Senior Accountant

Chicago, IL

About the Obama Foundation

At the Obama Foundation, we are guided by a core belief: that ordinary people working together can change history. Our mission is to inspire those people to take action, empower them to change their world for the better, and connect them so they can achieve more together than they can alone.

We were founded by community organizers, so when we seek change, we do it by bringing people together.

That approach begins at home, on the South Side of Chicago, where we are building the Obama Presidential Center. The Center represents a historic opportunity for Chicago: a chance to build a world-class museum and public gathering space that celebrates our nation’s first African American President and First Lady, steps away from where he began his career, where she was raised, and where—together—they made their home.

But that approach extends to all our work, whether it’s holding leadership training sessions in communities throughout the U.S., bringing local leaders together in countries around the world, working to support the global education of girls, or ensuring young men of color have pathways to opportunity.

As President Obama has said, “we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together.” So join us.

For more information, please visit www.obama.org.

Purpose of the Role

As a key member of the Finance team, the Senior Accountant will be responsible for maintaining accounting records, processes and procedures to ensure accurate and timely financial reporting in compliance with US GAAP. This position manages a variety of accounting activities including general ledger preparation and reconciliation, grant tracking and reporting, financial reporting, and assistance in the year-end audit preparation. The Senior Accountant will report to the Accounting Manager.

Core Job Responsibilities

Prepares monthly, quarterly and year-end financial reconciliations ensuring transactions are accurately recorded and in compliance with GAAP and ensures reconciliation discrepancies are investigated and resolved in a timely manner
Works closely with the Development and Program departments on grant management and reporting tasks
Maintains and reports on restricted cash to applicable departments
Oversees debt compliance with our outside financial institution, while working with the Construction team and finance leadership regarding cash flow management
Evaluates business processes and accounting policies with the assistance of the Accounting Manager to maintain and strengthen internal controls and adopt any new accounting pronouncements
Maintains net asset, investment and endowment accounting records
Assists finance leadership team with annual financial statement audit and Form 990 tax filing, including the preparation of the Statement of Functional Expenditures
Performs all other job duties as assigned by the finance leadership team

Key Deliverables / Outcomes

Grant management and reporting are maintained regularly. Financial grant reporting is completed in advance of due dates for review by the development team and applicable program team.
Restricted cash is maintained and reported monthly to applicable departments and to the financial planning and analysis team.
Accounts are reconciled monthly by the 8th business day, including net assets, investments and endowment accounts.
Within first year, work with the Accounting Manager to streamline net asset and grant tracking and set up the current general ledger system (NetSuite) for tracking
Assist the Accounting Manager with the audit and 990 process, resulting in timely reporting and no material adjustments

Required Qualifications

Minimum of five (5) years’ experience in accounting at large not-for-profit organizations; public accounting experience and/or grant management experience is a definite plus
Strong working knowledge of US GAAP, internal controls and financial reporting required; CPA is a definite plus; must have excellent math skills and attention to details
Understanding of accounting general ledger systems, previous experience with NetSuite a plus
Ability to work collaboratively with all departments and levels of the organization, while maintaining a high level of confidentiality
Proven ability to manage multiple priorities without compromising quality

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Foundation is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at careers@obama.org if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.