Business Operations Manager

Description

About Purdue Polytechnic High Schools

Purdue Polytechnic High Schools (PPHS), created in partnership with Purdue University, is a STEM-focused, student-centered school network committed to preparing students for success in college, careers, and life. Our work is guided by the following core values:

• Act as One
• Nurture Student Genius
• Start from Yes
• Do the Right Thing
• Get it Done

Position Summary

The Business Operations Manager leads and manages PPHS’s internal financial operations, grant financial administration, operational compliance, and coordination with the organization’s outsourced accounting provider. The position is responsible for ensuring that financial processes are accurate, timely, well documented, compliant, and aligned with organizational priorities.

Serving as PPHS’s primary internal finance operations resource, the Business Operations Manager exercises independent judgment in analyzing financial information, interpreting and implementing procedures, resolving operational exceptions, strengthening internal controls, and advising leaders regarding financial and compliance risks.

The Business Operations Manager works closely with the Chief Operating Officer, outsourced accounting provider, Human Resources, campus leaders, office managers, grant owners, and other organizational stakeholders. The position has authority to independently resolve routine financial and compliance matters within established organizational parameters and recommend appropriate action when matters require executive approval.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Financial Operations Leadership

• Lead PPHS’s internal financial operations and serve as the primary day-to-day liaison between PPHS and its outsourced accounting provider.
• Establish priorities, timelines, workflows, and internal expectations for assigned financial processes.
• Evaluate financial and operational issues, determine appropriate courses of action, and resolve routine exceptions without requiring immediate supervision.
• Interpret and implement PPHS financial policies, operating procedures, grant requirements, and internal controls.
• Advise the Chief Operating Officer and other organizational leaders regarding financial operations, compliance concerns, process gaps, and corrective actions.
• Monitor the timely and accurate completion of financial responsibilities across network and campus teams.
• Develop and maintain financial procedures, calendars, checklists, guidance documents, and internal controls.
• Recommend and implement process improvements that increase accuracy, efficiency, accountability, and compliance.
• Coordinate cross-functional financial projects involving Operations, Human Resources, campus leadership, grant owners, and the outsourced accounting provider.
• Assess the operational impact of proposed financial practices and make recommendations to leadership.

Accounts Payable and Procurement Oversight

• Manage PPHS’s procurement and accounts payable workflows, including documentation, coding, authorization, approval routing, and submission through Bill.com.
• Evaluate invoices and payment requests for completeness, appropriate business purpose, proper coding, required authorization, and consistency with PPHS policies.
• Determine whether routine payment requests satisfy organizational requirements and identify requests requiring additional documentation, correction, or escalation.
• Monitor outstanding invoices and approval queues and establish follow-up priorities to prevent late or duplicate payments.
• Oversee vendor onboarding and compliance documentation, including W-9 forms and other required records.
• Manage PPHS’s Divvy or expense management card program, including user access, spending documentation, coding, approval workflows, policy compliance, and exception resolution.
• Review card activity and purchasing practices for patterns, control concerns, and opportunities for improvement.
• Coordinate annual 1099 documentation and reporting requirements with the outsourced accounting provider.
• Identify potentially unauthorized, unsupported, duplicative, or noncompliant transactions and determine the appropriate corrective or escalation process.
• Recommend changes to procurement, purchasing, expense card, and payment procedures.

Banking, Cash, and Transaction Oversight

• Oversee the collection, documentation, and internal recording of bank transactions, cash receipts, checks, deposits, Eventlink ticket sales, and other financial activity.
• Establish and maintain procedures for cash handling, deposits, supporting documentation, and transaction reconciliation.
• Review financial activity for accuracy, completeness, appropriate coding, and consistency with internal control requirements.
• Analyze discrepancies among bank activity, deposits, sales records, and supporting documentation.
• Resolve routine transaction discrepancies and escalate material or recurring concerns to the Chief Operating Officer and outsourced accounting provider.
• Coordinate the recording of approved bank activity, deposits, cash receipts, ticket sales, and miscellaneous transactions in Sage Intacct.
• Evaluate cash-handling practices and recommend controls to reduce financial and compliance risks.
• Monitor adherence to separation-of-duties requirements and other established financial controls.

