Accounts Payable Associate

About Oakland Promise:

Oakland Promise is available to young learners (from newborns to college students) and their families who reside in Oakland. OP offers every child financial resources, educational programming, mentorship, and a supportive community to help them and their families, to seek out and thrive in higher education and the career of their choosing. The mission of the Oakland Promise is to engage the Oakland community to advance equity and economic mobility through cradle to college and career achievement. The Oakland Promise includes four programs: Brilliant Baby, Kindergarten to College (K2C), College Access, and College Completion. Our program strategies touch the lives of children and families in early childhood (ages 0-5), elementary, middle and high school; and culminate in multi-year scholarships and support for students in college.

About the program: 

The Brilliant Baby (BB) program supports children’s early healthy development and school-readiness by setting up College Savings Accounts (CSAs) for babies, offering financial coaching and early learning resources to parents and caregivers, and building a supportive community for the whole family.  Brilliant Baby supports parents’ early expectations for their child’s educational success.

Oakland Promise Kindergarten to College (K2C) helps K through 5th graders in Oakland think of themselves as college-and career-bound individuals. We provide scholarships, as well as technical support and incentives to families who open a family-owned college savings account. Additionally, we provide program support to build a college- and career-going identity within students, which includes Cal Day, college visits, family and student workshops, scholarship celebrations, and more.

College Access serves both middle and high school students in Oakland’s district and charter schools! Our vision is to support all students in accessing a clear and solid path to post-secondary educational experiences that lead to a variety of career options – 2-year, 4-year, and vocational or technical programs. Our goal is to offer integrated programming to students and families that targets the elimination of structural and cultural barriers to intergenerational social mobility. 

College Completion supports college and CTE students with scholarships and persistence support and equips students with social and emotional support through mentoring, peer advising, counseling, retreats, and scholarship distribution. Oakland Promise designs holistic educational programming to create a culture of career and college preparedness in students, families, and educators, so we can dramatically increase the number of college graduates from Oakland public schools.

About the role: 

Oakland Promise seeks a detail-oriented and passionate Accounts Payable Associate with strong accounting and analytical skills to join our Finance team.  This role will support the day-to-day accounts payable operations for Oakland Promise.

This role is responsible for managing the entire Accounts Payable cycle of the organization which includes entering invoices, credit card transactions, employee reimbursements, initiating payments, distributing checks, contacting vendors for additional documents, weekly check runs, processing expense reports and supporting the finance team with the audit. In addition, this role will also take lead in making scholarship payments and paying stipends to families.

This role reports to the Sr. Manager Finance and Reporting.

This role is an in-person/hybrid role, and we require you to be residing in Oakland/ Bay Area.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Review invoices for appropriate documentation prior to payment
• Process invoices and expense reimbursements and initiate payments on behalf of the organization and distribution of checks.
• Enter scholarship checks and stipends in the accounting system and issue payments.
• Manage corporate credit cards and enter them in the system.
• Enter requisitions on behalf of the finance department.
• Analyze, research and respond to vendor inquiries and work with vendors to resolve them. 
• Work closely with cross functional teams and vendors to ensure all payments are made in a timely manner.
• Follow up on uncashed/ voided checks and reissue new checks.
• Strengthen and grow relationships with vendors and suppliers through timely payment.
• Assist the accounting manager with the month end reconciliation.
• Support the finance team during the audit.
• Assist in 1099 and other government reporting.
• Reconcile scholarship data with the CRM software.
• Purchasing gift cards on behalf of the organization and managing it with the Sr. Manager Finance and Reporting.
• Filing all receipts in the system.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance or accounting
• 3 years of relevant experience in accounting is desirable.
• Good understanding of GAAP and non-profit accounting is desirable.
• Experience using NetSuite and Salesforce is desirable.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office products.
• Strong attention to detail and a team player.
• Must be driven to meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent analytics and logical skills

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience in using Netsuite and Salesforce
• Experience in non-profit industry and government grants is desirable
• Proficiency in Microsoft and Google products

Compensation and Benefits:

• Full time exempt position
• Hiring range for this role is $ 65,000 to $ 70,000 based on skill sets and experience.
• Oakland Promise offers a competitive benefits package, which includes dental / health/ vision, paid vacations and sick days and a 401k match up to 3%.
• Oakland Promise currently has a hybrid work policy.
• The ability to learn and grow within a supportive team environment.
• An opportunity to network and interact with leaders in the community. 
• Some evening and weekend hours may be required.

Application Process: 

We are looking for candidates with availability to start immediately and encourage you to apply if you are interested in and qualified for the position. The deadline to submit your application is Feb 21, 2023

To apply:

Send a single PDF (NOT a Microsoft Word document) of a resume and thoughtful cover letter to [email protected] with “Accounts Payable Associate – [Your Name]” in the subject line. Please use your last name and first initial (ex: Doe_J) as the filename of your PDF containing your resume and cover letter.

Failure to follow these instructions may delay the review of your application. Applications will be reviewed immediately and candidates with the best fit will be contacted for interviews. Unfortunately, the volume of applications will prevent us from responding to all applications received. 

Oakland Promise is a place-based organization located in Oakland, California. Oakland Promise requires that employees work in person at various engagements. Currently, Oakland Promise staff are working in a hybrid model, with some work being done remotely and some work being done in the office or at specific locations in or around Oakland. It is a requirement that all staff reside within commuting distance to the main office, located at 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza #430, Oakland, CA 94612. Please note that at any time, a full in-person work plan may be required, and it is of utmost importance that all staff are able to meet this requirement.

Oakland Promise is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Oakland Promise is committed to providing a work environment free of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and disrespectful or other unprofessional conduct based on sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), sex stereotype, race, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), color, gender (including gender identity, gender expression, and transgender), national origin (including language use restrictions and possession of a driver’s license issued under Vehicle Code section 12801.9), ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, sexual orientation, military, and veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law or ordinance or regulation. It also prohibits discrimination, harassment, disrespectful or unprofessional conduct based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics.