Staff Accountant
Reports to: Martrice Caldwell, Senior Director of Accounting
Start date: February 1, 2022
Location: Chicago, IL
About OneGoal
Despite decades of work and millions of dollars invested, the degree divide continues to be one of our nation’s most complex and critical injustices, with deep roots in systems of oppression and racism. Only 22% of students from low-income communities earn a college degree, compared to 67% of their peers from high-income areas.
COVID-19 further exposed and exacerbated inequity, with communities of color and those in low-income areas impacted at disproportionately high rates. We are looking for individuals to join us in our fight for equity during this extremely critical time.
- OneGoal has grown from a small afterschool program serving just 32 students in Chicago to a nationwide movement that is serving some 12,500 students in six communities.
- Our model, honed over 14 years, has three core differentiators: A rigorous, culturally relevant content and experience, cohorts of students who can support each other over the course of three years, and a teacher who supports our most vulnerable students’ long-term ambitions.
- 88% of OneGoal high school graduates enroll in a postsecondary institution and 79% of those who enroll persist one year after high school.
The Person
You believe – and your work has demonstrated your belief – that all students can achieve their highest postsecondary aspirations and the life that comes with it. The Staff Accountant is a member of the Finance and Operations team, which is charged with building and managing the systems, processes, and policies necessary to become a scalable, sustainable, and enduring organization over the next five years.
As the Staff Accountant, your mission is to maintain the day-to-day accounting of the organization. Your primary responsibilities will include:
- Ensuring the month-end close process is timely and accurate: (95%)
- Manage Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable
- Prepare monthly journal entries
- Prepare monthly reconciliations
- Assist with year-end activities
- Assist with any audits
- Manage and improve efficiency of all accounting processes
- Other duties as assigned
- Executing the payroll process so that all employees are paid accurately and on time (5%)
- Learn and internalize payroll process
- Integrate payroll into the monthly accounting processes
- Update SOP as needed
The Staff Accountant is likely to see himself/herself/themselves in the following examples as they are designed to help you determine if this opportunity aligns with your own passion, purpose, skills, and experiences.
You are detail-oriented and enjoy behind-the-scenes work in an outcomes-driven environment.
- You value precision + accuracy.
- You adhere to deadlines and reliably deliver on schedule.
- You have strong project management skills, and are able to simultaneously manage a variety of projects toward ambitious outcomes.
- You take pride in identifying and implementing high-impact solutions that will support our staff and/or improve team efficiency.
- You love managing the details and have systems/processes to ensure that things don’t fall through the cracks. You consistently have a clear picture of where things are relative to short- and long-term goals.
- You have a systems orientation to your work.
You communicate in a way that fosters collaboration + forward movement.
- You love the idea of representing the Finance + Operations team by providing excellent administrative support and warm touch points for staff in every interaction.
- Your communication is clear, efficient and responsive; ensuring stakeholders have just the right amount of detail to act and follow through.
- You have a strong customer service orientation, and you consider how to answer the question at-hand and read between-the-lines to anticipate what would enable the person to have what they need in the future.
You are highly organized and you adapt to change well.
- You understand the ebbs and flows of our work, and your ability to prioritize helps you maintain work-life balance.
- You understand that the needs of the organization and needs of our team will change as we grow and you are excited to pivot as our organizational priorities shift.
You value working collaboratively and innovatively.
- You constantly strive to learn from and share learnings with your teammates, no matter your current knowledge or experience.
- You know when and how to engage other key stakeholders that have the insight and positional authority to help you gather input and overcome obstacles.
- You thoughtfully evaluate your current approach and identify ways to elevate our program’s effectiveness through constant self-reflection.
You are a continuous learner.
- You are constantly learning, adapting and developing; you constantly create and seize opportunities to refine your knowledge, skills and mindsets in both your personal and professional life.
- When there is a setback you accept responsibility and accountability.
- You proactively seek feedback, practice active listening, act on feedback as necessary, all because you seek to be the best version of yourself for Fellows.
Qualifications:
- Lived experience of the Fellows we serve (Preferred)
- Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Finance (Required)
- 1-3 years of accounting, finance and/or month-end close experience (Required)
- Experience in non-profit/education field and knowledge of fund accounting (Preferred)
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to turn data into insights and anticipate questions and problems (Preferred)
- Ability to work independently with good time management skills (Required)
- Strong attention to detail and track record of achieving ambitious results (Required)