• Family Access: Families have equitable access to quality and affordable early education and care in the communities in which they live, learn, and work.
• Program Stability: Early education and care programs are operationally stable and financially sustainable.
• Program Quality: Early education and care programs support children's health and safety and provide high quality environments that are culturally responsive, inclusive, and support children's learning and development in partnership with families.
• Workforce Supports: A diverse field of educators, leaders, and program staff is competitively compensated and supported by clear professional pathways that promote quality, retention, and advancement.
• Agency Infrastructure: EEC has sufficient internal capacity, organizational structures, and diverse perspectives and expertise to carry out its mission and strategic objectives

EEC's Financial Management Unit is responsible for the financial functions and day-to-day operations of the Department. These include but are not limited to: Accounting, Accounts Payable, Revenue Collection, Bank Reconciliation, MMARS Security Updates, Accounts Receivables, Cash Receipts, bank reconciliations and reporting through the Commonwealth Information Warehouse (CIW) for all expenditures and other internal reporting applications.

The Director of Accounts Payable will be responsible for planning, directing and managing the Department's accounts payable process for Department services, including subsidy contracts and any amendments to the encumbrances. They will oversee and monitor staff's day-to-day workload to ensure all work is completed timely, ensure deadlines and goals are met by each. As the Department works to streamline financial assistance payments, this position will play a critical and leadership role as the Department works to interface subsidy payments from the Department's billing and reporting application - Child Care Financial Assistance system (CCFA) - to MMARS. This position will ensure compliance with the relevant requirements and guidelines of the Office of the State Comptroller, the Operational Services Division (OSD), and the Department's own Policies and Procedures and Internal Controls. Once the financial assistance payment interface is implemented, the Director of Accounts Payable will be key in shaping the landscape of the Accounts Payment Unit.

This position reports directly to the Senior Associate Commissioner for Financial Management (SACFM) and will keep the SACFM updated on all areas of the Accounts Payable Unit. The Director of Accounts Payable will interact with other fiscal units including the budget, audit, and procurement units as well as units outside fiscal units such as but not limited to Family Access, Workforce Supports, Operations, Legal and all (6) of the Department's Offices (5 regional and 1 Boston Office), including the child care field the department serves.

EEC will manage approximately $1.5 billion next year - that is meant to stabilize, heal and transform the child care market in the Commonwealth. The Director of Accounts Payable will be a key contributor in this transformation by ensuring that payments are accurate, predictable, and efficient.

Key Responsibilities:

Accounts Payable

• Manage the Department's accounts payable process for all bills including inter-agency services, such as Interdepartmental Chargebacks
• Manage accounting activity and assure that spending does not exceed budget and expenditure ceilings
• Reconcile cost reimbursement contracts to ensure that vendors are aligned with their budget on file
• Track, monitor, and provide monthly CIW reports on all expenditures
• Report on utilization of contracts by monitoring expenditures and identify any deficiencies/surplus within contracts
• Monitor and track all spending of the Department's Master Service Agreements (MSA)
• Coordinate, track, and submit all Prior Year Deficiencies for the Department
• Complete mid-year and annual reports on the Office of the Comptroller's PartnerNet application including but not limited to GAAP, Fixed Assets and Statutory Receivables
• Manage FFATA Federal reporting to ensure all requirements are met
• Manage the timely operational payments for goods and services ensuring all discounts where applicable are met on behalf of the Department including all the Regional offices and their expenditures
• Coordinate mid-year and year-end spending with the Regional offices (via Internal Operations) for all supplies to ensure budgets for each region are not in a deficiency and all encumbrances will cover year-end spending
• Reconcile the Department's Dyna Cash account and General Fund account
• Ensure all incoming checks are processed timely and the applicable revenue code is applied in MMARS and all Cash Receipt (CR) transactions are entered timely
• Prepare and disseminate information internally regarding payment statuses and processes; maintain related electronic and hard-copy files
• Act as a liaison with units outside of the Fiscal Units and the field we serve as it relates to billing

