Oklahoma Arts Council Job Opportunities

Finance Director

UNCLASSIFIED
Department: Oklahoma Arts Council
County Location: Oklahoma
Posting Date: December 15, 2019

Open Until Filled

The Oklahoma Arts Council (OAC) is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts in Oklahoma. We strive to build a diverse team comprised of the best and brightest individuals to support our mission to lead in the advancement of Oklahoma’s thriving arts industry and our vision to use the arts as a transformative force for education, quality of life, and economic development. The Oklahoma Arts Council is currently seeking enthusiastic and creative people with an entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to public service to contribute to our team.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Oklahoma Arts Council seeks an experienced Finance Director to plan and direct the financial accounting, budgeting, cash management, and other fiscal operations and functions of the agency budget. This position serves as the primary Certified Procurement Officer for the agency and reports directly to the Executive Director. This is a full time, exempt position and includes state retirement and insurance benefits, including health, dental, life and disability insurance. Salary is commensurate with experience with a cap of $69,826.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Finance: Develop and maintain the agency’s financial system, including supervising the internal controls for receipts and expenditure, federal grant balances, program, and administrative fund balances.

• Develop and manage annual department budget
• Ensure related strategic plan benchmarks are being met and supported
• Prepare and manage the State’s budget request and budget work program
• Develop the financial and narrative information for the agency budget, including analysis and projection of administrative program costs, using planning information provided by the Executive Director, and ensure that the budget is submitted in a timely manner
• Manage the budget revision process
• Allocate authorized appropriations and federal grants for specific programs, funds, and object codes to set up the fiscal year appropriations ledger and budgetary system, whereby fiscal resources are allocated in accordance with agency plans, and direct the allocation plan
• Monitor and reconcile agency general revolving fund
• Monitor and reconcile Oklahoma Art in Public Places projects and revolving fund accounts
• Monitor the agency expenditures in relation to budgeted amounts
• Prepare and distribute monthly department budget to actual reports
• Assist department directors with budget preparation, work collaboratively in the development of business plans, and agency contracts; provide tools and training as needed
• Establish and maintain an accounting system for managing revolving accounts, including monitoring balances and expenditures for each revolving sub-account
• Establish and maintain an accounting system for managing federal grants, including monitoring drawdowns, balances, and expenditures for each federal grant in conformance with the time frame and expenditure guidelines
• Establish and maintain the accounting system for payment of regrants awarded by the agency in conformity with the agency allocation plan for each grant program
• Prepare additional program and financial reports generated from the agency grants management system and submitted to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
• Prepare and distribute monthly financial statements
• Prepare and distribute monthly cash reconciliation
• Prepare and meet monthly regarding grants reconciliations
• Process payroll twice monthly using State’s PeopleSoft system
• Create PeopleSoft payroll withholding claims
• Input new hires, terminations, benefits and withholding updates in payroll system
• Audit payroll reports as needed and prepare payroll information for the budget, making adjustments to the payroll budget as necessary
• Develop and complete ad hoc reporting to the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Office of the Governor, the Oklahoma State Legislature, and others
• Report to the Executive Director and the Board on the financial status of the agency in regard to state, federal, and other funds
• Prepare and manage state and federal audit(s)
• Administer the agency P-Card and reconcile it monthly; create PeopleSoft P-Card vouchers
• Prepare grantee financial analytics and review meetings as needed

Purchasing:

• Act as agency primary Certified Procurement Officer, providing leadership and expertise in procurement
• Develop and maintain requisitions system
• Verify adequate budget for purchase requests
• Create PeopleSoft purchase orders according to purchase requests
• Serve as the liaison for lease management of agency equipment
• Lead contract negotiations for CORE
• Provide leadership and expertise in accounting functions
• Act as backup for entering purchase orders and vouchers into PeopleSoft
• Develop and utilize system to track and monitor investment/cash status
• Reconciliations of PeopleSoft, clearing account, agency awards and other accounting records; verify deposits
• Prepare monthly reports, Board reports, and other reports as needed
• Prepare GAAP conversion packages for OMES and financial statements for audit in accordance with GAAP, and coordinate financial statement audit
• Advise staff on compliance with accounting procedures and ensure procedures are followed; investigate procedures for unusual situations
• Assist with preparation of annual OAC Business Plan
• Assist with development of budget and budget request, enter and submit required documents for approval
• Provide financial reports at Board meetings, legislative, and other meetings, and in other duties as needed
• Identify and solve issues with purchase orders and act as backup for entering purchase orders and vouchers
• Recommend and implement policies and procedures relating to purchasing; advise and train staff on compliance with purchasing procedures and best practices
• Serve as the agency’s Risk Management Coordinator, Records Coordinator, and Safety Coordinator (including handling Workers Compensation issues and Department of Labor reporting)
• All other duties assigned

Physical Office Management:

• Maintain perpetual inventory of equipment and surplus
• Assess, tag, and record new assets including IT equipment and office furniture
• Work with OMES DCAR to maintain inventory records
• Ensure proper disposal of agency assets through state surplus
• Oversight of equipment installation and maintenance
• Serve as agency representative and reporter for the following:
• Data Processing Plan
• Telecommunications Plan
• Emergency Operations Coordinator
• Workplace Safety Coordinator

Other: Travel to occasional meetings or events required. Attendance may be required at occasional evening or weekend meetings or events. Any additional duties as determined by the Executive Director.

