Finance Officer

**About the Department**

The department provides a wide range of learning and development support and services.

The department provides policy leadership, plans for the future of education in Victoria and leads key cross-sector collaboration. The department plays an important system steward role by providing support, guidance, oversight and assurance across early childhood and school education systems, as well as directly providing school education and 50 new early learning centres.

**About the Victorian School Building Authority**

The Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) is part of the Department of Education. Established in 2016, it oversees Victoria's largest school building program since the state introduced free public education in the 1870s.

The VSBA upgrades and expands existing schools and plans, designs and builds new schools to meet enrolment demand. We also support schools to maintain their buildings and grounds by offering expert advice and coordinating maintenance programs and grants.

With Victoria recently introducing two years of funded kindergarten, the VSBA is also working with the early childhood sector on a massive kindergarten construction program.

**About the Division**

The Corporate Division provides corporate support to all VSBA teams and fulfills an important assurance and oversight role. They guide VSBA to achieve strategic objectives and ensure decision-making is transparent and accountable.

**About the Role**

The Finance Officer provides high quality finance and administrative support to the Budget and Finance team within VSBA.

The key responsibilities of the Finance Officer include:

- processing payments to suppliers and schools in a timely manner using the Oracle system and multiple modules in VSBA project systems
- checking payment documentation to comply with financial policy and legislation
- checking financial delegations and obtaining approvals from financial delegates
- performing financial queries and checks using the Oracle system and multiple modules in VSBA project systems
- working with VSBA project officers and other parts of the department to address payment or financial process queries
- facilitating the lodgement and return of bank guarantees for construction contracts
- attending to payment issues arising from internal and external stakeholders
- working with finance business partners to verify budget information for payments
- assisting with month end close process including preparation of accrual reports
- assisting with financial reporting - ensuring data integrity in monthly reporting, journal entry, data analysis and reconciliation, variance analysis
- providing information and records as required for the department's annual financial audit
- ensuring that financial activities are compliant with the Department's policies, procedures and legislative requirements
- maintaining proper records in financial and information management systems
- building and maintaining effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders

All VSBA staff have a shared responsibility to meet the same service standards outlined in the VSBA Customer Service Charter. Our goal is to make every interaction with the VSBA a positive one for our customers, colleagues and key partners regardless of our individual role or team.

**Attributes**

Planning and Organisation
- ability to plan ahead, prioritise tasks and manage progress in proactive manner
- ability to deal with high volume of transactions, tight timeframes and various stakeholders
- ability to work both independently and in a team environment to achieve common goals

Problem Solving
- ability to identify issues, analyse them from different perspectives based on evidence and provide recommendations to resolve them
- ability with work collaboratively with stakeholders to find effective solutions

Service Excellence
- ability to deliver timely and high-quality support services in a complex and challenging environment
- strive for innovation and continuous improvement opportunities to improve outcomes, systems and processes
- commitment to take responsibility and be accountable for actions, outputs and behaviours.

Customer Focus
- understanding of customers' needs and strive to deliver high quality outcomes for them
- proactive in seeking feedback and improving delivery of services

Detail Focus
- strong attention to detail to ensure timely and accurate processing of payments
- ability to identify gaps in information, analyse data and ensure compliance with the Department's policies, procedures and legislative requirements

Qualifications and Experience
- Essential:_
Relevant tertiary qualifications in Accounting/Finance
- Desirable:_
Demonstrated experience in using Oracle and Excel.
Demonstrated experience in processing payments in a construction-related setting

**Further Information**

Applicants requiring adjustments can contact the nominated contact person.

For further information pertainin