Finance Manager

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW 

An increasing number of Americans – most of whom are women and people of color – are employed in service sector jobs that are marked by low wages, no health care, job insecurity, and lack of training and career advancement opportunities. The SEIU Education & Support Fund tackles these issues by designing and facilitating worker-centered, relationship-based, and accessible education, training and workforce development programs.  We serve as a strategic partner to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and collaborate with other unions, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and employers to help workers access good jobs and spark positive social change. Throughout our work, we promote a culture of empowerment that honors experience, culture, diversity, and inclusion. The SEIU Education & Support Fund is on a mission to empower early childhood educators, raise standards, and promote high quality jobs. We do this by designing and facilitating worker-centered, relationship-based, and accessible education and training programs. Our goal is to ensure that all early childhood educators feel engaged and empowered in their profession; are respected and well compensated; and have access to educator-centered professional development and training. We work closely with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the labor union that represents over 80,000 early childhood educators across eight (8) states, and are currently piloting innovative programs around peer mentorship, grassroots advocacy, family child care communities of care and apprenticeship.

POSITION SUMMARY

This position holds a central role on ESF’s finance and operations team. Responsibilities include managing and coordinating internal financial workflows, A/R,  and grant tracking and reporting. The Finance Manager reports to the Director of Finance and works closely with ESF’s contracted accounting and bookkeeping firm. They are expected to take initiative, anticipate needs, and bring ideas or concerns to the appropriate parties. This role requires the ability to pay close attention to detail; manage multiple projects and tasks simultaneously;  assist in research and development of systems to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of financial operations; document and represent ESF policies and procedures clearly and accurately to other staff; and communicate with a diversity of partners, vendors and others engaged in ESF’s work. 

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as primary point of contact with ESF’s credit card vendor; collaborate with program directors and human resources to ensure cardholder understanding of and compliance with credit card policies and procedures;
• Maintain financial forms and templates that are used across the organization;
• Oversee the coordination of the month close cycle in partnership with ESF’s accounting firm; 
• Prepare invoices to funders with the assistance of ESF’s accounting team;
• Review A/R reports and follow-up on outstanding payments;
• Serve as lead for staff time tracking, providing user support and troubleshooting;
• Support the distribution of standardized monthly/quarterly/annual reports to budget managers/program directors;
• Process payments for  employee benefits (pension and health insurance) based on census and financial information provided by HR and accounting;
• Collaborate with the Director of Finance, HR and the operations team on financial-related policies that need to be communicated to employees; provide hands-on training and onboarding as necessary for new employees on content related to financial matters and obligations;
• Develop and maintain intra- and inter-department workflows;
• Manage grants and contracts including file maintenance, review, funding huddle documents, maintenance of master list of codes, and maintenance of grants calendar;
• Facilitate new funding huddles to review key elements of new grants and contracts; ensure any subsequent changes to terms and conditions of grants and contracts are documented, filed, and communicated to appropriate staff;
• Support fundraising department in the preparation of proposals and reports;
• Managing state and federal registrations, filings and reporting;
• Support the Director of Finance in the preparation of the  annual audit and 990;
• Maintain fluency in ESF’s policies and procedures related to financial transactions in order to field questions from ESF staff and uphold compliance. 

Other

• Identify opportunities to improve business processes to propose to the Director of Finance;
• Contribute to the development of ESF’s operations team and to cross-team collaboration;
• Contribute to advancing culture and equity at ESF by paying attention to ways our financial operations and contracting policies and procedures can better support our mission and values.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES 

• Exceptional judgment, interpersonal, and communications skills and ability to manage up, down, and laterally; demonstrate flexibility, creativity, humility, and patience;
• Highly organized and detail oriented;
• Is committed to embodying ESF’s values and contributing to our worker-centered culture;
• High ethical standards, operating with integrity and confidentiality;
• Can work in a fast-paced growth environment, tolerate ambiguity, and  “build the road as we walk it”;
• Ability to interact and work with team members in varying levels within the company, including shareholders, external partners, managers, staff, and contract workers;
• Is fluent and comfortable using technology tools; advanced level of proficiency with Google Workspace; basic proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel; familiarity with accounting software.

EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS

• 3-5 years experience in relevant finance roles, such as a AR,  AP,  payroll, or general accounting clerk or finance manager;
• Previous experience working in the  nonprofit sector in roles that allowed for understanding of the unique funding and financial management needs of charitable organizations;
• Experience managing workflows related to  policies and procedures and in supporting other staff / teammates to operate in compliance with policies and procedures;
• Ability to interact and work with team members in varying levels within the company, including shareholders, external partners, managers, staff, and contract workers;
• Knowledge of legal requirements associated with contracts;
• Organizational and analytical skills;
• Excellent attention to detail and the ability to pinpoint mistakes;
• Excellent written communication skills;
• The ability to prioritize and manage time effectively and in a remote work environment;
• Demonstrated capacity to frame complex situations and present options;
• Proven commitment to uplifting the work and creating an atmosphere of belonging, equity, inclusion, and diversity through policies, procedures, and collaboration.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Degree in business administration  or accounting;
• 1-2 years of non-profit bookkeeping experience;
• Experience with Asana or other project management tools;
• Experience with Salesforce or other CRM systems.