Successful candidates will:

• Have comprehensive knowledge of accounting principles and practice and GAAP for state governments, and the ability to prepare GAAP financial statements
• Possess experience with budget development
• Have a high level and operational knowledge of Oklahoma’s PeopleSoft accounting system as utilized by state agencies, including, but not limited to, detailed actions needed to resolve vouchers with errors
• Have knowledge of Oklahoma state government purchasing laws and rules, and best practices in contracting to protect the interests of agency and the State
• Demonstrate proven organizational and administrative skills and an ability to plan, set goals, and achieve objectives
• Display effective oral and written communication skills including public speaking
• Exhibit effective and strong organizational and administrative skills including flexibility, good listening skills, creative thinking, project oversight, ability to plan, set goals and objectives, and adherence to timelines
• Be able to handle unforeseen events quickly, calmly, and in a professional manner
• Promote and encourage a team-based approach to problem solving
• Establish and maintain positive professional working relationships within and outside the agency
• Experience working in a team environment, to include providing professional support to colleagues 
• Ability to work with both the highly structured environment of state government and the highly flexible and changing environment of arts organizations and artists 
• Be attentive to detail and committed to excellence in all aspects of work

Qualifications:

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in accounting, business administration, or a closely related field
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in Oklahoma state government accounting, finance, and purchasing, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Certified Procurement Officer preferred
• Prior experience with the State of Oklahoma’s PeopleSoft accounting and reporting system (Financial, HCM, and Budget)
• High attention to detail
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Proficiency and experience with MS Office
• Strong organization skills required as well as ability to work on a self-directed basis
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in an organized and efficient manner
• Ability to handle stressful situations in a graceful manner while maintaining a positive standard of professionalism

Key Requirements/Physical Demands:

• Pre-employment OSBI background check must be successfully completed
• Must hold driver's license and be able to drive a vehicle to various locations across the state if necessary
• Must be able to lift and carry up to 30 pounds

To Apply:
The Oklahoma Arts Council is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of OAC to prohibit unlawful discrimination and to provide equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants, without regard to political or religious opinion or affiliation, race, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other reason prohibited by law. It is the policy of OAC to provide equal opportunity in employment, advancement and other conditions of employment to all qualified applicants and employees. It is the intent of OAC to fully comply with all applicable state and federal equal opportunity and non-discrimination laws and regulations.
A successful application will consist of:

• Cover letter addressed to the Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director with information that reflects the applicant’s qualifications for the position
• Resume with relevant experience and a list of degrees held and/or certifications
• List of up to three references with names and contact information (letters of reference not required at this time)

Please mail cover letter, resume, and references to:

Chandra Boyd
Deputy Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
PO Box 52001-2001
Oklahoma City, OK 73152-2001
chandra.boyd@arts.ok.gov

Visual Arts Department Internship

The Oklahoma Arts Council is seeking an intern for its Visual Arts Department. The department oversees the following agency responsibilities: The Capitol Art Collection, which encompasses the art on view in the public areas of the Oklahoma State Capitol and grounds; the Oklahoma State Art Collection; the art in the public areas of the Governor’s Mansion; and, the Oklahoma Art in Public Places program.

The Oklahoma Arts Council Visual Arts Department Internship program provides participants with hands-on experience working with several of the most important art collections in the state of Oklahoma. The program enables interns to work closely with staff professionals and is tailored to accommodate one intern in the spring and one intern in the fall of each year.

Although focusing primarily on collections care and maintenance under the supervision of the Director of Visual Arts and Capitol Collections, the experience also broadens awareness of the role of collections management as a modern information science and an essential component of overall museum operations. Interns are given the ability and the opportunity to attend cultural events at the Capitol and assist in cultural programming sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council. In addition, interns will assist with the day-to-day operations of the Visual Arts Department of the Oklahoma Arts Council and the Oklahoma Art in Public Places program. Each intern will undertake at least one special project of their own design under the guidance and supervision of the Director of Visual Arts and Capitol Collections.  

Objectives

Interns obtain practical experience regarding collections care and management that typically include:

• Proper art handling & object handling

• Museum ethics, policies, and procedures

• Proper storage methods and environments

• Collections inventory and control

• Cataloging and documentation

• Integrated pest management

• Effective communication with staff and public

Interns are generally assigned to a focused collections management project. Interns coming from graduate programs will also prepare and present a short public gallery talk discussing an item on exhibit in the Betty Price Gallery or in one of the other public exhibition areas of the Oklahoma State Capitol. Ongoing instruction, discussions, exercises and assigned readings reinforce hands-on work and offer best practice insights and provide accurate and comprehensive introduction to collections management and care. Through their interaction with the Oklahoma Art in Public Places Program Interns also receive a general introduction to the processes involved in the management of a large scale public arts program.

Requirements

Students pursuing degrees in Museum Studies, Art History, History, Ethnological Studies, Planning, or other public policy disciplines and who have completed three hours of museum studies-related course work or 12 credit hours of history and/or art history courses are qualified to apply for an internship. Prior experience working with art works or cultural materials is helpful, but not required.

Due to the Oklahoma Arts Council’s commitment to delivering high quality programing to the artists, art educators, art professionals and the art going public of Oklahoma, and due to our full schedule and limited staff, it is important for our interns, regardless of education or experience level, to possess the following attributes:

Good attention to detail
Effective working alone and with others
Able to lift up to 30 lbs.
Able to sit/stand for extended periods mutually respectful work style
Flexibility!

How to Apply:

Send a letter outlining your interest in this internship to the address below. Include any museum relevant experience and contact information for at least one professional and one academic reference.

Oklahoma Arts Council
c/o Director of Visual Arts and Capitol Collections
PO Box 52001-2001
Oklahoma City, OK 73152-2001

As an agency of equal opportunity, the Oklahoma Arts Council strives to increase opportunities that foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from students of different race, ethnicity, culture, religion, language, socioeconomic status, citizenship, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, and veteran status.

While we sincerely appreciate all applications, only those candidates selected for interview will be contacted. No phone calls please.

The Oklahoma Arts Council is an Equal Opportunity Employer.