JOB TITLE: Senior Associate
JOB TYPE: Full-time, salaried
REPORTS TO: CEO
POSTED: January 17, 2023
CLOSING: When filled
ABOUT ADVISORS FOR CHANGE:
Advisors for Change is a small and growing national consulting firm that supports nonprofits with financial management services. We are looking for a skilled and collaborative Senior Associate to join our team that works 100% virtually. We seek an experienced nonprofit CFO or Finance Director who is a stellar communicator, a strong accountant, and wants to expand their impact by serving multiple nonprofit clients.
NATURE OF THE WORK: Our team is passionate about how we work with our nonprofit clients in the process of financial transformation. We are on a quest to help nonprofits expand their own financial management capacity, so our work involves developing and maintaining financial management systems for our clients and then empowering them to gradually take ownership of these systems. We also teach our clients how to use financial information in a meaningful way. Our consulting engagements require deep work with both financial management systems and the people who manage them. The joy, and sometimes the challenge, involves switching gears frequently to work with a diverse set of missions and people to maximize their potential. We work to influence our clients to improve their systems without being in full control of the internal inputs to success.
POSITION OBJECTIVE: The Senior Associate’s primary objective is to deliver custom financial management solutions and support to our clients. The overall responsibilities include accounting work for multiple nonprofit partner organizations; consulting and training staff at client organizations; and coordination of work with client staff and AFC team members to efficiently and effectively meet client needs.
WHAT ARE THE DAILY ACTIONS FOR THE POSITION?
Financial management tasks - The Senior Associate will have direct work which includes month-end closing, developing financial report formats, preparing financial reports, supporting audit preparation for clients, budgeting, presenting budgets and financial reports to multiple audiences including Boards of Directors, as well as special projects.
Meet with clients - AFC establishes standing meetings with clients which can be as often as twice weekly when starting on a new project and as in-frequently as monthly or quarterly with an established client. Each client project is assigned an “owner” who ensures that the standing agenda for the meeting has been updated prior to the meeting and that follow up items from the prior meeting have been addressed or updated. The meetings often include more than one AFC team member with the Owner taking the lead for AFC.
Review task assignments - AFC uses Smartsheet for task assignments. The Senior Associate will review task assignments and coordinate any changes with the rest of the project team.
Monitor communications - The Senior Associate will use email for communicating with clients and Slack for communicating with other AFC team members. These communications may involve problem-solving or process updates as well as general work coordination.
Meet with AFC team members - AFC team members meet in “working groups” on a weekly basis with a standing agenda to address any complex issues that arise and benefit from discussion. The working group meetings are also an opportunity for AFC team members to share progress on professional development goals and updates on life outside of work.
Assessment tasks - The Senior Associate will work with other team members to support AFC’s assessment process which includes interviewing stakeholders at nonprofit organizations, reviewing financial policies and procedures, reviewing general ledger structure and workflow, preparing and presenting recommendations, and implementing identified solutions.
Monitor progress - The Senior Associate will use AFC’s tools to monitor progress based on the objectives set out in the scope of work for each client.
WHAT SKILLS ARE NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE POSITION?
Required Experience - A qualified candidate for this position will have CFO and/or Finance Director level experience in a nonprofit organization with an annual budget size of $3 million or greater and have hands-on general ledger accounting skills and experience working in QuickBooks (Desktop or Online).
Core Competencies - AFC has identified 4 core competencies that are essential for success in our work. The Senior Associate is expected to have excellent skills in these 4 areas: Leadership, Communication, Emotional Intelligence and Learning Agility.
Other Competencies - The Senior Associate should be a self-directed worker that can work independently to move projects forward while collaborating with AFC team members and clients. They need to be well versed in most, if not all, of the following areas:
- Understanding the full accrual accounting cycle from transaction to monthly close to annual audit
- Ability to analyze the internal control and workflow structure of an organization to make recommendations for improvements
- Preparing internal financial reports appropriate for the report audience
- Understanding federal grant requirements including single audit compliance, federal grant management and indirect cost rate proposals
- Developing, presenting, and implementing organizational budgets
- Annual audit and 990 preparation for external CPAs to conduct audit and prepare 990
- Ability to set up a chart of accounts structure that meets multiple objectives (i.e. program and grant tracking)
- Awareness of payroll processing compliance issues
Technical Skills - The Senior Associate is expected to have a strong working knowledge of the fundamentals of double-entry bookkeeping and GAAP accounting as it applies to nonprofits.
