Accounting Assistant
JOB DESCRIPTION
Location: Remote (work from home), in or near Oakland, CA preferred
Reports to: Accounting Manager
About The Praxis Project
The Praxis Project is a values-driven, national nonprofit organization that seeks to improve health justice through partnerships to build community power. Praxis believes strongly that organized communities are critical partners in the struggle to create healthy communities. Praxis works with over 200 diverse grassroots groups across the United States that influence local policy, mobilize communities, and strengthen programs and organizations to improve health justice. Praxis works to enable local efforts to build community power through training, technical assistance, and capacity building services, as well as comprehensive fiscal sponsorship. Our capacity-building programming is focused on partnerships that actively advance Praxis’ mission to build healthy communities by transforming the power relationships and structures that affect our lives. For more information, please visit www.thepraxisproject.org.
The work environment at The Praxis Project is faced-paced, creative, and fun, and our team is hardworking and extremely passionate about our mission. We are seeking an outstanding administrative professional in this position to support our ambitious growth and impact. Join us!
Position summary
The Praxis Project is seeking a self-starting, quick learning individual who possesses a strong attention to detail to serve as an Accounting Assistant on our Finance team. The Accounting Assistant will report to the Accounting Manager, providing a high level of support in day-to-day accounting support and administrative duties with a focus on accounts payable and business expense reconciliation. This is a great opportunity for someone seeking to grow their career in accounting or financial administration.
This is a full-time (40 hours per week), benefits-eligible, non-exempt, non-supervisory position with the possibility to grow as our team expands. The Accounting Assistant works five days per week and eight hours per day on a predetermined and stable schedule, but some schedule flexibility within those parameters is possible (for example, working 6:30 to 3 rather than 8:30 to 5, or having different start times on different days of the week).
Accounting Assistant is currently a remote position, but managing our mail is currently a core duty and so we prefer candidates who reside a commutable distance to our outgoing office space as well as our PO box which are located in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland, with reliable transportation. Should we choose to open a new office space (in Oakland, Berkeley, or elsewhere in the East Bay) when it is safe to do so, the person in this role who is local may be expected to commute to and work from that space for at least one to two days of the workweek.
The hourly wage range for this position is $25-$30 based on experience, qualifications and local cost of living where our final candidate is based. We use Nonprofit Compensation Associates compensation survey data for the San Francisco Bay Area and Bureau of Labor Statistics and other reputable indices to adjust for cost of living. Praxis provides regular cost-of-living pay changes and substantial employee benefits beyond salary, taking a holistic approach to setting compensation.
Praxis works overwhelmingly with communities of color and constituent-led organizations. Candidates whose lived experiences reflect those of the partners we work with are strongly encouraged to apply.
Duties and responsibilities
Accounts payable
Monitor finance inboxes and payment request channels, communicating with a range of staff, vendors, and external partners on details such as our policies, data formatting, and process-related questions.
Process forms and documentation to ready data for entry into our bill processing system.
Serve as administrator for our bill processing system.
Perform data entry into our bill processing and online banking systems.
Verify all requested accounts payable against documented policies, accounts, and procedures.
Submit for approval and process vendor payments, domestic, and international wire payments and transfers.
Field and coordinate follow-up and questions regarding the accounts payable process or specific payments.
Sync bill processing system with accounting system and resolve any sync or system errors.
Produce accounts payable metrics and reporting from bill processing system and accounting system.
Support Accounting Manager in end-of-year tax reporting process, collect and organize W-9s for all vendors, keeping detailed records throughout the year, and following up with vendors as needed.
Corporate credit and debit cards & business expense reconciliation
Order and ship new and replacement corporate credit and debit cards.
Serve as a system administrator in our credit card and business expense management platforms.
With proper authorization, adjust credit limits and disable and re-enable cards as needed.
Onboard and train new cardholders in corporate credit card platform and expense management software.
Pay managing credit account balances monthly and perform allocations process across revenue sources.
Conduct fraudulent expense reporting and follow-up.
Troubleshoot credit and debit card issues as they arise and provide technical assistance to cardholders.
Sync expense management system with accounting system and resolve any sync or system errors.
Support cardholders in submitting monthly expense reports, with a higher level of support for the Executive Director’s reports.
Review submitted expense reports for completeness and accuracy, following up for corrections prior to final review and approval by the Associate Director.
General roles
Fosters an environment that promotes trust and cooperation among partners and staff.
Understands Praxis’ mission, values and principles and applies them in work responsibilities.
Works collaboratively with administrative and programmatic staff and external partners to achieve overall Praxis goals.
Required qualifications: education and experience
BA/BS degree, preferably in accounting or a related field, or AA/AS degree, or equivalent training, plus minimum two years of accounting or other administrative support experience are required.
Required qualifications: skills, knowledge, and abilities
Proficiency using Excel for data tracking and reporting.
Some knowledge of Bill.com, Tallie, Nexonia, or equivalent vendor payment and business expense reconciliation software.
Experience and interest in working with diverse populations and communicating financial and accounting concepts to lay audiences.
Exceptional customer service, interpersonal, and communication stills.
Precise attention to detail.
Comfortable and capable of working with constant change and on multiple projects simultaneously.
Ability to work well with and to support multiple members of a team.
Deep commitment to Praxis’ mission and approach.
Mental and physical demands
Fast-paced work environment.
High level of concentration and attention to detail required.
Time speaking and listening: (range 25–50%).
Occasional travel (about one trip per quarter, when safe) including overnight travel is required.
Praxis currently works remotely both as an internal team and with our partners based across the United States. Leading and participating in remote video and telephone conferences is required.
Local candidates (preferred) must reside a commutable distance to our PO box in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland with reliable transportation. Should we open a new office space (in Oakland, Berkeley, or elsewhere in the East Bay) the person in this role is expected to commute to and work from the space for a portion of the workweek, if they are local.
Valid driver’s license, clean driving record, and insurance is required for employees driving on Praxis business; driving record checks may be required as well.
Equal Opportunity Employer
The Praxis Project is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, and gender expression, religious creed, disability (mental and physical) including HIV, AIDS, and AIDS-related conditions, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, age, marital status, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.
The Praxis Project will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of qualified employees with disabilities unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on Praxis operations. Please advise of any accommodation needed at the time of application.
Required training
Praxis is committed to fostering a safe and welcoming work environment. All Praxis employees are required to complete training on preventing harassment and discrimination, managing bias, and creating an inclusive workplace on at least an annual basis.
Benefits
The Praxis Project offers a competitive full-time benefits package that includes 15 paid holidays per year, three weeks per year of accrued paid vacation in year one of employment, accrued paid sick leave, 401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match, access to commuter, dependent care, and healthcare expenses flexible spending accounts, employer-sponsored health, dental, and vision insurance, office snacks, wellness stipend, professional development budget, and more.
How to apply
Please submit your resume and cover letter in a single pdf attachment by email to careers@thepraxisproject.org with "Accounting Assistant" in the subject line. Applications that do not include a cover letter explaining your interest in and fit for the position will not be considered. Please apply by April 4, 2021. We will contact select applicants for initial phone interviews by April 7, conduct one to two video interviews, and check references for final candidates. Our desired start date for this position is May 3. All of this being said, the position is open until filled. Kindly do not call us or otherwise follow up on the status of your application. We lack the capacity to correspond with individual applicants. Thank you!