Senior Compliance Officer

Chesapeake Bay Trust

Senior Compliance Officer, Hybrid

Position Background:

The Chesapeake Bay Trust, a non-profit grantmaking organization, seeks a Senior Compliance Officer to provide support to the Program and Administration teams by ensuring compliance of our grantmaking policies, procedures and documentation with federal and other regulations as well as requirements set forth by funding partners. The Senior Compliance Officer will work independently to identify and mitigate compliance risks and ensure adherence to all legal and regulatory obligations including 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards). This role reports to the Administration Manager. This position requires at least one day in the office per week, while the other days may be remote.

This person will be a key member of a high-energy, collaborative team of 30+ professionals who work diligently to advance the Trust’s mission and daily consider the Trust’s core values of grantee focus, accountability and transparency, inclusiveness, collaboration, and innovation. This is a full-time, salaried position (40 hours per week).

Due to ongoing growth of the organization (in the past fifteen years, the Trust has doubled its grant-making five times through new revenue from a wide range of partners), we have added staff and therefore have the opportunity to make our compliance processes more efficient. The right candidate will have the opportunity to showcase his/her/their skills by designing the most efficient and effective processes to meet the requirements of the Trust’s funders.These new processes will transform the way the Trust manages its incoming and outgoing awards and will enable the program team to specialize, focusing more on programmatic efforts rather than compliance monitoring.

Established in 1985, the Chesapeake Bay Trust uses grantmaking as a method to promote community-based participation in the restoration and protection of the natural resources of Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay region, with current annual grant-making of approximately $25 million. The Trust currently allocates these grant funds through 350-400 awards per year to entities of all sizes and capacities who apply through open, competitive calls for proposals as well as programs such as the Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps. Part of the Trust’s mission is to help community-based grantees, some of whom are new to grant-seeking and have not been served before by natural resources grant programs, access resources (and be compliant with any requirements), thereby increasing the number of people and entities who are participating in natural resources restoration and protection. Governments can do a lot, but everyday people and groups are an important part of the solution. The compliance team at the Trust ensures that we can grow the base in a compliant manner.

Primary Responsibilities:

Trust Compliance:

Ensuring that the Trust is in compliance with its funders and regulations.

• Design/revise and document the most efficient process for ensuring existing and new funding partnerships are compliant
• Implement steps to ensure Trust process, protocols, and tools are compliant with federal and other partner requirements including:
  • Proactively, conduct annual (or more frequent as changes are announced by the federal government) gap analyses between 2 CFR 200, annual agency grant guidance (e.g., https://www.epa.gov/grants/grant-terms-and-conditions), and other federal requirements and our existing policies and procedures and operationalize any updates to process, protocol, or tools that are required
  • Reactively as they are issued, reviewing any new federal general guidance issued by funders such as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Recipient/Applicant Information Notices (RAIN) from whom we receive funds and operationalize any updates to process, protocol, or tools that are required
  • Reactively, as the program teams develop new partnerships, reviewing specific terms and conditions of federal, state, local, or private funding partner agreements prior to execution to ensure compliance and operationalize any changes to process, protocol, or tools identified as a result of these reviews as necessary to comply with partner agreements and/or regulations
• Serve as subject matter owner of 2 CFR 200 and other related regulations to facilitate resolution to any questions that may arise, accomplishing 100% compliance while enabling our community-based grantees to easily understand and remain compliant as well
• Track deliverables and review all report submissions including federal financial reports (FFRs), federal MBE/WBE/DBE reports, etc. to ensure compliance with federal requirements
• Develop training materials and lead training of staff and grantees on compliance matters
• Manage compliance task checklist to ensure adherence to requirements
• Serve as administrator for Trust activity on Grants.gov and SAM.gov web platforms
• Provide support for annual Single Audit
• Manage process to update Trust programmatic forms and documents including grant agreements, contracts for services, RFP’s, application terms & conditions to ensure compliance with regulations and funding partner requirements
• Monitor a sampling of compliance-related tasks handled by the program team, such as federal single audit review and report delinquency of our awardees

Flowdown Compliance of our Awardees (Grantees/Subrecipients and Contractors):

Since the Trust is a grant-maker, it must help grantees be compliant as well.

• Own (review and update as needed) the “Frequently Asked Questions” document designed for a grantee audience that provides guidance and interpretation of federal and other requirements in plain language
• Make determination of allowable and unallowable costs to be communicated to Trust staff and awardees

Oversight of Staff:

Position has three direct reports that assess grantee budgets for compliance with federal cost principles and also have some dotted line responsibilities to other work managers.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills:

• • Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting, auditing, business management, legal studies, public policy or related field with 3-5 five years of direct experience in federal grant compliance or 7-9 years of direct federal grant compliance experience with no academic degree
  • Knowledge of post-award grant requirements and processes
  • Knowledge of not-for-profit and/or government accounting practices and regulations, software, and fiscal reports
  • Knowledge of Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Part 200) and other OMB regulations and awareness of Federal Acquisition Regulations
  • Federal grant management experience
  • Ability to work independently and set priorities; act effectively and efficiently under pressure
  • Strong organizational skills
  • Demonstrated ability to solve problems and complete challenging tasks/projects
  • Experience managing a small team including work oversight, performance feedback, mentorship and development
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite of programs

Salary: The range for this position is $80,000-$90,000, commensurate with experience, with an excellent benefits package including a professional development budget and great work/life balance. A successful candidate with experience in some of the responsibilities listed above will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of this range. A successful candidate with experience in most or all of the responsibilities listed above will be considered at a higher starting salary level.

Benefits: Compensation for this position includes an excellent benefits package, which includes flexible hours and hybrid teleworking, paid holidays, up to 80 hours of annual leave per year, 401(K) with employer contribution, comprehensive, subsidized health, dental and prescription plans, flexible spending accounts for healthcare and day care, compensatory time for overtime hours worked and professional development fund.

Application Instructions and Deadline: The position will remain open until filled. Candidate selection and interviews will commence in early January. Please submit a resume and cover letter to apply. Your cover letter is the most important piece of your application. In your cover letter, please address your ability to accomplish the duties of the position as listed above. Please do not simply list your previous experience. Your cover letter should describe what makes you a match for this position, and why this position is a match for you.

The Chesapeake Bay Trust provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or disability in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. We encourage applications from people of color. Applicants must have a residential address in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, or Washington D.C and must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. The Trust does not participate in programs that require sponsorship for work visas.

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