Grant Financial Management and Compliance

• Lead PPHS’s internal grant financial management and serve as the primary resource for grant budgets, grant codes, allowable costs, reporting deadlines, reimbursement requirements, and personnel allocations.
• Interpret financial and administrative grant requirements and translate them into practical procedures for grant owners and organizational staff.
• Maintain comprehensive records of grant awards, approved budgets, expenditures, reimbursement requests, reporting deadlines, cash receipts, remaining balances, and required documentation.
• Monitor grant spending against approved budgets and identify variances, spending concerns, and potential compliance issues.
• Analyze whether proposed and incurred costs align with approved grant budgets, funding restrictions, organizational policies, and applicable requirements.
• Work with grant owners and organizational leaders to determine appropriate corrective actions when spending is delayed, incorrectly coded, unsupported, or inconsistent with an approved budget.
• Coordinate with Human Resources and the outsourced accounting provider to review and maintain accurate personnel allocations and payroll-related grant documentation.
• Oversee grant reimbursement processes and establish internal deadlines for documentation collection, review, approval, and submission.
• Manage private grant reconciliations, invoices, funding disbursements, and cash receipt documentation.
• Maintain organized and audit-ready financial documentation for federal, state, local, and private grants.
• Identify potentially unsupported or unallowable costs and recommend appropriate reclassification, correction, or escalation.
• Advise the Chief Operating Officer and grant owners regarding grant balances, budget risks, reimbursement delays, compliance concerns, and corrective actions.
• Recommend and implement improvements to PPHS’s grant financial management practices.

Payroll-Related Financial Administration

• Manage the financial review and coordination of approved stipends, reimbursements, wellness payments, and other supplemental payments.
• Review submissions for required authorization, mathematical accuracy, budget availability, appropriate coding, and supporting documentation.
• Determine whether routine payment submissions meet established financial and documentation requirements.
• Return incomplete or inaccurate submissions for correction and escalate unresolved or material issues to Human Resources or the Chief Operating Officer.
• Coordinate approved payment information with Human Resources and the outsourced accounting or payroll provider.
• Analyze payment discrepancies and determine the appropriate resolution in coordination with Human Resources and the accounting provider.
• Maintain accurate tracking records for stipends, reimbursements, wellness payments, and other supplemental payments.
• Recommend improvements to payment submission, review, tracking, and reconciliation procedures.
• Ensure that financial review responsibilities remain appropriately separated from Human Resources’ authority over employee eligibility, compensation authorization, and employment decisions.

Month-End Close and Financial Reporting

• Lead PPHS’s internal preparation for month-end close and ensure that required documentation, schedules, reconciliations, and explanations are submitted by established deadlines.
• Establish internal close timelines and coordinate follow-up with responsible employees and departments.
• Review financial information and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, reasonableness, and consistency.
• Analyze budget-to-actual activity, transaction exceptions, outstanding approvals, grant balances, and other financial information.
• Identify significant variances, recurring errors, control concerns, and incomplete financial activity.
• Develop and recommend corrective actions in response to identified financial or operational issues.
• Provide management with recurring and ad hoc reports, financial insights, risk assessments, and recommendations.
• Advise the Chief Operating Officer regarding financial trends, unresolved issues, upcoming obligations, and operational decisions that may affect PPHS’s financial position.
• Coordinate with the outsourced accounting provider to resolve questions and ensure that PPHS leadership receives accurate and timely financial information.

Audit and Compliance Management

• Coordinate PPHS’s internal response to external audits, grant monitoring, financial reviews, and other compliance activities.
• Evaluate documentation requests and assign or coordinate internal responsibilities for timely completion.
• Review audit and monitoring documentation for completeness and responsiveness before submission.
• Analyze audit findings, recommendations, and compliance concerns and assist leadership in developing corrective action plans.
• Monitor implementation of assigned corrective actions and report unresolved issues to the Chief Operating Officer.
• Identify recurring documentation, approval, coding, or compliance concerns and recommend system-level improvements.
• Maintain records in an organized and audit-ready format.
• Collaborate with Human Resources, grant owners, campus leaders, and external providers to address cross-functional compliance concerns.

Internal Leadership and Staff Support

• Serve as PPHS’s primary internal advisor on assigned financial procedures, documentation requirements, purchasing practices, grant coding, reimbursements, and related business operations.
• Provide guidance and training to network and campus employees regarding financial procedures and compliance expectations.
• Communicate financial requirements in a manner that is clear, practical, and appropriate for employees with varying levels of financial experience.
• Resolve routine questions and determine when an issue requires review by the Chief Operating Officer, Human Resources, legal counsel, or the outsourced accounting provider.
• Facilitate meetings and working sessions related to financial operations, grants, compliance, and process improvement.
• Build productive working relationships with campus and network leaders while maintaining appropriate financial controls and accountability.
• Lead special projects related to financial systems, business operations, grants administration, and organizational compliance.
• Perform other related responsibilities consistent with the position’s primary purpose, level of authority, and exempt classification.

