Financial Grants Manager

Who We Are:

Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) is a member-supported public media network whose mission is to strengthen the civic and cultural bonds that unite Southern California's diverse communities by providing the highest quality news and information service on air at LAist 89.3, online at LAist.com and through LAist Live Programming & Events. Since our founding in 1999, SCPR has been a fast growing, innovative, multi-platform public service newsroom. Every day, our staff helps audiences catch up on the latest headlines, solve the complexities of life in Southern California, and connect curious communities to one another.

Position Summary:

The Financial Grants Manager is responsible for the financial aspects of grant administration for Southern California Public Radio (SCPR). In this role, the Grants Manager will manage a diverse portfolio of individual, private foundation, corporate, and government grants that support various program projects and initiatives ranging from capital improvements to new program development. This position includes coordinating financial deliverables, collaborating with the Institutional Giving and Content departments on grant/foundation budget development, monitoring internal financial planning, tracking of grant expenses and variances, and providing financial reporting to funders.

The Grants Manager will play a pivotal role in supporting the Finance Manager in overseeing the implementation of strategic and organizational financial grant/foundation objectives, introducing new processes, and ensuring regulatory compliance. In this capacity, the Grants Manager will participate in business planning for new earned income opportunities, fostering sustainable growth for both on-air and online programming, in alignment with SCPR's mission and non-profit charter. The Grant Manager's ability to establish and manage strategic alliances and contractual arrangements and will be essential to bring these opportunities to fruition.

This role operates in a highly collaborative environment, working closely with various Content Units, Institutional Giving and Finance leaders. Strong communication and relationship-building skills are crucial, as the Grants Manager will be working with leaders and peers across the organization.

Compensation:

The salary for this opportunity will be no less than $78,298 annualized and no more than $115,000 annualized. Exact salary determined by experience and education related to the role, organizational compensation structure, budget and internal equity.

Position Responsibility:

• Partner with Institutional Giving and Content Units throughout the grant lifecycle, advising business leaders on grant financial matters and ensuring successful financial planning and reporting for grant activities;
• Manage and coordinate the financial activity of each grant, including budget adherence and compliance with restrictions to assure that all activities and reporting are within funder and organizational guidelines;
• Train and collaborate with Content Unit staff on funder financial requirements and budget/time tracking processes to properly fulfill financial obligations for each grant;
• Provides support to staff at all levels of the organization, resolving discrepancies and provide analysis, ad hoc reports and queries for decision-making and accurate reporting;
• Create budgets, conduct scenario analyses, report actual versus budgeted activities and set up finance and accounting systems for all the phases of the Grant Lifecycle (Discovery, Proposal, Kickoff, Execution and Reporting);
• Constructively challenge recommendations concerning resource utilization and foundational assumptions underlying budgets/forecasts;
• Establish financial activity timelines and monitor progress of all grant-funded projects. Proactively escalate issues to ensure timely completion of financial deliverables;
• Perform comprehensive internal budget analysis for grants and effectively communicating financial information to external organizations and funders in a compelling manner;
• Standardize financial planning, measurement, tracking, and analysis across Finance, Institutional Giving and Content Units. Standardize budget and financial information for external presentation and efficient internal analysis. Establish and maintain consistent financial templates and processes for measuring, analyzing and presenting financial activity against grants;
• Maintain, update and monitor overall grant revenue forecast. Partner with Content Units and Institutional Giving to manage and investigate forecast and budget variances;
• Liaise with Content Units and Finance to promptly identify, coordinate, troubleshoot, and resolve grant-related financial matters;
• Maintain consistent and regular reporting around the Company's overall grant program portfolio, monitoring existing versus incremental grant-funded activities and resources;
• Work with the Finance leadership team and Content Unit leaders to develop standardized actionable financial reports for forecasting, trending and results analysis;
• Take ownership of challenges; promptly identify and address problems; and work through a series of escalations as required to ensure successful financial outcomes;
• Question and research variances, trends, process improvements, business metrics and business results, and prepare recommendations;
• Participate in Institutional Giving new initiatives, providing input and ideas on cost optimization, cost/benefit analysis, budgets, and tracking of results;
• Apply a commercial awareness in the areas of tax, legal contract reviews, state and federal funding requirements, and payroll-related reporting and compliance;
• Prepare and review annual budget and ongoing monthly financial forecasts for grants;
• Develop ad hoc analytics and presentations on key business drivers;
• Participate in internal audits and/or other risk mitigation activities. This could include leading an internal audit or supplying specific analysis within a risk related activity; and
• Other duties as assigned.

