&P - AAPS

Job Profile
AAPS Salaried - Accounting, Level B

Job Title
Financial Analyst

Department
Tuition and Operations | Student Financial Management | Enrolment Services

Compensation Range
$5,906.25 - $8,508.42 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date
February 27, 2023

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

Mar 31, 2026

Job Summary

The position manages the specialized and complex financial activities of the Student Financial Management unit which is responsible for the administration of a number of central University functions, such as tuition and fees assessment and collection, production and distribution of tax slips for students with financial awards, tuition waivers, other taxable income, and U-Pass. These are university-wide functions for both Vancouver and Okanagan campuses involving significant monies; annual tuition and fee assessments amount to $700 million, Main duties include management of student tuition and fee assessments and payment processing, data reporting and analysis, particularly in relation to the Student Direct Stream. The position also entails overseeing several staff members and participating in hiring committees. In addition, the individual works in collaboration with the Associate Director and provides expert advice in the review, development and monitoring of financial and student systems, processes and procedures to improve tuition fee and payment administration.
Organizational Status

The Student Financial Management Analyst reports to the Associate Director, Student Financial Management. The incumbent in this position works independently or in collaboration with the Director, Associate Directors, and Analysts of Student Financial Management, and other Enrolment Services Associate Registrars, Associate Directors, and managers. This position interacts with many units at the University, including Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Financial Operations, IT Services (Finance and Student systems), University Counsel, Development Office, UBC faculties and departments, Housing, and other Central University units concerned with tuition payments, assessment, U-Pass, and other financial matters. The nature of the interactions range from training staff at other units to problem solving issues, consulting with University Counsel on collection of student accounts, research with Financial Reporting regarding reconciliations, transfers, charges to accounts. The incumbent also interacts with several external agencies, including but not limited to Collection Agency, federal and provincial authorities such as Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), banks, contracted insurance companies such as David Cummings Insurance Services, and Brinks Security.
Work Performed

A. Tuition Account Management

1. Tracks policy in Student Direct Stream program offered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and implements changes as required on a timely basis.
2. Responsible for ensuring accurate reconciliation of any Student Direct Stream payments received by external payment platforms against the Student Information System (SIS) and Workday.
3. Provides data and analysis of tuition and student fees.
4. Works in collaboration with the Financial Analyst on the administration and maintenance of Student Fee Management (SFM) tables on the SIS. These tables control specialized tuition and payment functions such as tuition due dates for all students who have assessed fees, outstanding accounts, interest assessments for both tuition and UBC loans, and cancellation processes.
5. Provides expert advice and guidance to faculties and departments on tuition fee impact of registration changes, such as changes in student classification, transfer to a new graduate degree program, and others. Responsible for determining and implementing complex tuition fee adjustments.
6. Provides support and makes recommendations in the development, design, testing, implementation, and evaluation of all system changes that affect tuition payments. This includes but not limited to assessing systems impact, liaising with business analysts and developers, approving changes to be moved into the production environment, informing and training end users who are impacted by changes and providing on- going support.
7. In collaboration with Student Systems, works with the University’s main depository bank (HSBC), payment gateway, Western Union, StudentCare, and central University departments such as Financial Operations, Financial Reporting, IT Services for the efficient, effective, and accurate electronic transmission of data to and from SIS.
8. Works proactively and collaboratively with Student Systems to identify and resolve online payment issues and problems with electronic transmission of records to and from external systems.
9. Manages the accurate and timely processing of tuition and fee payments into SIS (some of the payments include, but are not limited to: Interac, credit card, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), cheque, Teacher Certificates, wires, faculty and staff waivers, upload and download bank tapes, international fund transfer through Western Union).
10. Approves or rejects international award payments and refund requests received, ensuring that the student's account reflects the dollar amount of the approved refund
11. Manages the accurate and timely processing of tuition and student fees adjustments, advances cancellations and No Sufficient Fund (NSF) charges, including various Alma Mater Society (AMS) subsidies, opt-outs, opt-ins, and U-Pass exemptions.
12. Manages the process of placing financial hold and interest charges to outstanding tuition accounts; Financial holds on student accounts will prevent access to registration, graduation, and transcripts; Employs sound judgment in making decisions to lift financial holds and waive fees and interest charges as appropriate.
13. Responsible for the successful delivery of the Student Financial Account of the SIS.
B. Tuition and Student Fees Assessment

