Finance Associate

Who We Are

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, located in Newark, NJ, is a private foundation committed to closing the racial wealth gap in New Jersey through strategies focused on increasing housing choice and economic mobility. The Foundation believes in deploying all of its resources, including grants, local investments, and its full endowment, in service of that mission. Learn more at grdodge.org.

Finance Associate

We're looking for a detail-oriented and reliable Finance Associate to handle the day-to-day transactional financial operations of the foundation. This role processes accounts payable and credit card expenses, sets up and tracks purchase orders, maintains vendor and grantee relationships, processes grant and discretionary payment disbursements, and owns configuration of BILL.com. The ideal candidate has 3-5 years of relevant finance or accounting experience, strong attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment. The ideal candidate will have interest in, and capacity to grow into an advanced systems, budgeting and reporting scope as the finance team adds capacity. The role reports to the Manager, Grants and Finance and is expected to be in the office three days a week.

Key Responsibilities

Accounts Payable & Expense Processing

• Process vendor invoices in a timely and accurate manner, ensuring proper coding, approvals, and documentation.
• Reconcile and process credit card expenses, verifying receipts and supporting documentation for compliance with foundation policy.
• Maintain organized and up-to-date accounts payable records and vendor files.
• Respond to vendor and staff inquiries regarding invoice and payment status.
• Set up new purchase orders and maintain accurate tracking of open, closed, and outstanding POs.
• Configure and maintain BILL (budgets, approval rules, purchase order configuration).
• Serve as the primary administrator for BILL user access, workflows, and vendor payment configuration.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for vendor billing and payment inquiries, maintaining professional and responsive communication.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with vendors, grantees, and partner organizations.
• Support onboarding of new vendors, including collection of required documentation (e.g., W-9s, ACH instructions) and maintenance of the vendor master file.

Grants Payment Processing & Salesforce Administration

• Track and process grant payments and disbursements (grantee payments), ensuring timely and accurate processing.
• Process discretionary grants and matching gifts.
• Support back-end configuration of Salesforce (the foundation's grants database of record), including workflows, fields, and reporting structure, in coordination with the Manager, Grants & Finance.
• Enter and maintain accurate grant payment records in Salesforce.

Reconciliations & Journal Entries

• Reconcile grants, AP, prepaid expense, and related general ledger accounts on a regular basis, identifying and resolving discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Draft and submit journal entries for approval.

Qualifications

Required

• 3-5 years of experience in accounts payable, bookkeeping, or a general finance/accounting role, preferably within a nonprofit, foundation, or mission-driven organization.
• Bachelor's degree preferred in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Proficiency with accounting/financial software (Sage Intacct preferred), AP automation and spend management platform (BILL preferred), and Microsoft Excel.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy in financial data entry, reconciliation, and reporting.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and prioritize competing tasks independently.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; experience working with vendors, partner organizations, and internal stakeholders.
• Discretion and professionalism in handling confidential financial information.
• Commitment to the values and mission of Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Preferred

• Experience administering BILL and Sage Intacct.
• Experience with Salesforce or similar grants/CRM systems administration.
• Background in nonprofit or foundation finance and accounting.
• Investment accounting experience

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

This is a full-time, hybrid position based at the foundation's office in Newark, New Jersey, with a general expectation of three days per week in the office; specific in-office days are coordinated with the employee's supervisor. Regular office hours are Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM.=

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The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity in its workforce.

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation's full-time employees receive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employer-funded health reimbursement benefits, paid life and disability insurance, a 403(b) retirement plan with employer contributions and matching, paid vacation, holiday, sick, bereavement, and volunteer leave, cell phone and commuter benefits, employee assistance services, charitable gift matching, employee discretionary grant opportunities, and access to additional voluntary benefits.