Financial Reporting:

• • Prepare comprehensive financial reports, including but not limited to grants (e.g. board/committee reports, and other reports as requested by Finance or Content Unit leaders);
  • Innovate and take the lead in adopting new processes and tools to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of financial reporting;
  • Engage with federal and state funding organizations to secure or facilitate funding as required (e.g. Corporation for Public Broadcasting, etc.); prepare or review applicable financial reporting as assigned;
  • Coordinate and or complete any necessary accounting entries necessary to support assigned Content Units;
  • Develop financial models and/or partner with technology personnel to incorporate into financial applications and reports; and
  • Act as the primary backup for the Finance Manager, providing general management of financial, accounting and budget operations for SCPR, including but not limited to:

Budget, Forecasting and Reporting:

• Assist in managing the SCPR budget and forecasting process, including receivables and identifying financial trends.
• Collaborate with budget managers on spending and operational practices to ensure that expenses remain within budget, key issues are noted to provide accurate budget tracking and the ability to report on variances against budget.
• Reviews monthly income reports with Membership, Major Gifts and Institutional Giving teams to track pacing, identify variances and ensure accurate revenue forecasting.
• Collaborate with APM finance team to ensure financial information is accurate in tracking of the reporting of revenue and expenses.
• Assist in managing the financial reporting to the SCPR Board of Trustees including SCPR scorecard, monthly internal results report using External FS, AC Report, GL to Enterprise reconciliation, Cash and Line of Credit report Cognos BI YTD results and detailed Budget Upload

Internal Control:

• Manage and conduct internal auditing procedures to assess exposure to internal control risks and makes recommendations to mitigate these risks.
• Ensure compliance with SCPR policies and meet the needs of the Audit Committee and CFOO.
• Collaborate with the parent company internal audit team to perform period internal controls and other risk assessments.
• Train staff on new procedures to enhance internal controls and risk management.

Project Management of Organizational Initiatives:

• Work closely with the SCPR leadership team to develop and implement plans for organizational initiatives.
• Align SCPR initiatives and plans with priorities in digital, development and content departments. Acts as point of contact between these areas to promote effective communication and cooperation.
• Manage timelines or other tracking systems related to deliverables and communicates the status of any individual project or the cumulative effect of all projects.
• Actively assesses and recommends continual improvement in workflow and business processes and occasionally assisting with implementation.
• Collaborate with internal and external clients on revenue generating events to drive organizational growth.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience;
• 6+ years' experience in one or more areas, including: media, arts, civic affairs and/or public policy;
• 6+ years' experience in accounting/finance;
• 3+ years' experience nonprofit project/grants administration and/or financial reporting; and
• Experience in budget preparation, analysis, and financial monitoring/management.

Required Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

• Strong understanding of fundamental accounting concepts with excellent budgeting, forecasting and planning skills;
• Working knowledge of accounting software (TM1 -- planning/reporting, Lawson - Financials/Activities);
• Ability to understand and effectively communicate complex financial issues concisely and simply to non-financial people but based on detailed analysis;
• Demonstrated ability to apply professional skepticism and curiosity required to provide accurate financial analysis and reporting;
• Maintain high standards of customer service and professional ethics;
• Requiring the ability to maintain and display high ethical standards including confidentiality, discretion, and exemplary judgment with respect to highly confidential information;
• Exhibit a positive attitude, good working habits and disciplined approach;
• Strong planning, organization and multitasking abilities - e.g. ability to successfully manage all deliverables over a portfolio of projects;
• Ability to use various software applications, such as spreadsheets, relational databases, planning tools, general ledger, and statistical packages to assemble/manipulate/format data and reports;
• Ability to coordinate projects, tasks and teams; ability to run effective meetings and achieve intended results;
• Ability to follow up on and resolves discrepancies;
• Ability to develop actional recommendations to Business Units to plan and mitigate financial matters;
• Ability to prioritize multiple projects and meet deadlines;
• Problem-solving skills with "continuous improvement" mentality; look for ways to do things better, faster, cheaper and/or more effectively;
• Ability and skills to participate in both the initial planning and the subsequent reporting on successful grant funded projects; and
• Leadership qualities of presence, confidence, judgment, and integrity are required to command the respect and response of colleagues, and senior executive personnel.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Knowledge of the media industry. Experience with public radio or other non-profit media companies;
• Previous federal and state grant experience; and
• Experience with fundraising/grants management software.

Reporting To This Position: None

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

• Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation;
• Physical Demands:
• Required to move about in an office environment and sit for extended periods of time,
• Frequent use of hands for data entry/keystrokes and simple grasping; and
• Working Conditions:
• Moderate noise level, and
• Occasional exposure to prevalent weather conditions.

Southern California Public Radio (LAist 89.3/LAist.com/LAist Studios) is diverse in race, ethnicity, language, culture, social class, national origin, religious and political belief, age, ability, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation in addition to other markers protected by law.

At SCPR, we strive to create an inclusive environment where we all feel pride in who we are and what we do. We are encouraged to show up as we are - always embracing and recognizing that our diversity is what brings us together. Our fundamental commitment to diversity:

• Enriches SCPR and provides an atmosphere in which all human potential is valued
• Promotes learning through interactions among people of different backgrounds and many perspectives, and
• Enables the organization to prepare all employees to promote social responsibility, equity, freedom, and productive citizenship in a global society

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse professionals and encourage you to apply.