Fiscal Contracts Officer

POSITION SUMMARY

The Business Operations department manages all payments to organizations, individuals, and vendors, ensures strategic budget preparation, and management, coordinates departmental expenditures, procurement, and delivers comprehensive cultural equity and access intiatives, human resources, payroll, and information technology services within the Agency.

The Fiscal Contracts Officer (Accountant III) reports to the Controller on the Fiscal Operations Team. The Contracts Officer interacts with agency staff, vendors, and grantees to manage the grant contracting process from generation of contracts to payments; and monitors contractual compliance.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

Contract Processing (90%)

• Manages DocuSign packages by initiating, tracking, and managing electronic agreements, ensuring secure and authenticated signatures, troubleshooting issues, and maintaining detailed digital records.
• Assists with contract content preparation, answers related questions, and liaises between grantees and agency staff.
• Enters and reconciles MMARS (Massachusetts Management Accounting and Reporting System) encumbrances and payments for the agency's grant awards, ensuring timely fund encumbrance and disbursement.
• Reviews, navigates, and monitors grant activity in the SmartSimple Grant Management System, including awards and expenditure patterns, ensuring adherence to grant stipulations.
• Ensures returned award packages are accurate and compliant.
• Reviews vendor contract documents for completeness and compliance.
• Performs periodic reconciliation of SmartSimple, MMARS, and internal budget tracking sheets, ensuring records are current and accurate.

Financial Management and Reporting (10%)

• Assists with internal and external Federal grant reporting requirements.
• Provides additional administrative and financial tasks and support across the department as necessary.

After a training period, this position will be eligible for hybrid work. The Mass Cultural Council staff operates within a hybrid work model and expects its employees to work in the Boston Back Bay office six (6) preset days per calendar month and attend in person meetings as preplanned.

COMPENSATION

Bargaining Unit: 06 NAGE, Accountant III, Grade 10. Pay is determined by the Commonwealth's NAGE Unit 6 collective bargaining agreement. Based on the grade and step requirements of the collective bargaining agreement, the expected starting salary at hire may be calculated in the range of $63,784.50 - $67,749.76 annually.

Please apply using this link: https://massculturalcouncil.applytojob.com/apply/1M8mX9ER5N/Fiscal-Contracts-Officer

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Mass Cultural Council employees are required to work and travel beyond normal business hours to attend preplanned evening meetings, weekend events or complete work assignments with set deadlines. The on the job demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position's essential functions.

Physical Skills

Minimal physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform diverse work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. Ability to lift, carry, set up, and break down event materials, such as banners, boxes, easels, signs, microphones, speakers, chairs, and tables.

Motor Skills

Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job requires minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer, peripherals, and/or most other common office equipment.

Visual Skills

Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

TOTAL COMPENSATION

As an employee of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the total compensation package features an outstanding set of employee benefits which should be considered towards overall compensation, including:

• Alternative Work Schedules, and Hybrid Work Model
• 75% state paid medical insurance premium
• Extended Illness bank program
• Reasonable Dental and Vision Plans
• Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Assistance programs
• Low cost basic and optional life insurance
• Retirement Savings: State Employees' Pension and a Deferred Compensation 457(b) plan
• 12 paid holidays per year and generous sick, vacation, and personal leave package
• Tuition Benefit for employees and spouses at state colleges and universities
• Professional Development and Continuing Education opportunities
• Qualified Employer for Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program

The Mass Cultural Council is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applicants from a broad spectrum of backgrounds to apply. If you have Diversity, Affirmative Action or Equal Employment Opportunity questions please contact Diversity Officer: Cathy Cheng-Anderson at Catherine.cheng-anderson@mass.gov.

It is important for us that this application process is accessible for all applicants. For any requests or needs regarding accessibility, accommodations, modifications, or specific preferences we should be aware of to ensure your experience is accessible, positive, and supported, please contact the Senior Director of Business Operations/CFO, Cathy Cheng-Anderson at Catherine.cheng-anderson@mass.gov.

Please do not include any personally identifiable information with your application materials other than that specifically requested. The Massachusetts Cultural Council asks for basic information such as name, address, telephone number, and email address. You should not provide more detailed personal information such as your date of birth or Social Security Number with your application materials.

In compliance with federal laws, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

A criminal background check (CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information)) will be required as a condition of employment.

Please apply using this link: https://massculturalcouncil.applytojob.com/apply/1M8mX9ER5N/Fiscal-Contracts-Officer

Qualifications

PREFFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Below are characteristics we will look for in the selection process. We recognize that the depth of each individual and the balance of all of them collectively may vary from candidate to candidate and as such, encourage applications from individuals with a range of background experiences and skills.

• Knowledge of the principles and practices of purchasing, budgeting, contracting systems, and grant policies/regulations.
• Ability to employ logic and reasoning to assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Demonstrated ability in advanced spreadsheet software, including Microsoft Excel, to manipulate and analyze data for informed decision-making.
• Aptitude to learn Mass Cultural Council's grants management system; SmartSimple and other financial applications as needed.
• Ability to interact with employees and constituents of different backgrounds and styles while demonstrating professionalism, courtesy, and a customer-centric approach.
• Experience with the laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, specifications, standards, and guidelines governing financial activities and uses of Department forms, documents, and reports; and of electronic data processing techniques, particularly as applied to finance.

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must have at least (A) three years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in accounting or auditing, of which at least (B) one year must have been in a supervisory, administrative, or managerial capacity, or (C) any equivalent combination of the required experience and the substitutions below.

Substitutions:

I. An Associate's degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management may be substituted for a maximum of one year of the required (A) experience.

II. A Bachelor's degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management may be substituted for a maximum of two years of the required (A) experience.

III. A Graduate degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management may be substituted for the required experience.

Education toward such a degree will be prorated on the basis of the proportion of the requirements actually completed.