Controller

Are you a hands-on accounting leader? Are you passionate about environmental sustainability and human rights?

We are currently in search of a Controller for a Foundation located in Menlo Park, CA. This is a Full-Time, Fully In-Person, Permanent position.

ORGANIZATION TYPE: Foundation

LOCATION: Menlo Park, CA (Peninsula)

POSITION TITLE: Controller

SCHEDULE: Full-Time

DURATION: Permanent

ANNUAL SALARY: $185,000 - $200,000

Is This Your Dream Job? The Controller will own the day-to-day accounting operations of the Foundation and is the subject matter expert on private foundation financial compliance. The Controller produces accurate, timely financial statements; safeguards assets through sound internal controls; ensures grantmaking and operating activities are recorded and reported in accordance with GAAP and the private foundation rules under the Internal Revenue Code; and gives the Senior Management team the financial information they need to make sound stewardship decisions.  

Our Ideal Candidate:

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field; CPA license is required
• 10+ years of progressively responsible accounting experience, including 4+ years at a Controller level at private grant-making and/or operating foundation(s)
• Demonstrated expertise in nonprofit GAAP and financial statement preparation
• Strong working knowledge of the private foundation rules under IRC Chapter 42 and the Form 990-PF, or comparable exempt organization tax experience with the ability to come up to speed quickly
• Knowledge of standard payroll laws, policies, procedures, and regulations
• Experience with international grantmaking, expenditure responsibility, or equivalency determination, and investment accounting with alternative asset classes, including partnership accounting and K-1s
• Exceptional accuracy and follow-through, with the judgment to know which details matter
• Ability to prioritize and balance multiple projects simultaneously, with proven effective time-management skills
• Operates independently in a lean team; identifies problems and brings solutions
• Clear written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain technical accounting and compliance issues to non-finance colleagues
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills; proficiency with NetSuite, Concur, Adaptive, Salesforce, and Google Workspace 

How You Will Spend Your Day:

Accounting Operations and Financial Reporting

• Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual close, including journal entries, reconciliations, and the general ledger
• Prepare GAAP-basis financial statements for nonprofit entities (standalone and consolidated), including the statement of financial position, statement of activities, statement of functional expenses, and statement of cash flows
• Prepare monthly and quarterly financial reporting packages and analysis for the Senior Management team
• Manage accounts payable, expense reimbursement, corporate card administration, and payroll processing and reconciliation
• Monitor liquidity and cash forecasting to ensure grant payments and program operating needs are funded without forced sales
• Maintain the Foundation’s financial compliance and reporting calendar, and drive it proactively so filings, audit deadlines, and payout requirements are met without last-minute pressure
• Document and maintain internal controls over financial reporting and disbursements, including segregation of duties, approval authorities, and fraud prevention over payments
• Serve as the primary liaison for the annual financial statement audit: prepare the PBC schedules and resolve auditor requests through to closure
• Identify and implement process improvements that reduce manual work and close time, including AI-enabled workflows and the automation of spreadsheet-driven processes
• Serve as an AI champion for the finance function: evaluate new capabilities, train colleagues, and lead responsible adoption within appropriate governance and data-security controls
• Supervise, coach, and develop finance staff; set priorities, review work, and build bench strength
• Partner across the organization — program, grants management, operations, and legal — as a service-oriented resource rather than a gatekeeper

Tax and Regulatory Compliance

• Manage preparation of the annual Form 990-PF for the Foundation, including the qualifying distribution and minimum distribution requirement calculations under IRC §4942 for the grantmaking foundation, and the net investment income excise tax under IRC §4940, including the quarterly estimated payments
• Monitor for self-dealing (§4941), excess business holdings (§4943), and jeopardizing investments (§4944), maintaining the disqualified persons list and escalating potential issues to the Senior Management team
• Maintain charitable registrations and other periodic regulatory filings
• Coordinate Form 990-T and unrelated business income tax filings arising from alternative investments, and manage Forms 1099, 1042-S, W-2, and state and local filings

Grants Finance and Compliance

• Account for grants payable in accordance with ASC 958, including multi-year commitments, present-value discounting, conditional versus unconditional promises, and modifications or cancellations
• Partner with the grants management team to reconcile the grants management system to the general ledger and to ensure payment schedules, currency, and coding are accurate
• Maintain the accounting and documentation supporting compliance with the taxable expenditure rules under IRC §4945, including expenditure responsibility grants, equivalency determinations for foreign grantees, and grants to individuals requiring advance IRS approval
• Ensure grantee due diligence controls operate as designed, including tax status verification, OFAC and anti-terrorism screening, and W-9/W-8 collection
• Track and account for program-related investments (PRIs), including funding, valuation, repayments, and their treatment as qualifying distributions

Budgeting, Planning, and Analysis

• Participate in the annual operating and administrative budget process in partnership with the Senior Accounting Director and department leaders
• Produce budget-to-actual reporting with substantive variance analysis, not just variance tables
• Build multi-year payout and spending models that connect portfolio performance, the grantmaking foundation's minimum distribution requirement, and grantmaking commitments
• Support the annual spending policy calculation and coordinate the flow of investment results into the budget and long-range financial model
• Support program management with decision-making and problem-solving by effectively communicating with non-financial staff and providing concise and user-friendly spreadsheets and analysis
• Support the Senior Management team in evaluating budget and forecast alternatives, modeling the cost and trade-offs of each

We’d love to hear from you.

If this sounds like the job for you, we would love to help make that happen. Please apply using the link below.

For more information about Careers In Nonprofits and our other available opportunities and workshops, please visit our website at www.careersinnonprofits.com.

Careers In Nonprofits is an equal opportunity employer. Empowered by the #ILoveMyJob mission, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment within the nonprofit sector.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we regretfully can only respond to those candidates who best meet the requirements of a specific position or whose backgrounds are generally applicable to our client base. Please rest assured that we retain all candidate information for possible future matches, even if you do not hear from us in regard to your application in response to this ad.