Senior Manager, AccountingChicago, IL

About GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly (GD) aims to reshape international giving – and millions of lives – by providing cash grants directly to the world’s poorest. The Brookings Institution estimates that $70B of cash transfers would be required to eliminate the poverty gap; the aid sector currently spends $135B each year, much of it on evidence-free interventions. GiveDirectly wants to change that, establishing cash transfers as a benchmark for foreign aid – as the index fund is a benchmark for the financial industry – and in the process accelerating the end of extreme poverty.

GD has raised over $1B since launching in 2011, delivered cash to more than 1.5 million people in 15 different countries. We’ve also supported large-scale, experimental research that indicates strong recipient impact of our programs. As a result, GD has been celebrated as one of the most innovative non-profit companies by Fast Company, while the growing cash transfer movement (and GD’s leading role within it) have been featured in the New York Times Magazine, This American Life, Foreign Affairs, and The Economist.

Our culture is candid, analytical, agile, and non-hierarchical. Our global team of ~150, and country operations teams of ~650, together come from 21 different countries speaking 69 different languages. Team members bring experiences from the private sector, NGOs and government. From software engineers to seasoned humanitarian workers, former management consultants to public servants, researchers to field operations -- it’s an incredible group of people.

Our values are central and deliberately opinionated. We genuinely center the people we serve in our decision making, and strive to build an ambitious, fast moving and high performing environment. We strongly encourage you to read through our values carefully, if they reflect how you like to work and energize you, this could be a great fit.

We work hard to create an environment in which all our team members can thrive, succeed and grow. We actively seek to recruit individuals from the communities we serve, and are constantly working to foster a workplace that supports diversity, and is truly inclusive in reality, not just intent. We support flexibility, take care of each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

Job Type: Full time 

Reports to: Accounting Director 

Level: Senior Manager 

Location: This role is fully remote but is based in the United States. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~1-2 times per year to one of our countries of operation for team retreats or field visits 

About this role

We’re looking for someone with an endless drive for improvement, a solutions-oriented mindset, an ability to deliver high-quality accounting on tight deadlines and the flexibility to adapt to quickly changing needs while being highly detail-oriented. The candidate should be a strong analytical thinker, have a superb understanding of the U.S. GAAP, be knowledgeable of best practices and be an excellent communicator. For this role we are searching for candidates with 7 - 10 years of experience, preferably within the public sector.

What you’ll do:

Financial Management, Accounting and Reporting

• Collaborate with the larger Finance team members to maintain, scale and implement financial processes, policies and controls, working cross- functionally with teams such as Field and Fundraising. Identify areas for improvements and maintain documentation, while providing technical and systems assistance and oversight.
• Ensure that funds expended are compliant with Donor requirements, national/state regulations and organizational policies
• Create error free periodic reports, such as balance sheets, profit & loss statements, management reports etc.
• Oversee the general ledger coding of the Balance Sheet/Revenue/Expense teams in accordance with applicable standards
• Document and update financial policies and procedures in our knowledge management system, Guru.
• Prepare ad hoc reconciliations/reports to resolve issues and execute bookkeeping journal entries on a timely basis.
• Oversee the preparation of monthly revenue entries and reconciliations.
• Manage monthly, quarterly and annual accounting close
• Substantiate financial transactions by auditing documents
• Implement accounting system workflow improvements

Audit and Compliance

• Manage the annual audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Single Audit:
• Prepare and provide support for the financial statement audit and the US federal programmatic audits (single audit etc).
• Prepare the consolidated financial statements
• Oversee the preparation and submission of regulatory filings: 1099, form 990, state tax and FBAR filings.
• Ensure compliance with applicable standards (i.e. GAAP, FASB), rules, regulations, and systems of internal control
• Implement payment and procurement protocols, including ensuring proper documentation (both hard and soft copies) and adherence to controls
• Ensure that statutory payments have been submitted to the statutory authorities on time and all original receipts filed, with periodic spot checks 
• Be accountable for the implementation of the Finance and Accounting Service Level Agreement (SLA) by understanding and anticipating the needs of the non-accounting functions; and proactively liaising with treasury, payments, and finance business partner functions for smooth delivery of the SLA.  

Other tasks

• Staff Management: Responsible for the line management and professional development of direct reports, holding regular 1:1 meetings and undertaking quarterly and annual appraisal
• Participate in internal and organization wide meetings and initiatives
• Perform all other duties that may be assigned to you from time to time by the Accounting Director and your stakeholders

What you’ll bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of professional experience in accounting or finance, with strong experience in data analysis  budgeting and reporting.
• Professional qualification (ACCA or CPA) is required. 
• Professionally proficient in English.
• Ability to liaise remotely with a wide range of people at all levels and across different cultures and to act with credibility, tact and diplomacy
• Excellent stakeholder management and strategic influencing skills
• Ability to be proactive and logical in problem-solving scenarios
• Strong time management skills with an ability to plan ahead, anticipate requirements, and obstacles, and an ability to juggle competing priorities successfully, and to work to tight deadlines
• Maintains a calm disposition and positive outlook particularly when working under pressure
• A full appreciation of the value of cooperation, both internationally and within a team environment
• Aptitude to learn quickly new software tools, such as Slack, Intacct, Limelight, and Google Spreadsheets
• Advanced excel skills
• Aptitude for numbers and quantitative skills
• Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly Values and active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from candidates who have personal or professional experience in the low-income and/or historically marginalized communities that we serve.

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to ensure that staff’s total compensation package (base compensation + bonus)  falls within the 75th percentile of similar roles, at similar organizations. We also have a no negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles. 

• The United States base salary for this role is $109,200.

Read more about our ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts here and about our decision to move our central support teams to remote first here.

GiveDirectly is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values the strength diversity brings to the workplace. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to the person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

US applicants only:  We invite you to "Know Your Rights" as an applicant.

Commitment to Safeguarding

As a global organization serving some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, GiveDirectly takes the safeguarding of its recipients, staff, and partners seriously. To that end, GiveDirectly is a member of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, and will systematically check with previous employers about any sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment issues relating to potential new hires. We may also employ other robust pre-hire screens, including in-depth reference checks, criminal background checks, and sanctions screens.

GD is committed to observing all local, national and international laws that protect children, vulnerable adults, and basic human rights of all. GD is committed to a policy of “zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH)” and expects anyone who works for GD to uphold the protection and safeguarding of our recipients as a priority.

These efforts help us continue to build and maintain trust with the communities we serve, and prevent harm to our recipients.

Interview Venue and Accessibility

We conduct interviews over Google Meet with camera on (unless communicated otherwise).

Closed captioning is available during all Google Meet interviews, and interviewers will also post interview questions in the chat box throughout the call. If you need assistance accessing either of these features, please let your interviewer know at the start of your interview! 

We’re committed to running an inclusive and accessible application process for all of our open roles. If there are questions or concerns you have about the accessibility of our hiring process, we warmly invite you to reach out to careers@givedirectly.org. Please include the word "Accessibility" in the email title.

Want to put your best foot forward on your GiveDirectly application? Take a look at our Candidate Application Prep Guide!