Team Management

• Process all updates/terminations of employee applications for MMARS in the Commonwealth's InTempo application
• Provide regular supervision of Accounts Payable staff including ensure that annual performance evaluations are completed in a timely and comprehensive manner

Policy & System Development & Implementation

• Manage the development and implementation of agency accounts payable policies and procedures, including the Internal Controls Policy as it relates to bill processing
• Determine specifications and requirements for future financial and/or billing systems, including implementing new payment system actively being developed
• Develop standard and custom queries/reports for billing systems and create routine analysis and reporting responsibilities

Coordination of Processes with State Agencies & Vendors

• Communicate with all vendors and contractors on billing issues as well as provide technical assistance to vendors
• Participate in meetings as it relates to the payments, encumbrances, and changes/updates to the Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) application
• Provide superior customer service and compliance with agency rules and regulations
• Support ongoing department initiatives which include moving to interface with the Office of the Comptroller (in MMARS) for all subsidy billing
• Prepare and plan for the fiscal year, including the opening and close of the state accounting system, MMARS
• Act as the Liaison with Department personnel, oversight agencies, and all vendors to resolve payment related issues which require putting self in others' places, anticipating and meeting needs quickly and accurately; as well as, following up and monitoring situations to be sure everyone is satisfied
• Responsible for creating queries and statistical reports using MMARS, Commonwealth Information Warehouse (CIW), and other databases to compile financial data and use independent judgment for purposes of analyzing, identifying variances and forecasting expenditures
• Review MMARS documents, and review payment documents to include monitoring document files to ensure receiving of goods and services in a timely manner and ensure accounting staffing are maintaining accurate record keeping of invoices, and MMARS payment documents
• Coordinate Public Records Request and Audit Requests as it relates to review of payments
• Review and submit all payments electronically in MMARS

Other duties as assigned

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency to work both independently and as part of a team
• Ability to establish and maintain professional and harmonious working relationships, strong oral and written communication skills as well as strong organizational skills
• Ability to manage and supervise staff and create an environment for learning and growth
• Proficiency with the state accounting system (MMARS) for all transactions as it relates to payments, encumbrances including reconciling accounts and manage accounts
• Advance knowledge of Microsoft Office 2010+ with a strong emphasis on Excel, Access, and Outlook
• Ability to proactively identify solutions for process improvements and ability to implement effective solutions
• Ability to create, analyze, and interpret financial information scenarios
• Knowledge and understanding of state finance law, state budget process, state accounting procedures and the state's procurement policies, regulations, and procedures
• Ability to work under pressure and manage projects with a high degree of accuracy
• Capacity to maintain accurate records and exercise discretion in handling confidential information

Travel may be required for this position.

Questions regarding this position or the application process should be directed to Dawn.E.DeRoche@mass.gov.

Qualifications

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must have at least (A) six (6) years of full-time or, equivalent part-time, professional, administrative, supervisory, or managerial experience in financial management work (i.e. budgeting, accounting, auditing, management analysis, program evaluation, financial reporting of program results), of which (B) at least two (2) years must have been in a project management, supervisory or managerial capacity or (C) any equivalent combination of the required experience and substitutions below.

Substitutions:

I. A certificate in a relevant or related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required (A) experience.

II. A Bachelor's degree in a related field may be substituted for two (2) years of the required (A) experience.

III. A Graduate degree or higher in a related field may be substituted for three (3) years of the required (A) experience.

IV. A Doctorate degree in a related field may be substituted for four (4) years of the required (A) experience.

Comprehensive Benefits

When you embark on a career with the Commonwealth, you are offered an outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package. We take pride in providing a work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future.

Want the specifics? Explore our Employee Benefits and Rewards!

An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Commonwealth is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. Research suggests that qualified women, Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive to apply for this role.