Decision Making Authority

Within established organizational policies and delegated authority, the Business Operations Manager is expected to:

• Independently prioritize and manage assigned financial and compliance responsibilities.
• Interpret and apply financial policies, procedures, grant requirements, and internal controls.
• Determine whether routine transactions and requests satisfy documentation and compliance requirements.
• Resolve routine financial, procedural, and compliance exceptions.
• Require additional documentation or correction before a transaction proceeds.
• Establish internal timelines and follow-up expectations.
• Recommend changes to financial processes, controls, procedures, and systems.
• Advise organizational leaders regarding financial risks, grant compliance, operational concerns, and corrective actions.
• Escalate significant financial, legal, personnel, or compliance matters to the appropriate executive or external advisor.

The Business Operations Manager does not independently establish employee compensation, authorize unbudgeted organizational expenditures, modify grant awards, issue formal legal interpretations, or make decisions reserved for the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Human Resources, or outsourced accounting provider.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, public administration, nonprofit management, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible experience.
• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in finance operations, accounting administration, grant financial management, compliance, business operations, or a related area.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing financial information and resolving financial or compliance-related issues.
• Experience developing, implementing, or improving operational procedures and internal controls.
• Ability to interpret policies, grant requirements, financial procedures, and compliance standards.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise discretion and independent judgment when evaluating multiple possible courses of action.
• Strong spreadsheet, financial systems, reconciliation, data management, and record-keeping skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, recurring deadlines, and cross-functional responsibilities with limited supervision.
• Ability to communicate financial and compliance information effectively to employees, managers, executive leaders, vendors, and external service providers.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality and appropriately handle sensitive financial, personnel, and organizational information.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a charter school, public school, nonprofit organization, governmental entity, or other grant-funded environment.
• Experience managing federal, state, local, or private grant financial requirements.
• Knowledge of Indiana charter school finance operations and applicable state and federal requirements.
• Experience with Sage Intacct, Bill.com, Divvy or BILL Spend & Expense, Google Workspace, or comparable financial systems.
• Experience working with an outsourced accounting, payroll, or back-office provider.
• Experience supporting audits, grant monitoring, corrective action plans, or regulatory reviews.
• Experience training employees and implementing organization-wide financial procedures.

Core Competencies

• Financial and operational judgment
• Independent decision-making
• Financial analysis
• Grant financial management
• Regulatory and policy compliance
• Internal controls and risk identification
• Process development and improvement
• Project and deadline management
• Cross-functional leadership
• Written and verbal communication
• Problem-solving and issue resolution
• Organization and attention to detail
• Confidentiality and professional integrity
• Accountability and follow-through

Measure of Success

Success in this position may be measured by:

• Timely and accurate completion of month-end responsibilities.
• Percentage of payment requests submitted with complete documentation.
• Timeliness of grant reimbursement requests and financial reports.
• Accuracy of grant budget, expenditure, and personnel allocation tracking.
• Reduction in recurring transaction, coding, approval, and documentation errors.
• Timely resolution and escalation of financial and compliance concerns.
• Quality and usefulness of financial reports and recommendations provided to leadership.
• Implementation of effective financial procedures and internal controls.
• Responsiveness to campus and network staff.
• Effectiveness of coordination with the outsourced accounting provider.
• Audit and monitoring results related to assigned responsibilities.
• Completion of corrective actions and process improvement initiatives.

Physical and Work Requirements

The position regularly requires the ability to:

• Work at a computer and review electronic financial information for extended periods.
• Communicate by telephone, video conference, email, and in person.
• Review electronic and paper financial records.
• Attend meetings at PPHS campuses and other locations as necessary.
• Occasionally move files, supplies, or materials weighing up to 20 pounds.

Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Position Classification and Review

This position is classified as exempt under the administrative exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act based on the position’s primary responsibility for managing financial operations, exercising discretion and independent judgment, advising organizational leadership, interpreting and implementing procedures, and resolving matters that materially affect PPHS’s business operations.

The position’s classification is based on the duties actually assigned and performed, not solely on the job title or salary. PPHS may periodically review the position to confirm that its responsibilities, authority, and day-to-day work remain consistent with the intended classification.

This job description describes the primary responsibilities of the position but is not intended to represent an exhaustive list of all duties. Responsibilities may evolve based on organizational needs, provided that assigned duties remain consistent with the position’s purpose and level of responsibility.

Employment Status

Employment at Purdue Polytechnic High Schools is at will. Employment may be terminated at any time, with or without cause or notice, by either the employee or PPHS, subject to applicable law.