Grants Management Specialist

Position Overview

As Project 515 Fiscal Specialist, you will play a vital role in ensuring effective fiscal management of Project 515 School Support funds. Your expertise in budgeting, monitoring, and reporting will contribute to the success of school support and improvement initiatives. This position serves as team member responsible for various functions related to the award, allocation, budgeting, monitoring, and reporting of Project 515 School improvement funds. Additionally serves as the primary point of contact for School Support Specialist and provides valuable support to office functions as required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Associate degree in business, education or related field.
• Three (3) years of experience in a clerical or office environment.
• Or an equivalent combination of education and experience, substituting one year of relevant experience for each year of the required education.
  
  

Special Requirements

• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis;
• Successful completion of a pre-employment background check;
• Must possess a US driver’s license to perform necessary job-related travel.
  
  

Essential Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Knowledge & Experience: Proficiency in MS Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and other relevant software. Strong financial management experience, including budgeting, monitoring, and reporting. Excellent organizational and time management skills. Familiarity with state and federal financial regulations and reporting guidelines. Proficiency in financial software and spreadsheet applications. Flexibility and adaptability to work in a fast-paced and evolving environment. Ability to use technology to examine budgets and financial claims according to the policies and procedures of the federal guidance and the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System. Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive attitude.
• Reporting and Compliance: Prepare comprehensive financial reports and documentation related to Project 515 funds. Maintain accurate records of financial transactions and project-related expenses. Generate regular reports on fund utilization, expenditures, and performance indicators. Conduct financial analysis to identify trends, risks, and areas for improvement.
• Grants Management Services: Collaborate with grant recipients to ensure compliance with funding requirements. Develop and implement grantee technical assistance and training focused on the fiscal management of federal funds. Complete regular budget analysis and develop reports to ensure timely distribution of funds.
• Team Collaboration: Assist various teams with special projects and tasks as assigned. Coordinate with other administrative staff to ensure seamless operations. Provide guidance and training to staff regarding financial processes and procedures.
• Office Support: Assist with general administrative tasks, coordinating meetings or events, and contributing to special projects or initiatives. Create, format, and edit various documents, reports, and correspondence as needed. Organize and maintain electronic and physical files to ensure easy retrieval.
• Professional Demeanor: Maintain a positive, empathetic, and professional attitude always; ability to build and maintain positive work relationships; demonstrate integrity and ethical conduct in all aspects of your work; ability to display a high level of professionalism in communication, behavior, and appearance; ability to accept constructive feedback to increase performance.
• Attendance: Regular and reliable in-person attendance is required to ensure quality teamwork, performance, productivity, and collaboration; ability to demonstrate a commitment to your work and team by committing to punctuality and dependability in the work environment; this includes arriving to work on time, being present, engaged, and available to colleagues, internal and external customers.
• Innovation: Ability to identify and address the evolving needs and challenges of the education landscape; ability to think critically, explore new ideas and embrace innovative approaches to improve educational outcomes for all students; apply creativity, resourcefulness, and forward-thinking in finding solutions to complex problems and driving positive changes in the field of education.
• Efficiency: Ensure our resources are utilized effectively, and our operations are streamlined; optimize our processes, eliminate redundancies, and leverage technology to enhance productivity and performance; proactively identify opportunities for efficiency gains and implement best practices.
• Superior Customer Service: Willingness to go above and beyond to provide outstanding assistance that exceeds expectations, ability to create positive experiences and build relationships based on trust and satisfaction; maintain a positive and helpful attitude using the appropriate language, tone, and behavior to reflect the agency in a way that leaves a positive and favorable impression.
  
  

Essential Competencies

• Effective Communication: Ability to clearly and concisely express ideas, while also listening actively to others and demonstrating understanding; Ability to demonstrate empathy by showing respect and understanding for the feelings and perspectives of others while paying close attention to non-verbal cues; Ability to adapt communication style to suit the needs of the audience and situation.
• Take a proactive approach and work independently: Be resourceful and self-motivated, prioritize work effectively by managing your time well, anticipating challenges, developing creative solutions, paying close attention to detail, and taking ownership of your work.
• Collaborate as a team player: Ability to work effectively with others towards a common goal. Including being open-minded, respectful, and responsive to others’ ideas and perspectives. Sharing knowledge and experience while being committed to achieving the team’s objectives and understanding the importance of working collaboratively to achieve success.
• Demonstrate excellent planning and organizational skills: Ability to set clear objectives, create a plan of action, break down complex tasks into manageable components, delegate tasks when necessary, and establish a realistic timeline to meet deadlines consistently while developing contingency plans to ensure adaptability to changing circumstances.
• Possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills: Ability to analyze complex situations, identify key issues, patterns, connections and develop effective logical solutions; Ability to think critically, anticipate potential problems and develop innovative solutions to address them.
• Ability to function well in an, at times, stressful, fast-paced and deadline-driven environment: Ability to work under pressure and in situations where time is limited whilst remaining calm and focused, prioritizing tasks, and adapting to changing circumstances.
• Ability to build strong partnerships with internal and external stakeholders: Ability to identify opportunities for collaboration, leverage resources effectively, and negotiate mutually beneficial outcomes. Possess strong interpersonal skills to resolve conflicts and manage difficult conversations in a constructive and professional manner.
• Knowledge of technology and ability to use it to maximize efficiency and services: Ability to identify opportunities to leverage technology to streamline processes, automate tasks, and improve customer experiences; Familiarity with software, hardware and other relevant technological tools while being able to learn new technologies as they emerge.
  
  

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

Location: Oliver Hodge Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• Work Environment includes:
• Office Setting: Climate-controlled office setting with exposure to moderate noise; the employee is frequently required to talk, walk, and stand; this position requires long periods of sitting and daily use of computer and phone. Must be able to remain in a stationary position 75% of the time.
• Physical Demands include:
• Ability to stand, reach, and bend 50% of the time.
• Operates a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine/printer, and office telephone 75% of the time.
• Ascends/descends stairs 25% of the time.
• Ability to lift to 25 lbs.
• Cognitive Requirements:
• This role requires clear and accurate communication, strong analytical skills, and the ability to evaluate information and make timely decisions.
• Sustained focus and attention to detail are essential, along with memory retention of policies, procedures, and facts over various time frames.
• Adaptability and mental flexibility are also necessary to handle changing information, work conditions, and unexpected challenges.
  

TRAVEL

Occasional (up to 25%) in-state/out-of-state travel may be required.

EEO STATEMENT

The Oklahoma Department of Education provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, OSDE complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.