Southeast Collegiate is the only school of its kind in all of Canada. It serves as a campus to First Nations students during the school year – educating students in a beautiful school facility and providing housing in the adjoining lodge.
The Finance Officer is the sole financial professional responsible for the end-to-end management of all financial operations, risk management, and physical asset administration for the Southeast Collegiate (SEC) campus. As a department of one, this hands-on leadership role requires an active CPA who can seamlessly pivot between high-level strategic advisory for the Board and the daily execution of all transactional accounting, reporting, and administrative tasks.
Given the operational demands of this role, it is a 0.8 FTE (i.e., 4 days a week, 8 hours per day) position. Two (2) weeks for Christmas and one (1) week for spring break, totalling 3 weeks off with pay, are guaranteed as part of this position upon hire.
Responsibilities
Strategic Financial Leadership and Reporting
- Executive Advisory: Partner directly with the Principal and Board of Directors to provide financial analysis, long-term forecasting, and decision-support modeling.
- Financial Reporting: Prepare and present monthly consolidated financial statements, comprehensive variance analyses, and executive board packages.
- Audit Lead: Manage and execute the annual external audit process from start to finish, preparing all working papers and ensuring compliance with GAAP/ASNF (Accounting Standards for Non-Profit Organizations).
- Budgeting and Planning: Lead, develop, and execute the annual consolidated budgeting process across all departments, integrating it into the computerized ERP/accounting system.
- Taxation and Compliance: Manage complex corporate and organizational taxation requirements, including GST/HST rebate filings, charity information returns, and non-profit tax compliance.
Grant, Funding and Revenue Management
- Grant Development and Reporting: Lead the development of financial sections for grant proposals, manage project-specific budgets, and ensure timely financial reporting for government funders (e.g., ISC, MFNERC) and private donors.
- Invoicing and Billing: Prepare and execute monthly billing to Southeast Student Services and MFNERC, verifying student enrollment numbers and maintaining accurate invoicing for other agencies.
Risk Management, Insurance and Capital Assets
- Risk and Insurance Management: Oversee and coordinate the organization’s commercial insurance portfolio (liability, property, and board coverage) to proactively mitigate safety risks associated with a residential boarding school environment.
- Capital Asset Oversight: Track capital fund allocations, manage asset registries, and monitor maintenance budgets for building operations.
- Project Management: Support campus system transitions, capital developments, and cross-departmental administrative initiatives.
- Corporate Records: Maintain the central registry of official business documents, including contracts, leases, land deeds, and service agreements.
Hands-On Financial Operations and Internal Controls
- Accounts Payable and Receivable: Process supplier invoices with proper GL coding and GST disbursements; prepare AP cheques; maintain and oversee the purchase order system.
- Cash Controls and Reconciliation: Ensure strict adherence to internal controls; reconcile bank statements, petty cash, organizational credit cards, fuel cards, and gift cards monthly.
- General Ledger: Prepare and post all journal entries with appropriate supporting documentation.
- Systems Administration: Personally maintain and update the computerized accounting system, vendor files, and archival procedures.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
- Professional Designation: Active Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation in good standing is required.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration.
- Minimum 5 years of progressive financial experience, ideally featuring sole-charge or small-team accounting responsibilities in a non-profit, educational, or public sector environment.
- Practical experience in successful grant proposal development and grant reporting.
- Demonstrated project management experience (such as software implementations, workflow redesign, or capital planning).
- Direct experience with insurance procurement and risk management, preferably in high-liability, residential care, or educational environments.
- Strong working knowledge of corporate/organizational taxation for non-profits, charities, or First Nations funding.
- Technical Skills: Expert-level mastery of computerized accounting platforms (SAGE, QuickBooks, or similar ERP) and advanced MS Excel.
Professional relationships
- Provide financial information to Principals, Administration, and Board of Directors;
- Provide financial support and guidance to staff;
- Support and cooperate with external auditor;
- Interact with external officials and consultants with respect to taxes and governmental agencies;
- Respond to vendor/supplier inquiries/questions
- Provide required information and respond to inquiries from funders (ISC/MFNERC)
Main challenges of this position
- The constantly changing needs of users of the financial reports produced;
- The coordination of staff and procedures to meet these changing needs;
- Coordination of new procedures between school and lodge staff;
- New government programs and mandates
Work Conditions
- Working in a school setting
- Doing a lot of reading and proofing of reports, memos, manuals, etc.
- Repetitive movement using wrists, hands and fingers
- Minimal to light physical effort required with prolonged periods of sitting
- Working with supervisors with different management styles
- Dealing with people of a culturally diverse background
- Able to answer inquiries and handle complaints
- Subject to continuing changes in work and rapid changes of procedure
- Subject to heavy volumes of work and disruptive interruptions
- May be subject to emotionally charged situations
- Subject to conflicting demands, priorities, multi-tasking and a high-volume workload
- May be required to work extended hours and overtime if needed
- Must be available by phone or in person for emergencies
Job Types: Permanent, Full-time
Pay: From $76,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Dental care
- Discounted or free food
- Employee assistance program
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- On-site gym
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
- Vision care
Flexible language requirement:
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Winnipeg, MB: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree (preferred)
Work Location: In person
