Summary
Legal Aid at Work (LAAW) partners with people to help them understand and assert their workplace rights, and advocates for employment laws and systems that empower low-paid workers and marginalized communities.
LAAW has seven core program areas: (1) Disability Rights; (2) Racial Economic Justice; (3) Gender Equity & LGBTQ Rights; (4) Wage Protection; (5) Work & Family; (6) National Origin and Immigrants’ Rights; and (7) Community Legal Services. Through these programs, LAAW:
- Provides free, individualized legal advice and counsel throughout California to thousands of low-income workers;
- Pursues targeted enforcement and impact litigation to strengthen and clarify the law;
- Conducts community outreach and education for workers, their advocates, their families, and their health and social service providers; and
- Advocates for laws, regulations, and policies at the local, state, and national levels to strengthen civil and workplace rights.
As a social justice organization, Legal Aid at Work’s mission is rooted in the firm belief that all people deserve respect, dignity, and self-determination at work, at school, and in their communities. Structural and systemic racism—with the oppression of Black and Indigenous people at its core—and other forms of injustice shape the society and the civic, political, and legal systems in which we work and live. Legal Aid at Work is committed to developing and nurturing an organizational culture that will dismantle systems of oppression, uplift people from underrepresented communities, and create a workplace that is truly equitable and inclusive. As such, we strongly encourage candidates from underrepresented communities to apply.
The Position
Legal Aid at Work seeks a Grants Compliance and Financial Manager with a strong commitment to public interest and social justice advocacy. This position will report to the VP of Strategy and be part of our Development and Communications team and will work closely with the finance and programs teams.
The Grants Compliance and Financial Manager will oversee key aspects of grants financial management and compliance, from pre-award budgeting and coordination to post-award compliance and reporting, while focusing primarily on the financial and administrative aspects of grants. Responsibilities include creating grant budgets, liaising with finance and program staff, maintaining compliance with funding requirements, tracking and reporting expenditures, and coordinating contracts. Notably, this role is not expected to involve significant grant writing or crafting narrative sections of grant proposals or grant reports, as that work will primarily be handled by the Grants and Impact Assessment Manager in partnership with the VP of Strategy.
Responsibilities
The Grants Compliance and Financial Manager will help maintain a portfolio of grants and contracts, including federal, state, and local grants as well as foundation and corporate grants, as follows:
Pre-Award Responsibilities
- Maintain system for budgeting grants (including budget templates) that fully takes into account, as much as possible, all of the associated costs of engaging in grant funded work
- Coordinate with Finance and Accounting team to obtain necessary cost inputs for grant budgets (payroll, hard costs), and validate proposed grant budgeting methodology
- Maintain and assure utilization of the grants indirect cost rates
Grant Coordination
- Create grant processes for each grant program staff which identifies each grant’s allowabilities, budget restrictions, and tracking requirements
- Schedule and conduct status check-in meetings with grant-funded program staff (e.g., every quarter) and provide status updates on deliverables and expenditures to leadership
- Serve as the primary liaison to representatives of granting agencies and contractual partners, including coordinating contract paperwork with the assistance of the lead program attorney on the grant
- Coordinate with the Finance and Accounting team to maintain up-to-date banking and wire information for both incoming grants and outgoing subgrants
Post Award Compliance:
- Monitor IOLTA-qualified expenditures of all programs, and provide regular (monthly or quarterly) reports to relevant program teams and management
- Monitor grant expense spend-downs of all other grants, including grants from private foundations, and government services contracts
- Generate and analyze reports on case/projects metrics and other data for grant reporting purposes
- Create and maintain master list showing all active grants and their associated characteristics (grant terms, amount of grant, etc.), as well as the percentage of staff funded by each grant
- Respond to program team questions; conduct grant quality control on a regular basis
- Develop and implement compliance monitoring procedures to ensure programmatic compliance with all public and private funding contracts; communicate to all staff on compliance procedures and policies, as needed
- To the extent there are any grant-related audits, lead the organization’s reasons to any such audits
Grant Reporting & External Communications
- Maintain schedule of grant reporting deadlines and be responsible for timely reporting to the funder; respond to requests for additional information from funders
- Coordinate with Finance team to provide expenditure reports for grants, including staff time and hard expenses
- Coordinate and attend site visits with funders
Lobbying Tracking and Compliance
- Track lobbying expenses of program staff under both California and Federal law
- Monitor lobbying expenditures and alert staff when we are nearing lobbying disclosure thresholds
- File quarterly lobbying forms, as needed, in partnership with the Finance and Accounting team
Requirements
The following list of core competencies and experiences is provided to share insight into the requirements of the role and the general level of experience we seek in candidates. We encourage all qualified candidates and those with relevant or transferable experience to apply, even if you do not bring experience in all of the areas noted below.
LAAW will consider candidates located anywhere in the state of California. Legal Aid at Work offers employees the flexibility to work primarily from home, contingent on business needs and professional responsibilities.
- A minimum of three (3) years of experience in a nonprofit environment in grants/project management, accounting, or a related field
- Experience working on a portfolio of grants, including government (federal, state, and/or local) cost-reimbursement grants or contracts, and foundation grants
- High competency in using Microsoft Excel to develop, analyze, manage, and track grant activities and related budgets and financial reports
- Proficiency in writing technical documents such as proposals, contracts, and policies and procedures
- Assertiveness to enforce rules and ability to have critical conversations clearly and respectfully; demonstrated integrity and strong moral principles
- Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy
- Excellent organizational skills to manage multiple tasks, projects, and deadlines effectively with minimal supervision
- Adaptability to quickly adapt to new regulations, technologies, and changes in the business environment
- Strong interpersonal skills to build relationships and foster a culture of compliance; ability to work collaboratively
- Resilience to handle stress and pressure, especially during firm application and reporting deadlines, as well as audits
- Regular and reliable attendance
- A passion for social justice and/or civil rights work
- A commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and the ability to hold and foster difficult and necessary conversations about sex, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and other protected categories
Additional Preferred Qualifications
- Educational background in business, accounting, or similar field
- Knowledge of Salesforce or similar databases
Compensation
Legal Aid at Work offers salaries that are competitive in the public interest law community. Benefits include health plans, long-term disability and life insurance, 403(b) retirement plan, and generous paid vacation and holidays. As a unionized organization, Legal Aid at Work believes in the importance of employees organizing to improve their working conditions. This position is included in the bargaining unit represented by ESC Local 20. Salary placement at hire and salary advancement will be in accordance with the negotiated salary scale for this position. The current salary scale is $89,960 to $117,624, depending on years of relevant work experience.
To Apply
Please email (1) your resume, (2) a cover letter detailing your interest in the position, and (3) three references to:
Grants Compliance and Financial Manager Search Committee, Legal Aid at Work
Email: jobs@legalaidatwork.org
Legal Aid at Work is committed to a diverse, multicultural work environment. LAAW is an equal opportunity and fair chance, employer. Our complete EEO and DEI statements as well as further information concerning the organization and its programs can be found at legalaidatwork.org. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Legal Aid at Work will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.