Nonprofit Remote Digest - Issue #590

Founded in 2002, the Center for Media Justice is a dynamic communications strategy and media policy tank for grassroots organizations serving communities of color and America’s poor.

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MediaJustice — mediajustice.org MediaJustice and the MediaJustice Network are leading the fight for racial and economic equity in a digital age

Operational Finance Lead

About the Role – Operational Finance Lead

The Operational Finance Lead is the organization's primary team member focused on establishing effective finance-related business functions and operations, refining, and improving processes and keeping accurate financial records. 

The Lead will serve as a critical thought partner and advisor to the whole team and will be centrally positioned to learn about and influence all aspects of an innovative nonprofit. We seek a professional who can oversee the improvement and implementation of the financial tools, technologies, and systems to ensure an impeccable foundation and propel our capacity to achieve big things. 

This role reports to the Director of Operations and sometimes partners with our external CFO contractor and bookkeeper to achieve finance, operations, and administrative goals.

This Operational Finance Lead is suited for someone who is excited by process, details, and deadlines and wants to improve upon and develop effective internal controls, guidelines, and procedures. The Lead is charged with ensuring these functions align with MediaJustice’s goals and values, finding ways to bring greater impact to the finance function.  

Your responsibilities will include:

• Financial Accounting: Monitor internal controls. Oversee administration of the entity’s general ledger and other expense tracking systems to ensure the timeliness and accuracy of all transactions; compliance to GAAP principles. Produce monthly and annual financial reports for both internal and external reporting, including analysis of performance to budget, data for grant reports and proposals, and other measures.

• Budget and Forecasts: Assist in the annual budget development process, including the preparation of departmental budgets, analysis of improvement opportunities, and identification of efficiencies.

• Team Finances: Establish and maintain a process for staff expense and travel reimbursements; establish and uphold policy to remit timely and accurate reimbursements.

• Grants and Resource Management: Work closely with the Development team to ensure compliance with all grants and resource stream deliverables and track resource streams with spend-down efficiencies.

• Responsible Spokesperson: Represent the organization to and deal regularly with a variety of outside firms, organizations, and individuals, including banks and other financial institutions, auditors, consultants, insurance carriers, and other agencies.

• Financial Vendor Oversight: Manage the external bookkeeper and liaise with the external CFO to complete critical day-to-day financial activities and monitor opportunities for improvement. 

• Strategic Planning: Compile and analyze operations and financial data in support of strategic planning; distill, present, and provide useful reports to leadership, the board, and the team. 

What You'll Need 

• 4+ years of professional experience.

• Demonstrated comfort and fluency with Excel, quickbooks, and numbers generally. Enjoying these will be vital to enjoying this position.

• The ability to handle multiple deadlines and complete assignments with minimal supervision in a fast-paced workplace.

• Impeccable organization, you are highly detail-oriented, and someone who gets a real sense of satisfaction from producing polished work and managing smooth and orderly processes. 

• Project management experience with the ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously.

• Ability and willingness to perform a range of tasks - from audit prep to monthly reconciliation to assisting with project reports.

• A growth-mentality, you’re unafraid to shift, stumble, and grow within an ever-changing landscape.

• A deep personal commitment to inclusion and curiosity about “whose voice is not at the table?” Experience working with diverse teams and successfully navigating cross-culturally.

Skills & Competencies

• Ability to get things done: You are solutions-oriented, a problem-solver looking for the best solution to whatever challenge you're confronted with. You don't wait for instruction. Instead, you proactively look for ways to offer support and be of use. You are a master organizer and planner and consistently look ahead and anticipate needs before they arise.

• Flexible: You can manage a diverse set of team needs and aren't afraid to step outside your job description or comfort zone to help the team reach its goals. You're comfortable with shifting schedules and don't expect every day to go "as planned."

• High Integrity: You will be asked to make sensitive and critical judgment calls, and as such, you are known for your integrity; you take that reputation seriously. You always choose to make the right decision versus the easy decision. You know what information is sensitive, and you will protect it accordingly.

• A Humble Leader: Nothing is beneath or above you. You’re quick to always lend a hand, or two! Able to earn influence without authority and naturally seek to support both small projects and large strategic goals.

• A Problem Solver: A thought partner who takes great joy in tackling complex problems and prompts, figuring out creative solutions to financial questions. Independently investigates to get to the bottom of a problem.

• Detail-oriented: Meticulous and has excellent organizational skills. Able to work fast without cluttering desk or mind. A knack for project management and a love for bullet points.

• Mission-oriented: Believes in the mission of MediaJustice and is passionate about social justice. 

How to Apply

Media Justice has engaged Equitable Hiring Group to help in this hire. To apply, please complete the short form to the right. Individuals who apply by Tuesday, May 25th will be given priority; therefore, we encourage you to submit yours soon!

When you apply, we kindly ask you to remove your universities from your resume. There is no need to reformat your resume and you may leave your degree (e.g. "B.A. Economics"). Just remember to remove any undergraduate and graduate school name references where possible. This "bias blind" process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates; reviewing applicants on performance assessments instead of resume proxies (e.g. where you went to school).

This evaluation process will follow best practices shown to reduce bias in decision making and may be different from other application processes you have experienced.

The overall evaluation process will look to follow this anticipated timeline:

• Late May: Selected candidates asked to complete short answer questions

• Early June: Phone interview with Media Justice staff

• Mid-June: Finalist candidates will be asked to complete a timed trial assignment

• Late June: Finalists will participate in a multi-team member group interview day via video conference.

• Candidate references will also be checked at this step

• Early July: Offer extended

We are currently location-agnostic when it comes to this hire and are most interested in finding the best person for the job. We expect this role to earn a salary of $70,000 plus benefits. While we are not looking to negotiate, please do not allow the compensation to be your reasoning not to apply; all you need is a resume, no cover letter required.

https://equitablehiringgroup.applytojob.com/apply/lI3rsZWLK0/Operational-Finance-Lead?source=ID