The Organization and Role:

About Us:

Access Now is a growing international human rights organization dedicated to defending and extending the digital rights of users at risk around the world, including issues of privacy, security, freedom of expression, and transparency. Our Policy, Advocacy, Helpline, RightsCon, Grants, and Operations teams have staff presences in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East/North Africa (MENA), North America, and South/Southeast Asia, to provide global support to our mission.

About the Role:

The Grants and Contracts Manager plays a key role with both the finance and development teams of our growing, global organization. Leveraging their strong financial management experience, the Manager is responsible for collaborating across the Organization to ensure smooth and timely grant processing, grant reporting, grant allocation, accurate spending against grants budgets, and compliance with funder requirements and applicable laws. The Grants and Contract Manager brings a detail-oriented approach to managing competing priorities and deadlines, and coordinates exceptionally well across cross-functional teams.

The Grants and Contracts Manager reports through the Director of Finance, and works closely with the Financial Controller and other Finance Team leads, and with Access Now’s Development Director.

What You Will Do:

As the Grants and Contracts Manager you will be responsible for the day-to-day coordination of the Organization’s financial management of its grants, donations, and fundraising efforts in a dynamic, collaborative, and mission-based environment.

Financial Grant Analysis and Compliance:

• Coordinate all financial reporting aspects of Access Now’s grants by working closely with accountants to allocate expenses to specific funders according to budget and need
• Provide timely and accurate financial reports for donors to Director of Finance and to Development Director to meet rolling deadlines across all funding relationships
• Review time allocation to grants to ensure that allocations meet funding requirements, and that grant funds are being spent down appropriately
• Support Director of Finance on audits and agreed-upon-procedures as needed, providing documentation and drafting responses to audit questions
• Track all incoming grant agreements for their financial requirements to provide advice on their application, feasibility, and practical implementation
• Work with directors and managerial staff to ensure that they understand and comply with funders’ terms and conditions as set out in grant agreements
• Maintain documentation of financial documents for funding agreements and strong internal processes which intersect with Development team
• Analyze and report on general ledger account activity for variances from budget
• Prepare a periodic and annual restricted revenue release schedule
• Support decision-making on grant expenses in coordination with the Development Director and team, interpreting whether the expense is appropriate and allowable within the grant framework, budget, goals, and general conditions
• Work closely with EU counterparts to align and ensure financial reporting and compliance obligations as they relate to grant revenue and expenses
• Keep abreast of accounting pronouncements and industry best practices with respect to revenue recognition and grant financial reporting for not-for-profits

Budget Preparation and Adjustments:

• Develop and review budgets for grant proposals aligned with organizational priorities (and available expense categories), being responsive to funder interest in close coordination with the Development Director and team
• Support Development Director in responding to and managing follow-up financial requests from funders.
• Work closely with the Financial Controller to track adjustments and projections
• Support creation of the organizational budget, primarily from a “budget by funder” and an unrestricted vs. restricted perspective.
• Other financial projects/tasks as assigned

Additional Responsibilities:

• Keep abreast of accounting pronouncements and industry best practices with respect to revenue recognition and grant financial reporting for not-for-profits
• Pursue additional training in grant management requirements/regulations, as needed
• Perform administrative tasks (information management, maintenance of financial aspects of grant files, document destruction, etc.) as needed
• Other financial projects/tasks as assigned

Skills, education, and mindset you will bring:

• Non profit accounting experience, including basic accounting concepts, TRNA (Temporary Restricted Net Assets)/funding with restrictions, deferred revenue, balance sheet items, projection, fund budget building
• Detailed familiarity with principles of GAAP as it relates to grant-making and revenue recognition, as well as typical not-for-profit policies, procedures, and best practices
• An adaptability, flexibility and creativity to get the job done
• Familiarity with grants from a diverse range of sources in a not-for-profit global context
• Advanced Excel skills, including creation and use of complex pivot tables, lookup functions, and other features for formatting, manipulating, and analyzing data
• Ability to show initiative, set and manage priorities, manage horizontally/vertically, and exercise sound judgment
• Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and multi‐task
• Ability to work effectively as part of a fast-paced team, building strong and trusted relationships
• Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills
• A detail-oriented approach, possessing keen analytical skills organization
• Multi-year foreign government grant financial management and reporting experiences
• Revenue recognition per GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)
• Familiarity with FundEZ and/or Salesforce
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent, through a combination of education, training, and/or experience, plus four years of related experience

The Details

Location:

This is a full-time position, ideally aligned with either our New York City (Manhattan) or Washington, DC-metro area presences, with ability to attend occasional in-person meetings. At this time US-based Access Now Team Members are working in a hybrid remote/office environment. The successful candidate must have the legal right-to-work in the location in which they will be based. We are unable to sponsor visas or relocations for this role.

Remuneration:

Access Now offers competitive salary – commensurate with experience – and benefits packages that align with our office localities. Initial placement within the salary range for this role is anticipated between $75,000 and $87,500 USD annually, and will be determined by depth of experience and preparation. Benefits for this specific role, include, paid healthcare – medical, dental, and vision – insurance, as well as access to a 401k retirement savings program match. Team Members also benefit from a strong global culture aligned around:

• Work-life balance…including a generous paid time-off program
• Professional development and growth opportunities
• Extensive workplace flexibility
• Connection to a diverse, global team of passionate, principled professionals
• Organizational resilience and support for all team members
• Opportunities to recharge (including one month of paid refresher leave after 4 years)

We are a global human rights organization committed to inclusivity and equity, and seek the most talented team members who bring their true selves, with diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences. As an equal opportunity employer, we value and encourage diversity and consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected status. Our commitment applies with regard to all aspects of one’s employment, including hiring, transfer, promotion, compensation, eligibility for benefits, and termination.