Grant Accountant, Finance & Accounting

Role and Responsibilities 

ideas42’s Grant Accountant will be on the Finance and Accounting (F&A) team. The successful candidate will be an experienced Grant Administrator with grant accounting expertise and extensive knowledge of nonprofit accounting, contract revenue recognition, and grant fiscal management. Reporting to the Director, Finance and Accounting, the right person will have meticulous attention to detail, follow-up skills with the emotional intelligence to manage up when encountering challenges. This person will be responsible for pre and post award support, invoicing, maintenance of financial records in accounting software and databases, and account reconciliation.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Manage the financial aspects of grants, contracts, public and private foundation funding from inception to completion, ensuring compliance with grant guidelines and regulations. 
• Prepare detailed financial reports for timely submission to funders, actively participate in budget development and conduct thorough financial analyses to address variances. 
• Perform monthly grant reconciliations to ensure that all activities under each grant fall within the funder and agency guidelines.
• Prepare proposal budgets, providing financial input and ensuring alignment with organizational goals. Work with program staff to develop budgets and budget modifications.
• Develop and maintain a contract tracking system and invoicing process.  
• Maintain organized documentation, including proposals, fully executed agreements, budgets, financial reports, invoices, and key correspondence from funders. 
• Oversee staffing allocations across projects and prepare effort reports. 
• Assists with annual year-end audits, government contract audits and compliance matters. 
• Stay abreast of changes in accounting standards and grant regulations to ensure compliance. 
• Undertake special projects as assigned.

Qualifications 

Minimum qualifications 

Much of our work hinges on our ability to ask the right questions and arrive at the right answers. As a result, we seek curious, creative, rigorous people with an entrepreneurial spirit. A passion for understanding human behavior, pursuing innovation, and promoting the social good is critical. We also have a strong ownership culture, ultimately caring that all of our work gets completed in a high-quality way with everyone pitching in to get it done.

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or related field OR equivalent practical experience. 
• 5 - 8 years of relevant accounting experience, particularly in the nonprofit sector. 
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Uniform Guidance, donor compliance and fundamental understanding of non-profit accounting.  
• Experience with Sage Intacct, Salesforce and Google Workspace.

About ideas42 

We’re a non-profit looking for deep insights into human behavior—into why people do what they do—and using that knowledge in ways that help improve lives, build better systems, and drive social change. Working globally, we reinvent the practices of institutions, and create better products and policies that can be scaled for maximum impact.  

We also teach others, ultimately striving to generate lasting social impact and create a future where the universal application of behavioral science powers a world with optimal health, equitable wealth, and environments and systems that are sustainable and just for all.   

For more than a decade, we’ve been at the forefront of applying behavioral science in the real world. And as we’ve developed our expertise, we’ve helped to define an entire field. Our efforts have so far extended to 40 countries as we’ve partnered with governments, foundations, NGOs, private enterprises, and a wide array of public institutions. 

We value diversity and inclusion and are dedicated to growing our teams with people who have diverse experiences, backgrounds, and skills. We are committed to fair and unbiased hiring practices that support equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, ethnicity, gender, national origin, age, abilities, sexual orientation, or veteran status. 

Working with Us 

We seek curious, creative, rigorous people with an entrepreneurial spirit. A passion for understanding human behavior, pursuing innovation, and promoting the social good is critical, but prior expertise or training in behavioral economics or psychology is not required. Candidates with lived experience are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Our core values are at the heart of everything at ideas42: 

• We live and breathe what we do. We look at everything through a BEHAVIORAL LENS. 
• We take OWNERSHIP. We don’t just work at ideas42, we take shared responsibility for it. 
• We DO GOOD. We use our expertise to improve millions of lives and create a better world for all. 
• We have fun. We let PLAYFULNESS inform the way we work and our approach to the world, helping to drive our creativity and improve our solutions. 
• We live with a SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY. We approach our colleagues, partners and people whose lives we seek to improve with an attitude of selflessness and cooperation. 
• We are TENACIOUS. We never take the easy route, but push to stretch the limits of what’s possible. 
• We are RIGOROUS in how we think and how we tackle problems. 

Application Process Overview

The ideas42 application process has four stages:

• Application: Submit your application and resume.
• Case Study: Selected candidates will be invited to complete a case study.
• First Round Interview: Selected candidates will be invited to a first round interview.
• Final Round Interview: Selected candidates will be invited to a final round interview. References will also be requested and contacted during this time.