SENIOR GRANT ACCOUNTANT

Role summary

SENIOR GRANT ACCOUNTANT is a full-time role at Children's Law Center of California in Monterey Park, California, United States (hybrid). Posted 2026-10-07. Salary: USD 82,000–100,000 per year. Experience level: 5-10. No degree required.

Job title

SENIOR GRANT ACCOUNTANT

Company

Children's Law Center of California

Location

Monterey Park, California, United States

Work arrangement

hybrid

Employment type

full-time

Category

Software Engineering

Salary

USD 82,000–100,000 per year

Experience level

5-10

Degree required

No

Date posted

2026-10-07

Job description

Description

POSITION TITLE: SENIOR GRANT ACCOUNTANT

Department: Finance

Reports to: Accounting Manager

Salary Range: $82,000 to $100,000 annually (based on experience and qualifications)

Location / Working Model: Hybrid (3 days per week at Monterey Park Headquarters, or as needed)

Job Snapshot

CLC is seeking to hire a Senior Grant Accountant to join our dynamic Finance team. We are a 500+ employee-focused nonprofit organization with an annual budget of over $70 million. Reporting directly to the Accounting Manager, the Senior Grant Accountant is responsible for overseeing the post-award financial administration of federal, state, and private grant awards. This role is responsible for building dynamic Excel allocation models, managing complex funding streams, executing accurate revenue recognition, and delivering comprehensive monthly financial and deliverable packages to program directors and finance leadership.

The ideal candidate brings a strong foundation in GAAP non-profit accounting, advanced Excel proficiency, exceptional analytical precision, and a proactive, self-directed work style to maintain balance sheet integrity, track milestone deliverables, and partner effectively across departments.

Your Impact on the Mission | Core Responsibilities

Post-Award Grant Leadership : Oversee the end-to-end post-award financial administration for federal, state, local, and private grant awards, ensuring full compliance with GAAP, funding guidelines, and Uniform Guidance.

Excel Allocation Modeling : Develop, maintain, and manage custom Excel allocation models to accurately calculate, allocate, and track direct program expenses and grant allocations across various funding streams.

Projections & Variance Analysis : Perform monthly budget-to-actual variance analyses and update financial projections, reconciling Excel tracking models directly to the General Ledger and funder-approved grant budgets.

Dynamic Allocation & Restrictive Funding Prioritization : Adapt flexibly to mid-period funding changes by strategically reallocating expenses to prioritize the most restrictive grant funds first, ensuring maximum fund utilization across all awards.

Model Maintenance & Audit Trail Execution : Recalculate allocations as funding streams shift, ensuring all changes are meticulously documented, updated across dynamic Excel schedules, and reflected accurately in the General Ledger.

Cross-Departmental Coordination & Proactive Tracking : Maintain proactive, persistent communication with Grant Managers and Program Directors to follow up on pending grant renewals, secure delayed initial grant budgets, and verify that all vendor invoices are received and coded correctly prior to billing cutoffs.

Program Manager Reporting : Issue regular financial reports (at least monthly) to department and program managers to review spend-down rates, evaluate budget-to-actual variances, ensure expenses are properly coded, and make proactive operational adjustments well before grant end dates.

Executive Month-End Close Package : Prepare and present a comprehensive monthly grant reporting package to finance leadership (Accounting Manager, Controller, CFO) that includes grant financial statements, spend-down status reports, variance analyses, and a deliverable tracking log. The package must proactively demonstrate that grant spending is on track, all unresolved issues are identified with action plans, and a structured, forward-looking schedule with clear milestones is in place to meet all reporting and billing deadlines ahead of time.

Deliverable & Schedule Management : Independently track and manage all grant deliverables and compliance schedules (e.g., invoice due dates, funder expenditure reports, and program reports due to managers) to consistently meet all deadlines well ahead of time without needing reminders.

Revenue Recognition & Compliance : Prepare and record grant-related journal entries, ensuring accurate revenue recognition (e.g., deferred revenue vs. earned grant revenue) in compliance with GAAP and donor restrictions.

Balance Sheet & Subledger Integrity : Reconcile grant balance sheet accounts—including grant receivables, deferred revenue, and restricted net asset roll forwards—to the General Ledger monthly.

Continuous Learning : Staying informed and adapting evolving social dynamics to better engage and support colleagues from all backgrounds.

Requirements

The Assets You Possess/Essential Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or equivalent experience.

Experience: 5+ years of progressive non-profit accounting experience, with at least 3+ years dedicated to grant/fund accounting in a complex, multi-funder environment.

Solid understanding and practical application of US GAAP, fund accounting principles, conditional vs. unconditional grant revenue recognition, and tracking net restricted assets.

Working knowledge and proficiency in Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT (or enterprise ERP systems) preferred.

Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (e.g., complex formulas, lookups, pivot tables, Power Query) with demonstrated experience building, maintaining, and updating dynamic multi-funder expense allocation schedules preferred.

Exceptional attention to detail in applying complex allocation methodologies (e.g., prioritizing restricted/conditional funding streams first) and maintaining clean, version-controlled Excel audit trails.

Strong self-management skills with a demonstrated ability to establish detailed work plans, map out milestone schedules, track open items to resolution, and provide finance leadership with clear, forward-looking status updates on all grant deliverables.

High-initiative self-starter capable of independently tracking deliverables, prioritizing tasks, anticipating leadership reporting needs, and consistently meeting tight deadlines ahead of schedule.

Strong interpersonal and diplomatic communication skills, with a proven ability to partner effe