Staff Accountant

About Oakland Promise

The mission of Oakland Promise is to engage the Oakland community to advance equity and economic mobility through cradle-to-college and career educational opportunities. Founded in 2016, Oakland Promise is a citywide movement with over 50 implementation partners working towards our common vision. Oakland Promise supports children and families from birth through college and career to ensure that postsecondary success is a reality for all Oaklanders. Oakland Promise includes four programs: Brilliant Baby, Kindergarten to College (K2C), College Access, and College Scholarships and Completion, that provide a cradle-to-care continuum of college and career-focused support for students.  Our goal is to dramatically increase the number of college graduates from Oakland and ensure that all students hold a college-bound identity. We seek a hard-working, highly detail-oriented individual to join our community in undertaking this important work.

Job Purpose

Oakland Promise is seeking a passionate and skilled Staff Accountant to support the accounting operation. Reporting to the Grants and Accounting Manager as a member of the Finance team, this position will play a key role in providing accurate and timely accounting data, while leveraging financial analysis expertise. Please note, this is a hybrid position requiring three days per week in-office at our Oakland location.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Assists in the preparation, reconciliation, and analysis of financial statements, budgets and various management reports, involving statistics, legal requirements, cost accounting, and other factors and methods as appropriate.
• Assists in the tracking, analysis, and reporting of operating revenues and expenditures, balance sheet, capital expenditures, and project funding sources. 
• Maintain, reconcile, and manage the fixed asset ledger, including recording of sales and other disposal of assets and coordination of periodic physical asset inventories.
• Assists in the development and maintenance of accounting and other financial systems.
• Analyzes and reconciles general ledger accounts, or subsidiary systems; maintains subsidiary and control accounting records.
• Reviews and verifies the accuracy of data inputs and outputs, and identifies and/or implements corrective actions as needed.
• Examines and analyzes supporting documentation to establish proper authorization and conformance with the organization policies and procedures, agreements, contracts, and regulations.
• Assists in preparation of information needed by, and acts as the liaison with various parties including but not limited to external auditors; local, state, and federal agencies; consultants, and other department’s staff.
• Assists in training clerical staff on various operating systems and procedures.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge of

• Generally accepted accounting principles, methods, rules, and procedures.
• Data collection and analysis methodologies.
• General principles and application of budgeting, financial analysis, and statistical analysis.
• Electronic data processing principles and systems as applied to general, cost, payroll, accounts payable and managerial accounting.
• Standard practices and procedures relating to various financial/accounting functions, such as fixed asset transactions, and processing of receipts and disbursements.
• Spreadsheet functionality and analytical tools.
• General business and office procedures and equipment.

Ability to

• Prepare, analyze, pre-audit and verify accounting and other financial records and documents.
• Interpret and apply tax, regulatory, grant, or other applicable requirements.
• Use spreadsheet, word processing, e-mail, and database applications.
• Read and comprehend financial statements.
• Verify the accuracy of financial data and information.
• Assimilate new tasks, work under deadlines, and coordinate and manage multiple concurrent assignments.
• Communicate and present information effectively in oral and written format; prepare clear, concise, and grammatically correct reports and presentations summarizing quantitative and qualitative information in response to oral or written specifications/direction.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external parties in the performance of duties.
• Work both independently and as a team member.
• Exercise sound independent judgment within general policy guidelines.
• Handle sensitive issues professionally and with tact.
• Work with varying levels of supervision.

Required Qualifications

• 1-2 years of  Public Accounting experience preferred
• A bachelor’s degree with major course work in accounting or finance, or a closely related field which has included courses in upper division accounting or finance plus one year of professional experience in one or both of these fields
• Excel expertise including vLookup, Macros, Pivot tables and formulas

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of Oakland community-based organizations, local government, and Oakland’s education landscape a plus
• Experience managing subcontracts
• Experience with contract and grant accounting practices including federal and state grants
• Experience with NetSuite and Concur

Compensation:

• This is a full-time exempt position with a salary range of $70K-$80K based on skill set and experience
• Oakland Promise offers employees fully agency-funded options for medical, dental, and vision.
• Oakland Promise offers a 401K match of up to 3% plus vacation and sick time.
• Oakland Promise currently has a hybrid work policy with a requirement that staff are in the office 3 days a week.
• The ability to learn and grow within a supportive team environment.
• An opportunity to network and interact with leaders in the community.

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.

To apply: Send a single PDF (NOT a Microsoft Word document) of a resume and thoughtful cover letter to [email protected] with “OP Staff Accountant — [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 484 9th Street, Oakland, CA 94607. 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.