Grant Accountant

What We Need 

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation– a private, non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening and promoting U.S. national marine sanctuaries – seeks a Grant Accountant to work at its headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The Grant Accountant plays a key role within the Foundation’s finance team and is responsible for managing all aspects of accounting for a nonprofit organization that both conducts its own programs and manages Federal awards for national marine sanctuaries, ocean and fisheries conservation, marine education, and related programs both nationally and worldwide. The Grant Accountant is primarily responsible for all areas of: grant accounting, GAAP compliance, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, and reporting; financial reviews and analyses; policy development; the annual audit; and reports directly to the Director of Finance.

What You’ll Do 

Responsibilities:

Grant Accounting

• Keeps abreast of grant reporting requirements; ensures the Foundation is up to date on all regulations governing Federal/state grants and accounting/financial reporting; stays abreast of best practices, technologies, and processes; and reviews business processes, internal controls, and customer service levels for improvements as well as develops and implements solutions.
• Develops and annually reviews Foundation-related grant policies to ensure compliance with 2 CFR 200; sponsors specific regulations and other Foundation administrative policies; and establishes procedures to ensure monitoring and compliance to policies specifically but not limited to Foundation effort reporting and subrecipient monitoring.
• Manages post-award grant accounting life cycle, including but not limited to: establishing grant number and budget in the accounting system; performs compliance analysis of allowable grant expenditures; verifies each expense for compliance on each grant or award with the approved budget and 2 CFR 200; issues monthly expenditure report to Program Operations team for approval; prepares grant invoice and indirect costs for management approval; prepares grant journal entries; monitors budgets; and monitors grant accounts receivable balances.
• Completes reports as required, including but not limited to:  SF-425s, annual reports – Single Audit (and online submission to the Department of Education through EZ-Audit system), indirect costs distribution, expenditure reports to the Program Operations for reporting purposes to the sponsor/grantor, and quarterly required sponsor reports and special reports as requested by the Program Operations Team and Director of Finance.   
• Prepares cash drawdowns from Federal/state agencies and issues billing to other grantors to ensure timely cash receipts and maximum access to cash resources according to established reimbursement procedures; and ensures the timely payment of invoices to Federal pass-through sub-grantees to ensure their timely cash receipt and maximum access to cash resources according to the established and negotiated contract.
• Computes all adjusting and closing entries for grant accounts by period of performance closing/Federal grant requirements and proper transfer of funds for the Foundation’s annual fiscal year-end closing and auditing requirements.
• Prepares financial analyses, projections, and/or expenditures and revenues for a variety of grant-related projects and activities, as needed by Program Operations, Department VPs, or other Finance Office staff.
• Complete risk assessments for potential awardees
• Prepares all Federal grant-related schedules for annual audit requirements and completes other duties related to the annual audit, as needed.
•  

Credit Card Management 

• Responsible for all credit card activity
• Credit card software management through Concur
• Review all credit card charges submitted through Concur, including coding and receipt review
• Reconciliation of credit card transactions from Concur to Sage Intacct accounting software and bank activity 

Other

• General troubleshooting, responding to inquiries internally
• Process improvement and other ad hoc assignments
• Cross-training within the department
• Performs other related duties as assigned
• Regular attendance required

Who You Are 

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant major and at least five years of experience in bookkeeping and/or accounting in a Single Audit grant-making environment.
• Ability to execute and ensure compliance with all approved organizational policies and procedures.
• Accuracy, attention to detail and excellent organization skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a collaborative work style.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated strong work ethic.
• Demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and a diverse workplace.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Sage Intacct experience a big plus
• Microsoft Office – proficient in Excel, Word, and Outlook

Why You Will Love Us 

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (“Foundation”) is a leading voice for U.S. protected waters, working with communities to conserve and expand those special places for a healthy ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes. The Foundation works in close partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to increase stewardship of our ocean and Great Lakes through on-the- water conservation projects, and education and public outreach activities, and by support for research. Together, we safeguard species and the places they call home, and support coastal communities and economies.

• Dedicated and passionate staff committed to marine and Great Lakes Conservation
• Generous leave policy, plus paid time off the week between December 25 and January 1; and 12 paid holidays
• Health benefits: Medical with an FSA option; dental, and vision
• Foundation paid Life and Disability Insurance
• Preparing for the Future: 403(B) with employer contribution after one year of service
• Commuter Benefits

Compensation and Benefits: $75k – $80k/year, based on experience. The Foundation offers a competitive benefits package.

Location: Washington D.C. based (Silver Spring HQ office location). Partial telework may be available.

Applications must include a cover letter, resume and at least three professional references. Applications received before January 15, 2025 will be preferred.

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This commitment applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, and training. The Foundation makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.