Administrative Officer - Blair, School of Music

Position Summary:

The Administrative Officer is part of the finance team for Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music and is a key individual contributor responsible for the day-to-day operations of finance functions serving as a Financial Unit Manager (FUM) in the Oracle Cloud administrative system. This position provides financial unit management, and general guidance and assistance for staff and faculty, performing in a liaison capacity. Reporting to the Chief Business Officer, the Administrative Officer interacts regularly with the faculty and staff in the Blair School, and with other FUMs across campus. Working closely with the Chief Business Officer, this position monitors systems and procedures to ensure compliance with accounting principles, University, State, and Federal regulations, and audit requirements, and serves as a key departmental contact and expert on Vanderbilt policy and process questions. 

The Administrative Officer reviews and approves all financial transactions for the Blair School, including procurement requisitions, expense reimbursements, procurement card expenses, and intercompany transactions, and ensures that all transactions are recorded accurately and are in compliance with applicable university and departmental policies. This position maintains in-depth knowledge of GAAP accounting principles and legal requirements related to day-to-day management of institutional funds, reducing legal risks and ensuring regulatory compliance. This position tracks actuals activities against budgets, performs account reconciliations, and supports forecasting efforts. The Administrative Officer integrates multiple sources of policy, financial, and operational information to resolve issues and support decision making in a dynamic, high volume administrative setting. This position also performs essential operational and project management assignments as assigned. The Administrative Officer requires strong technical skills, communication, and problem-solving abilities, with high attention to detail in a fast-paced environment. 

About the Work Unit:

About the Blair School of Music:

Situated on Vanderbilt Campus in the heart of Nashville, TN, the Blair School of Music is a vibrant and fast-paced school at Vanderbilt University, focused on the personal and professional education of highly talented young musicians who demonstrate exceptional artistic capacity and a motivation to help shape the world through music. The school has approximately 115 full and part-time faculty members and industry professionals who teach an estimated 260 music majors, 65 music minors and second majors, and 800 Blair Academy students (comprised of pre-college and adult students) https://blair.vanderbilt.edu/.

Vanderbilt is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. It offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and a full range of graduate and professional degrees across 11 schools and colleges, all on a beautiful campus—an accredited arboretum—complete with athletic facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories. Vanderbilt is optimized to inspire and nurture cross-disciplinary research that fosters discoveries that have global impact.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

Financial Unit Manager (75%)

• Reviews, approves, and monitors all financial transactions for Blair, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and alignment with available funding and budget constraints. Maintains deep knowledge of Vanderbilt financial systems, chart of accounts, POET structure, and institutional policies to ensure accurate financial management and compliance. Uses excellent professional judgment and integrity to evaluate the appropriateness of expenditures and possesses the maturity and confidence to address questionable transactions either directly or by escalating them, if needed.
• Applies analytical reasoning to assess the financial impact of purchases, contracts, and programmatic decisions, ensuring alignment with departmental goals and fiscal responsibility.
• Evaluates all financial activity with a focus on maintaining budget integrity, ensuring that approved transactions do not result in deficit spending or misalignment with funding sources.
• Adopts best practices in the review and management of financial resources, addressing any needed changes or adjustments in a timely manner.
• Maintains big picture perspective, ensuring that all expenditures are evaluated to assess impact on departmental operational needs and financial goals.
• Tracks, reconciles, and actively monitors all Blair operating expenditures, ensuring alignment with approved budgets and proactively identifying potential deficits or overspending