Grant & Financial Technology Manager

About Us

Ever eat an Impossible Burger, cooked plant-based chicken, or recycle a plastic water bottle? There isn’t a facet of modern life that chemical engineers have not touched.

Chemical engineers have been part of almost every major development from plastics and fibers to unleaded gasoline to solar power and medicines. If it’s modern, chemical engineers helped make it happen.

AIChE, founded in 1908, is a professional society of more than 60,000 chemical engineers in 110 countries. Its members work in corporations, universities, and government, using their knowledge of chemical processes to develop safe and useful products for the benefit of society. AIChE fosters and disseminates chemical engineering knowledge, assists the professional and personal growth of its members, and applies the expertise of its members to address societal needs and improve the quality of life. Through its varied programs, AIChE continues to be a focal point for information exchange on the frontiers of chemical engineering research in such areas as energy, sustainability, biological and environmental engineering, nanotechnology, and chemical plant safety and security.

Position Summary

The Grant & Financial Technology Manager will play a critical role in the invoicing, reporting, and compliance aspects of our grant-funded programs. The Grant Accountant will coordinate certain financial and operational activities across the program teams, accounting and finance teams, sub-recipients and the federal government. In addition, the Grant Accountant will assist the Accounting team in certain monthly close activities. 

The Grant & Financial Technology Manager will be relied on to identify opportunities to gain efficiencies and insights and to eliminate manual effort to ensure accuracy in our accounting and reporting functions.  Once identified, this role will own delivery of solutions in collaboration with team members, IT and technology partners.  This role will move us further along on our journey of not just reporting figures, but effectively telling the story. 

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, proactive, organized, creative, technologically savvy, and able to communicate effectively with both financial and non-financial audiences.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, monitor, and update grant budgets throughout their life cycle in coordination with program teams.
• Track expenditures and ensure alignment with grant budgets and allowable cost principles.
• Review monthly program financials.  Analyze budget-to-actuals and provide variance reports to program teams on a regular basis.
• Prepare and submit accurate and timely invoices to grant funders.  Address invoice questions in writing and in conversations with grant funders.
• Manage the invoice flow within the organization and from subrecipients of the grants.
• Ensure financial expenditures and processes adhere to grant agreements, federal regulations (e.g., 2 CFR 200), and organizational policies.  Manage full contract compliance by cross-referencing invoices against the contract's specific requirements, including allowable expenses, payment rates, and deliverables. Assess whether any variations or deviations from the contract need to be explained or approved.
• Support external audits by preparing necessary schedules and backup documentation.
• Utilize financial systems to streamline grant tracking, reporting, and invoicing.  Identify and implement process improvements.
• Perform various financial close activities.
• Review existing accounting processes and procedures to identify opportunities to gain efficiencies and insights and to eliminate manual effort to ensure accuracy in our accounting and reporting functions.  Once identified, this role will own delivery of solutions in collaboration with team members, IT and technology partners. 
• Lead role on evaluation of general ledger system and potential replacements.
• Update and/or create documentation for key accounting processes.

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, economics or similar.
• 4+ years of experience in public accounting is preferred.  If not, at least 5-7 years of experience in a private accounting role or some combination of private and public accounting experience.  Non-profit experience is helpful, but not required.
• Experience reviewing contracts, grant proposals or other complex agreements.
• Experience managing the financial reporting for grant-funded work is a plus.
• Technology: Accounts Payable system and General Ledger exposure.  Intermediate to Advanced Excel skills (i.e. PIVOT tables).  Knowledge of data visualization tools (i.e. Power BI) beneficial. 
• Involvement in a financial system implementation or other technology adoption effort a plus.

Skills:

• Excellent organizational and project management skills, with keen attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to learn quickly, take initiative, prioritize, and work well under deadlines.
• Demonstrates a commitment to quality, accuracy, and thoroughness.
• Strong project management and change management skills.
• Works effectively with details as well as high-level concepts.

Compensation Range: $110,000- $115,000

We offer a variety of benefits to our employees including:

• Bonus opportunity
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account
• 403b Retirement Plan with Company Match: AIChE 100% of the first 6% of your eligible pay you contribute to the plan
• Paid Vacation and Sick Days
• Holiday pay
• Educational Assistance
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• Company Paid Short Term and Long Term Disability Insurance
• Various Employee Perks and Discounts

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers is an Equal Opportunity Employer.