Accounts Receivable Team Lead

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 320,000 students in 500 schools and employing over 44,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Office of the Controller is responsible for the financial operations of Chicago Public Schools, including Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Internal Accounts, and Corporate Accounting. Under the general direction of the Controller, the Accounts Payable team provides timely, accurate, and relevant financial reporting.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Accounts Receivable Manager, the Accounts Receivable (AR) Team Lead assigns, supervises, and leads the Accounts Receivables Team to oversee vendor invoicing and receipting payments functions. Additionally, the Team Lead will train and develop the receivables team, optimize technology, improve processes, and directly lead departmental work streams. This is a full-time exempt position that will be paid for time worked on a salary basis.

This position will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Lead a team responsible for providing high-quality customer service, and training, overseeing day-to-day operations, and issue resolution to schools and departments related to accounts receivable payments and grants.

• Support the A/R Manager in the overall management of the A/R day-to-day operations.

• Supervise, train, develop, and mentor the A/R team, including task assignments and performance management.

• Prepare monthly report to the board for all grants, gifts, and donations received in excess of $50,000, all related cost-sharing obligations contained in such grants, gifts, or donations in excess of $50,000, and all refunds of unspent grants, gifts, or donations in excess of $5,000.

• Participate in the compilation and analysis of fiscal data for inclusion in the ACFR ( Annual Comprehensive Financial Report).

• Manage the annual carryover process for all special income grant funds excluding school internal account funds.

• Monitor team performance, including reports on metrics, discover training needs, and provide coaching.

• Plan and recover all sources of revenue issued to the CPS from governmental entities, including, but not limited to income from City, State, and Federal funding agencies, rental properties, non-residential tuition;

• Collaborate with the Budget Department to design supplemental training, customer support, and A/R campaigns to help reinforce Board policies and improve processes.

• Act as subject matter expert to the team and assist in resolving high-priority invoice processing and receipting issues.

• Maintain ownership of the Grant Maintenance Table (GMT) to ensure all grants and grant attributes are correctly entered.

• Review all grant acceptances submitted through the Grants, Gifts, and Donations (GGD) module for approval and work closely with the Office of Grants and Budgets Management (OGBM) to ensure the proper appropriation of such funds and expiring grants.

• Evaluate and determine the need to create new grant values in the general ledger (GL) and work with AR analysts to enter values into the accounts receivable module.

• Manage the User Administration module and workflow.

• Ensure timely processing of grant-related refunds and financial reporting of such activities

• Prepare audit reports to assist the auditors in their inquiries.

• Lead year-end processes including verification of all payments received, processing accruals, clearing collections of payments, and working with vendors and departments to resolve outstanding payments issues.

• Responsible for creating and facilitating accounts receivable training for new onboarding employees.

• Other duties as assigned.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, this position must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field is required

• MBA or Certified Public Accountant (CPA) highly preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of five (5) years of experience as an accountant, financial analyst, budget analyst, or similar role is required

• Minimum of two (2) years of accounting experience is required

• Supervisory experience is preferred

• Advanced Oracle or similar financial management experience in a large government organization is preferred

Other Requirements:

• Occasional extended hours in order to complete projects with a condensed timeline is required

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Deep understanding of accounting and A/R operations

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office: PowerPoint and Word; Proficiency or ability to quickly gain proficiency in Google Suite

• Advanced Excel skills

• Analytical thinker, detail-oriented, and takes accountability

• Ability to lead and manage large-volume projects and meet deadlines

• Proficiency in Oracle Financials or similar financial systems; Ability to quickly gain proficiency in Oracle and other systems

• Ability to facilitate meetings and follow up with resulting action items

• Ability to manage time and people effectively to achieve goals, strategic alignment, and completion of projects simultaneously

• Customer service-oriented with excellent interpersonal, verbal, written communication, and problem-solving skills.

• Strong leadership presence that gains the confidence of others, and establishes oneself as a leader

• Ability to analyze a problem/question, prioritize and determine the level of intervention or escalation necessary

• Quickly adjust to shifting priorities and deadlines. Develop realistic action plans and utilize the team effectively to achieve departmental goals

• Comfortable speaking in front of large audiences with the ability to effectively present information

• Able to integrate feedback from others to achieve better results

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.