1. Responsible for ensuring reconciliation of any temporary assessments of tuition pre-payment to meet Student Direct Stream requirements are removed following payment.
2. Implements new program and tuition fees approved by the Board of Governors and new student levy fees approved by the respective governing bodies in the Student Information System (SIS).
3. Creates and maps student financial data to the PeopleSoft financial management system to ensure accurate tuition revenues and related student accounts are appropriately recognized in the University s financial statements.
4. Provides expert support to the Director and Associate Director in preparing tuition consultation materials, preparing annual board dockets for the approval of tuition fees and non-instructional fees, updating the Academic Calendar for new fees, updating the cost calculator, allocating application fees between Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, and other tuition and fee-related matters.3. Acts as a resource for Enrolment Services (ES) Advisors on issues related to fee assessments, payments and collections, U-Pass; Problem-solves and resolves difficult issues; Responds to complex queries.
5. Reviews, problem-solves and corrects complex fee transactions.
6. Collaborates with ES Advisors to ensure accurate information regarding tuition fee payments and assessments, is given to students, faculties, and departments.
7. Prepares complex reconciliation of student accounts used in the assessment and collection of tuition and fees in the Student Information System (SIS sub-ledger) vis-a-vis student accounts receivable in the Financial Management System (FMS general ledger). This involves an in-depth systems knowledge of student financial accounts, all interface files from SIS to FMS, and full comprehension of complex student financial accounting practices.
C. General

1. Responsible for the effective and efficient financial processing operations of the Student Financial Management unit.
2. Manages work processes, establishes work schedules and priorities, and resolves complex work issues.
3. Assesses the efficiency and effectiveness of existing systems and procedures and analyzes requirements and defines and documents specifications for new programs, tuition payment and collection procedures, U-Pass administration.
4. Ongoing involvement with systems development and implementation of the existing Student Financial Account on the SIS as well as planned system changes and deliverables.
5. Participates as a team lead and/or team member on various service improvements, training and other strategic projects within the unit.
6. Identifies processes that require improvement, maps current processes, recommends and re-designs processes using input from colleagues and other student services units as appropriate, makes recommendation for changes, implements operational process improvements and new services.
7. Ensures team compliance to standards based on established policies and procedures by monitoring and evaluating the quality of service provided, identifying areas for improvement, following up, and coaching staff.
8. Makes decisions on hiring staff, and provides input into the selection of staff in the Student Financial Management unit.
9. Performs other duties in keeping with the qualifications and requirements of the job.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Attention to detail and thorough knowledge of UBC policies and procedures is critical. This position helps to ensure that processes related to tuition fee assessments and payments, are performed correctly and timely on the Student Information System and that relevant batch processing and conversion of these amounts to Workday is transferred correctly. Failure to ensure accurate and timely processing of financial transactions will result in significant financial implications for the university as well as late charges/interest charges being assessed incorrectly to student tuition accounts. In addition, any errors would reflect negatively on the reputation of Enrolment Services and the University as a whole.
The incumbent manages financial matters in student financial management areas and exercise of good judgment is critical, whether it is affecting students, guarantors, parents, other departments or government agencies.
Inappropriate prioritizing can result in reduced service to the public and wasted staff resources. All information must be accurate and provided in a respectful, timely and supportive manner. Failure to provide service that meets these standards affects public perception of Enrolment Services and the University.

Supervision Received

This position works independently with considerable latitude within established policies and accepted practices under broad directives from the Associate Director, Student Financial Management. Work is reviewed in terms of achievement of specific goals.
Supervision Given

Supervises accounting support positions including, participating in the hiring, training, coaching and evaluation of clerical staff.
Minimum Qualifications

Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Enrolled in the CPA Professional Education Program (PEP) modules. Minimum of three years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
Preferred Qualifications

Knowledge of university financial and student systems, policies and procedures. Knowledge of FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act). Extensive knowledge of spreadsheet (Excel) applications and a thorough knowledge of other personal computer software and the Web. Working knowledge of integrated financial and human resource application software packages (Workday preferred), and Student Information Systems (SIS).
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including ability to apply conflict resolution techniques. Ability to work independently and strong organizational skills, including the ability to plan and coordinate the work of others as well as train new staff. Ability to multi-task, work under pressure and prioritize work to meet deadlines. Ability to articulate, interpret, apply, and make decisions within complex guidelines and regulations.
Ability to adapt to changing priorities. Detail-oriented and ability to maintain high degree of accuracy. Excellent communication (written, oral and presentation) and interpersonal skills required. Strong teamwork and collaboration skills required. Ability to exercise tact, good judgment, and discretion. Ability to maintain confidentiality. Strong initiative, work ethics and integrity required. Demonstrated experience in performing detailed reconciliations and a proficient understanding of accounting principles.