Accounting Analyst

Position Summary

The Onboarding & Payments Operations Analyst manages the end-to-end onboarding and payment lifecycle for universities, colleges, scholarship recipients, and grant beneficiaries. This role is responsible for collecting and validating documentation, setting up suppliers and payees, and processing payments accurately, timely, and in compliance with internal controls, tax, and audit requirements.

Serving as a primary point of contact for external institutions and internal partners, the Analyst plays a critical role in maintaining data integrity, resolving payment issues, and improving onboarding and accounts payable processes. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, highly organized, and comfortable working independently in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

Key Responsibilities

Recipient & University Onboarding

• Collect, review, and validate onboarding documentation, including W-9s, W-8s, student verification letters, banking instructions, and address confirmations.
• Ensure completeness, accuracy, and compliance of all submitted information.
• Validate banking and payee details and resolve discrepancies through direct outreach to institutions or individual recipients.

Supplier & Payee Setup

• Create, update, and maintain supplier and payee records for universities, students, and other recipients in the financial system.
• Partner with internal stakeholders, including Education and Accounts Payable teams, to resolve onboarding and setup issues.

Payment Processing

• Accurately enter and process payment requests, ensuring proper coding, documentation, and approvals.
• Verify that invoices and supporting documentation align with payment requests and audit standards.
• Process payments related to scholarships, grants, stipends, reimbursements, and institutional agreements.
• Monitor payment batches, confirm successful processing, and escalate exceptions as needed.
• Investigate and resolve payment delays, returns, or discrepancies.
• Respond to payment inquiries with professionalism, accuracy, and timeliness.

Compliance & Documentation

• Maintain complete and audit-ready documentation in accordance with internal controls and regulatory requirements.
• Support year-end and compliance activities, including 1099 validation and audit requests, as needed.

Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve onboarding and payment workflows.
• Identify process gaps or inefficiencies and recommend solutions to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and service.

Qualifications

Preferred Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in finance, Accounting, Business, or Operations Management OR equivalent of 3-5 concurrent years of experience in Accounts Payable, Supplier/Vendor Management, Grants Administration, or a related finance or operations role.
• Working knowledge of W-9/W-8 requirements and accounts payable documentation standards.
• Strong attention to detail and analytical skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for working with internal teams, universities, and individual recipients.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities independently and meet deadlines.
• Experience supporting scholarships, grants, or higher education payment programs.
• Familiarity with internal controls, compliance requirements, banking verification, and fraud mitigation.
• Prior work in environments with high-volume or complex payment processing.

Core Competencies

• Exceptional attention to detail
• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Customer-service mindset
• Critical thinking and problem-solving ability
• Accountability and follow-through
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively

This role is based in our Washington, D.C. office. A reasonable rate of compensation for this position is between $75,000-$85,000 per year. ACS employees work a hybrid schedule, consisting of working onsite two days per work week, as decided by functional area. The balance of the week is open to working remotely, though employees are always welcome onsite each day if they choose.

ACS currently provides the following benefits for this position: paid vacation leave, paid sick leave, paid holidays, health insurance, flexible spending account or health care savings account, dental insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, retirement benefits, short- and long-term disability, and 4-week work from anywhere; each benefit is subject to the terms of the applicable program. Additional benefits may apply based on skills, experience, and location.

Any actual offer of employment, reflecting the total compensation package and benefits, will be made in the sole discretion of ACS. ACS reserves the right to amend or modify its employment benefits and compensation structure at any time.

Functional Expert - Considered a thought leader on a subject
Detail Oriented - Capable of carrying out a given task with all details necessary to get the task done well
Dedicated - Devoted to a task or purpose with loyalty or integrity

Self-Starter - Inspired to perform without outside help
Flexibility - Inspired to perform well when granted the ability to set your own schedule and goals
Ability to Make an Impact - Inspired to perform well by the ability to contribute to the success of a project or the organization

Some college (preferred)
Bachelors of Accounting (preferred)

3 - 5 years: Experience supporting scholarships, grants, or higher education payment programs. Proven ability to work independently in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment using ERP/AP systems and standard financial tools. (required)