Print View

Presented by The Champlin Foundation.

 

The Finance and Administrative Manager has four core elements to its role - comptroller/finance manager, HR & policy support, general operations advisor, and grantmaking due diligence process. As part of the organizational management team, the Finance and Administrative Manager is responsible for safeguarding the Foundation’s compliance with all applicable accounting and tax regulations that apply to private foundations and its public charity status, managing payroll and benefits, accounts payable, and financial statements. 

 

A distinctive and critical component of this role is the oversight of grantmaking activities, which includes conducting rigorous financial health assessments of nonprofit applicant organizations. The Finance and Administrative Manager ensures that recipient organizations demonstrate the financial capacity, governance integrity, and regulatory standing required for effective stewardship of public and private resources.

 

In coordination with the Trustee, this individual is responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with new legislation impacting private foundations and for all financial accounting, compliance, and risk management activities for the Foundation. The Finance and Administrative Manager is not involved with decisions regarding the investment of the corpus or managing the investment team in any way. The position is responsible for recording all investment activity in the financial statement and staffing regular meetings of the Distribution Committee’s Investment Liaison Committee with the Trustee and the investment team. This is a full-time, exempt position working 35 hours per week, with a start date of January 2027.

 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Accounting & General Ledger Management
• Maintain the general ledger and chart of accounts in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and applicable regulatory frameworks utilizing QuickBooks Online.
• Monitor, manage, and process payment of payables, insurance, and credit cards using BILL.
• Manage payroll processing for five full-time, exempt employees, ensuring accurate calculation of wages, benefits, deductions, and tax withholdings.
• Record journal entries, including summarized investment activity.
• Process quarterly employee SEP IRA contributions.
• Maintain supporting schedules and documentation for all balance sheet accounts.
• Perform monthly bank and account reconciliations; resolve discrepancies promptly.

 

2. Financial Statements & Reporting
• Present accurate and timely monthly financial reports to the Executive Director and Trustee with narrative analysis and variance explanations.
• Coordinate the annual independent financial audit, including preparation of audit schedules, PBC (prepared by client) documents, and management representations.
• Ensure filing of IRS Form 990 PF, and all applicable state and local tax and regulatory filings. Monitor timely payment of estimated tax payments.
• Coordinate the Investment Liaison Committee meetings including scheduling and ensuring the recording of the minutes.

 

3. Budgeting & Financial Planning
• Lead the annual organization-wide budget development process in collaboration with the Executive Director and team.
• Project annual grant distributions in coordination with the Investment Liaison Committee following the guidelines approved by the Distribution Committee.
• Monitor actual expenditures against approved budgets; prepare variance reports and recommend corrective actions.

 

4. Policies, Procedures, HR & Internal Controls
• Responsible for developing (when needed), reviewing, and maintaining the organization’s financial policies, employee handbooks and insurance coverage to ensure alignment with current regulations, industry best practices, and organizational objectives.
• Assist in development and implementation of IT policies, including acceptable use, data retention, cybersecurity, AI and disaster recovery/business continuity planning.
• Manage employee benefits administration processes with outside vendors; coordinate health and other insurances; maintain accurate and timely benefit accrual information.
• Maintain awareness of overall enterprise risk management issues.
• Assist with data integrity, system security, and user access controls across all financial and administrative systems.

 

5. Compliance
• Ensure consistent compliance with financial/regulatory requirements that apply to 501(c) (3) private foundations and public charities.
• Maintain awareness of laws and trends in accounting, tax, payroll, benefits, private foundation, grant and good governance research, as well as new legislation that could have an impact to ensure the Foundation’s compliance with federal and state laws and regulations as a private foundation

 

6. General Administration
• Manage third party contracts and services as required.
• Collaborate with and provide support to other staff to support the mission and strategic objectives.
• Oversee other administrative activities as required by the Executive Director and perform related duties as needed.

 

Grantmaking: Financial & Compliance Assessment

A core responsibility of this position is undertaking substantive analysis to assess the financial health and regulatory compliance of nonprofit organizations applying for grant funding.

Financial Health & Compliance Assessment of Applicant Organizations
• Verify that applicant organizations are in good standing as recognized tax-exempt entities under IRS Section 501(c)(3) or applicable exemption categories.
• Analyze and evaluate financial statements, audits, and IRS Form 990s for all grant applicants in each cycle. Consider accuracy, completeness, and disclosure of conflicts of interest, related party. transactions, and governance practices.
• Identify debarment, suspension, or exclusion status through the SAM.gov database or equivalent for federally funded grants.
• Assess liquidity ratios, operating reserves, revenue diversification, debt levels, and unrestricted net assets to evaluate financial sustainability.
• Review expense ratios (program, management, fundraising) and evaluate efficiency and alignment with organizational mission.
• Identify and note financial red flags including operating deficits, declining revenue trends, over-reliance on a single funding source, accumulated deficits, or deferred liabilities.
• Evaluate budget-to-actual performance and financial management capacity of applicant organizations.
• Review cash flow statements and assess the organization’s ability to manage grant funds and maintain program operations.
• Provide assessment summaries and ratings to the grants management team for inclusion in the grant review process.

Five years of related accounting/finance and operations experience at a higher level in public charity settings. Knowledge of not-for-profit GAAP is required. Strong experience coordinating the annual audit process; experience with the Federal Form 990 expected; familiarity with the 990PF a plus.

General: With a commitment to the non-profit sector and a passion for our mission, the Finance and Administrative Manager must have direct experience working at a senior level in the financial management for a nonprofit charitable organization; an ability to understand the strengths and weaknesses of large and small nonprofit organization balance sheets; some understanding of endowments and investments; ability to exercise discretion, work independently, take initiative, meet multiple and competing deadlines, participate as an effective team member, and follow tasks through to completion; flexible, with a high sense of individual responsibility; an ability to anticipate needs and plan accordingly. This position requires a person who recognizes that financial capacity varies widely across the Foundation's applicant pool, bringing a compassionate balance between rigorous assessment and risk levels. The candidate should have the ability to contribute to an inclusive and learning environment as well as the ability to work with humor and grace in a small team environment. This position requires limited local travel. Organizational skills: Excellent organizational/administrative skills and attention to detail. Able to prioritize work effectively and adjust to multiple demands. An interest in continuous learning, demonstration of initiative and sharing of ideas, working as part of a team without ongoing conflict, a high level of ethics and integrity Communication skills: Ability to verbally present financial materials and direct the Foundation’s attention to critical financial issues for discussion and action. Skilled communicator with strong written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills; strong critical thinking and analytical skills; high level of emotional intelligence. Additionally, the Finance and Administrative Manager must be able to patiently communicate financial concepts, requirements, and expectations clearly to grantee organizations that may lack dedicated financial or accounting staff. Building applicant understanding and confidence rather than simply enforcing compliance is a core value for the Foundation. Other: • Exceptional detail-oriented skills with the ability to multitask and manage numerous projects and deadlines at once; demonstrate a deep appreciation for procedure, compliance and data accuracy. • Flexible and proactive work style with a learning mindset and a willingness to modify approaches as new information becomes available. • Administratively self-sufficient; works well independently with minimal oversight while also collaborating with a small dynamic team. • Knowledge of Rhode Island’s nonprofit sector preferred. • Fluency with additional languages, especially Spanish, considered an advantage.