Bookkeeper/ Junior Accounts Officer

Southern Cross Education Institute (SCEI) and Southern Cross Education Institute - Higher Education (SCEI-HE) have delivered nationally recognised vocational and tertiary qualifications across Australia since 2007 (SCEI-HE since 2018), to both local and international students. Since the organisation's inception, it has established itself as an education provider of repute. In line with our vision to serve the health, community and education sectors as a leading private provider, the colleges primarily deliver programs in Community Services, Early Childhood, Nursing, Aged Care and Pathology, with a value emphasis on producing job ready graduates. We are proud to announce that so far we have had more than 20,000 graduates most of whom have been placed into the careers of their choice as nurses, educators or community workers in hospitals, aged care facilities, community or childcare centres across Australia.

We are accredited with programs from Certificate III level, right up to master’s degrees with clear pathways for our students and a strong network into work placements. We deliver our programs from our campuses in Victoria and South Australia and soon plan to expand into Queensland. The success achieved so far is merely the foundation for future growth. Our outstanding team is paramount to the success of the organisation and looking for someone of matching calibre in talent and attitude. If you are a highly skilled Accounts Officer with an unwavering commitment to success, this role is calling you."

The Position

The Bookkeeper / Junior Accounts Officer role is to support the entire Accounts Department with the full scope of accounting functions. The candidate will work in consultation with the Accounts Manager and Senior Management on general accounting functions (AR/ AP and reconciliation).

The Bookkeeper / Junior Accounts Officer will participate in Accounts Receivables and Reconciliations primarily, according to organisational policies and Australian Accounting Standards.  

The position is a permanent, full-time role; 38 working hours per week, commencing ASAP. 

Key responsibilities include: 

• Contact current students regularly to ensure payment is made on time to avoid bad debts
• Follow up with students defaulting with payments and report the same to the Student Welfare team and higher management as required
• Maintain and update student records and payment plan in Xero and the CRM system
• Verification of staff timesheets and processing end to end payroll, in consultation with the Accounts Manager.
• Assist the Accounts Receivable Manager and the Accountant team in the bank reconciliation of student payments 
• Support the Accounts Manager with the consolidation and collation of data during financial audits.
• Liaise with other accounts team members to support allocation of payments, receipt reconciliations and debtors' ledger aspects, where required.
• Perform commission reconciliations; both intercompany and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Verifying supplier invoices and requesting payment from the Accounts Manager.
• Entering the supplier invoices in Xero and requesting the payment in a timely manner.
• Resolving the supplier queries and ensuring the accurate supplier invoices are entered in accounts software and keeping records for supplier queries, scanning and uploading the physical bills in Xero.
• Meet daily and weekly receivable targets without compromising on customer service quality and student support
• Undertake any ad hoc duties within the Accounts Department as requested by immediate line Manager and/or Management.

We are seeking candidates with:

• Minimum 1 years' experience in an AR or Collections role which required friendly yet assertive customer service
• Cert IV in Bookkeeping / Accounting or recent Accounting graduate
• Excellent communication skills
• Prefer to have sales experiences
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment
• Demonstrated capacity to meet targets and achieve results
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment