JOB OVERVIEW and SALARY RANGE
Empowerment Academy’s long-time School Business Administrator (SBA) is looking to retire. The school is looking for a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who has a MINIMUM of three years experience with an accounting firm and has New Jersey public school accounting (not just school auditing) experience to take over the position. To effectuate a smooth transition, the school’s current SBA is willing to work part-time to provide support.
School Business Administrators oversee a school's accounting, business operations and finances, compliance with governing laws and regulations, and business office staff. Additionally, they serve as Secretary to a school's Board of Trustees.
Empowerment Academy’s SBA will perform school accounting and financial reporting, will be centrally involved with school budgeting, purchasing, contracting and construction projects, and will oversee other school Business Office personnel, including the school’s Human Resource Specialist, who handles payroll, benefits administration, on-boarding and credentials tracking. This is, accordingly, a full-time position where the candidate hired will be expected to work onsite.
This would be an excellent position for Certified Public Accountants with high level transactional and interfund transfer accounting skills who want to be centrally involved in the broader management of a rapidly growing enterprise, and who would find working in urban public education to be especially meaningful and satisfying.
Salary Range: $145,000-$195,000 depending upon CPA and school accounting experience.
SCHOOL OVERVIEW
Empowerment Academy is a high-performing and rapidly growing charter school in Jersey City, NJ, where the population is booming. In SY24-25 it will serve 1,320 students. Within just the next four years, its enrollment will grow 50% and its budget will grow to approximately $60,000,000. Managing the accounting, finance, budget, purchasing and contracting operations of an enterprise growing this rapidly requires that one possess high level skills and be highly organized.
REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Candidates must hold a CPA license and School Business Administrator Certificate of Eligibility (CE) from the New Jersey Department of Education to be hired. Candidates can review the requirements to obtain such certification at https://www.nj.gov/education/certification/leaders/slcerts/0109CE.shtml. Certified Public Accountants will generally have had the formal coursework needed to obtain a CE. CPAs who do not have the necessary certification in hand, but would be able to obtain one after submitting the required materials to the State, are welcome to apply.
The school seeks candidates with significant New Jersey public school accounting experience (again, not just school auditing experience) because the New Jersey Department of Education requires monthly and annual financial reports that are highly idiosyncratic. Accountants familiar only with GAAP-based accounting would need significant support before being ready to take the reins. Moreover, it is important to note that because public schools receive significant amounts of federal grants that must be managed in accordance with detailed federal and state regulations, school accounting requires familiarity with these regulations and strong interfund transfer accounting skills.
Finally, candidates must have strong writing skills. The applications, reports and disclosure documents that will need to be prepared in connection with grant and construction bond funds will require not just the preparation of financial statements and tables, but also narrative descriptions of how funds will or have been used.
REPORTING AND STAFF RELATIONSHIPS
The Business Administrator reports to the school's Board of Trustees and Executive Officer, and will work closely not only with their Business Office staff, but also with the school's two other Divisional leaders: the Director of Education and the Director of Operations.
BENEFITS
Charter schools ARE public schools. Our teachers and instructional staff are part of the New Jersey Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF), same as teachers and staff at traditional public schools, and can transfer their pension credits from a traditional public school to our school and vice versa. Additional benefits include:
- Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
- Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
- Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
- Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
- Short Term & Long Term Disability
- Training & Development
As an equal opportunity employer, Empowerment Academy hires without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability
Interested candidates who FULLY meet our requirements should apply at: https://apply.workable.com/empowerment-academyand-beloved-community-charter-schools/j/7B66D7EA48/