Financial Specialist

This position is responsible for the budgeting, tracking, and auditing of our Global School project centers. The Financial Specialist will work closely with GEO staff, faculty program directors, campus partners, and university offices to support accurate, timely, and compliant fiscal processes. This role contributes to the successful planning and delivery of our Global Projects Program and the long-term sustainability of the centers.

Responsibilities:

• Advise and guide study abroad program directors on the development of Study Abroad program budgets:
  • Share responsibility for supporting 60+ project center directors in the creation and management of individual program budgets, ranging from approximately $30,000-$200,000 in total costs.
  • Provide guidance to program directors on fiscal policies, procedures, timelines, budget development, program fees, best practices, and compliance with federal, state, WPI, and Global School guidelines.
  • Support financial trainings for new and returning advisors and directors in individual, group, and virtual settings.
  • Monitoring spending and alerting leadership to any anomalies or opportunities for cost savings.

• Manage fiscal processes for Global School budget portfolio:
  • Share responsibility for managing fiscal processes for an assigned portfolio of short-term and semester-long study abroad programs within a ~$7.5 million operation.
  • Manage Workday workflow, hiring paperwork, onboarding support, timesheets, pay periods, and payments for study abroad faculty, program assistants, and student support.
  • Reconcile payroll transactions and coordinate funds recovery based on expense types and allocations.
  • Process payments for and monitor billing of international health insurance.
  • Process study abroad travel, including travel authorizations, pre-approvals, transportation requests, reimbursements, and related account transactions.
  • Authorize stateside spending for program-related expenses, including credit card, ACH, vendor payments, registrations, supplies, and other approved purchasing methods.
  • Review vendor contracts and agreements and coordinate timely payments in accordance with university and Global School procedures.
  • Maintain financial records, spreadsheets, documentation, and summary analyses for reporting, forecasting, and decision-making.

• Manage fiscal processes internal to the Global School:
  • Process financial transactions related to domestic and international travel for the Global Projects Program in compliance with WPI travel policies and procedures.
  • Complete hiring paperwork, PAPs, timesheets, and payroll processing for wage and student employees in the unit.
  • Reconcile monthly credit card transactions, prepare financial documents, and maintain organized records.
  • Provide fiscal support related to events and meetings, internal purchasing, office supplies, promotional items, mailings, and other administrative processes.
  • Build relationships with internal partners, including Finance, Talent and Inclusion, Financial Aid, and other university offices, to support smooth processing of mission-critical financial functions.
  • Apply federal, state, university, and Global School financial policies and procedures consistently to ensure fiscal activity is completed accurately and in compliance.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree
• Minimum two years of relevant experience
• Fiscal, budget, accounting, procurement, travel, or reconciliation experience in higher education or a similarly regulated environment.
• Experience using financial, travel, purchasing, student information, or related business systems to support transactions, reconciliations, payroll, hiring, or other business processes.
• Ability to effectively and professionally communicate with partners across multiple departments in individual and group settings.
• Interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work with broad groups of students, faculty, staff, and campus partners.
• Working knowledge of Workday and Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams.
• Attention to detail, resourcefulness, organization, and effective time management.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain accurate records.
• Ability to work independently while also contributing effectively in a team environment.
• Ability to apply policies, procedures, and guidelines consistently and use sound judgment when completing detailed administrative or fiscal tasks.
• Interest in international education, study abroad, global engagement, or financial operations in higher education.