The Senior Associate must have experience managing a general ledger software product. Experience with implementing new accounting processes and/or software solutions is a plus. The Senior Associate will benefit from having a working knowledge of the following systems. AFC will provide training on the following specific systems, if needed.
- QuickBooks Online and apps that integrate with QuickBooks Online such as SaasAnt, QB Importer Pro, Reach Reporting, Fathom Reporting
- Excel, including use of tables, pivot tables and lookup functions
- BILL (formerly bill.com)
- Divvy
- Smartsheet
- Payroll and time tracking software such as ADP, Paylocity, Paycom, Gusto
SENIOR ASSOCIATE COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
- Earn competitive pay ($80,000 - 95,000) while engaging in mission-driven nonprofit work
- Benefits including health insurance, PTO, 11 paid holidays, retirement, and life/long- term disability insurance
- In addition to regular PTO and paid holidays, AFC closes the last Friday of every month, with the exception of January, to give our team additional paid down time
- A one-time $1,000 home-office allowance to enhance your work-from-home experience
- A $100 monthly reimbursement for mobile phone and internet expenses
- Opportunities to earn commission for referrals that result in engagement
- An annual professional development allowance to support team members’ professional goals
- A work schedule based on a 40-hour week, Monday through Friday, with flexible hours generally between 9am and 6pm Eastern
- A casual and fun working environment that takes the work seriously
ABOUT ADVISORS FOR CHANGE & OUR HIRING PROCESS:
MISSION
Advisors for Change (AFC) implements financial management systems that allow mission-driven nonprofits to have greater insight into their financial health. The goal of every engagement is to build a system that can grow with the nonprofit and transfer ownership of it to their internal team. Our clients are organizations that work to improve the lives of individuals and communities through direct services, advocacy, and the arts.
CORE VALUES
Transparent, Accurate, Timely, and Useful: Successful finance systems are built on transparent, accurate, timely, and useful information.
Good, Better, Best: We are committed to life-long learning and work to better ourselves and the nonprofits we serve. We work to make our good better and our better best.
Meet people where they are: We are committed to joining our clients both organizationally and individually where they are without judgment. We work as a team to support each other and allow each team member to work at their own best level. We value diversity and strive to provide a work environment that supports each team member’s individuality.
Courtesy is Contagious: We strive to do our work with a positive approach that lifts up the talents of others.
REMOTE WORK STRUCTURE: AFC is legally headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland and Austin, Texas and operates 100% virtually. Candidates are required to be based in and legally authorized to work in the United States and are required to work during working hours appropriate for US Eastern or Central Time Zones.
Team members are required to attend occasional multi-day mandatory team retreats outside of their home office location with expenses paid by the company. These retreats are scheduled no more than twice per year with substantial notice to all employees of the dates.
OUR HIRING PROCESS:
- All resumes will be screened by our recruiting partner who will redact all identifying information to provide AFC screeners with identity-blind applications
- We will read your cover letter first and are interested to know why you might be a good fit for this position. We will read your resume next and are looking for skills and experiences that match the responsibilities of this position
- We will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled
- Qualified candidates will be contacted by our Operations Associate for a 30-minute initial screening interview
- Candidates whose application is advanced will be invited to interview with a panel of AFC team members that includes our Advisory Solutions Manager
- Final interviews will be conducted by AFC’s Chief Executive Officer & Chief Innovation Officer
- Finalists may be asked to provide sample work products
- We will ask for job-related references who can provide a personal account of your work
- We may conduct a background check after requesting specific permission
- We will present a job offer verbally and in writing to the successful candidate
- When we remove candidates from consideration, we will notify them via email
HOW TO APPLY:
Please include a cover letter and resume when applying for the Senior Associate position.
AFC offers accommodations for alternate abilities, upon request, during the application, interview, and hiring process. If you require an accommodation during the interview process, please let us know. We would also like to know if you have preferred pronouns so that we can address you as you wish.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $80,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
Supplemental pay types:
Application Question(s):
- Are you based in the US and legally authorized to work in the US?
- How many years experience do you have working in QuickBooks Online?
- How many years experience do you have working in QuickBooks Desktop?
- How many years of experience do you have as the CFO and/or Finance Director at a nonprofit?
- What size was the annual budget of the organization(s)?
- What are 3 words your colleagues would use to describe you?
- List any major new accounting softwares and/or accounting processes for which you led the implementation.
Work Location: Remote
