The Clergy Wellness Commission

Position Description
Bookkeeper

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Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh, North Carolina

May 1992

Objective

To support the Rector, Vestry, Treasurer, and Staff by maintaining financial and membership records, so that The Church of the Good Shepherd may meet legal, canonical and pastoral accountabilities in timely and accurate fashion.

Dimensions

• $__________ Annual Cash Flow in Parish Operating Budget
• $__________ Total Assets in Cash & Cash Equivalencies
• $__________ Annual Cash Flow in Episcopal Churchwomen Accounts
• Payroll & Leave Accounting for 6 Full-time Staff and 3 Part-time Staff
• Data Base Management for 550 Households, representing over 1,000 members
• Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 1 hour daily for lunch.
• Flex time (day-to-day adjustments in reporting and dismissal times) may be granted by supervision for personal reasons, and may be required by supervision as a result of workload demands.
• The Bookkeeper attends seminars and workshops, under the direction of the Rector, for the maintenance and improvements of skills required in the position. Time for this in-service education is provided at the Rector's discretion; costs are covered as negotiated on a case-by-case basis, not to exceed $600 annually.

Nature & Scope

The Bookkeeper is appointed by and accountable to the Rector, serving at the Rector's pleasure, and supports and extends the ministry of the Rector and Vestry as manager of financial and pastoral information and as assistant for administrative tasks as assigned. The Bookkeeper is a member of Good Shepherd's support staff, whose mission is to support the ministries of Good Shepherd's professional ministry team and lay leaders. The support staff also includes the Parish Secretary, Sexton, Assistant Sexton, and a number of office volunteers.

The Bookkeeper has Good Shepherd's office equipment at his/her disposal for the discharge of official functions, and oversees maintenance and the inventory of those supplies and equipment that are chiefly associated with the Bookkeeper's responsibilities (for example, accounting hardware, software and forms, pledge cards and offering envelopes, etc.). S/he coordinates equipment use by other staff members and volunteers. S/he works directly with volunteers, supervising and coordinating their activities. S/he serves as liaison for the Rector and Treasurer with members of the staff and congregation, and as a resource person to the Vestry and Vestry Committees, and Good Shepherd's professional ministry team.

The Bookkeeper is a primary contact person in a large downtown church with a diverse constituency. There is daily contact with other staff members, parishioners, vendors, and others having business with the congregation, including officials of the diocese and of other churches.

The Bookkeeper must be qualified to perform all the usual professional tasks required of any finance office worker and administrative assistant. Specific skills include computer software operation (spread sheet, data base management, and word processing), typing, note taking, and filing. Office machines to be operated include computer, desk calculator, typewriter, photocopier, fax machine, and telephone equipment. The Bookkeeper must be proficient in mathematics and basic bookkeeping, spelling, punctuation and grammar, and should be able to compose correspondence as requested.

The Bookkeeper is an official representative of the church, and must therefore be able to deal pleasantly, efficiently, and effectively with a wide range of tasks and people, often meeting several needs at once. Timeliness and accuracy are primary. The Bookkeeper must be able to set goals and priorities that reflect program and administrative deadlines, but remain flexible and sensitive to shifting demands upon the professional ministry team this position exists to support. The need to maintain strict confidentiality is paramount, whether privileged information comes directly as a result of discharge of official functions, or indirectly through informal channels. When in doubt whether information is privileged, the Bookkeeper must treat it as if it were.

Beyond formal and informal training and experience, the Bookkeeper meets the challenges of this position through participation in weekly staff meetings, collaboration with other members of the support staff, supervisory guidance, and in-service training.

Accountabilities

To achieve the objective of this position, the Bookkeeper must:

1. Manage all Church of the Good Shepherd receivables (offerings, pledge payments, endowment income, shared expense payments, memorial gifts, bequests, sales tax reimbursements, etc.) including all relevant accounting, acknowledgment, and reporting functions, so that Good Shepherd exercises accurate, timely stewardship of all receipts.

2. Manage all Church of the Good Shepherd payables (payroll, petty cash, operating budget expenses, Episcopal Churchwomen expenses, discretionary funds, special offerings, memorial purchases, etc.) including all relevant accounting and reporting functions, so that Good Shepherd exercises accurate, timely stewardship with regard to all expenditures.

3. Maintain computerized membership data base and (with the Parish Secretary) official parish records, so that staff, lay leaders, and congregation have appropriate and ready access to accurate and current membership information.

4. Produce, assemble, and distribute financial and membership reports as required (including but not limited to monthly operating reports, annual asset and liability statements, mailing and telephone lists), so that leaders and parishioners have accurate and timely information to discharge their accountabilities.

5. Supervise the work of tellers and other bookkeeping office volunteers, and coordinate receptionist duties with Parish Secretary, so that the office functions cordially and efficiently throughout each business day.

6. Oversee maintenance of office equipment and inventory of office supplies, so that administrative tasks may be done without unnecessary delay.

7. Support staff and volunteer church workers with regard to financial and membership information, so they may more readily perform their ministries.

May 20, 1992

Prepared by Interim Rector and Bookkeeper for Personnel Committee review and submission to Vestry.

This position description follows the form and models contained in Called To Work Together, a handbook available from the National Church. The first draft was composed by the incumbent Bookkeeper, and revised by the Interim Rector.

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