Senior Accountant, Barr Foundation

About the Barr Foundation  

The Barr Foundation’s mission is to invest in human, natural, and creative potential, serving as thoughtful stewards and catalysts. As stewards, Barr nurtures and enhances vital community assets. As catalysts, the foundation cultivates and advances the breakthrough ideas that will shape our collective future. Barr focuses on achieving impact as a constructive partner, willing to exercise leadership.   

Based in Boston, Barr focuses regionally, and selectively engages nationally, working in partnership with nonprofits, foundations, the public sector, and civic and business leaders to elevate the arts and creative expression, advance solutions for climate change, and connect all students to success in high school and beyond. Founded in 1997, Barr has grown to become one of the largest private foundations in New England with assets in excess of $2 billion and a 2021 grantmaking budget of nearly $120 million.

A set of core values, defined by Barr’s founding trustees, expresses our beliefs about what constitutes effective philanthropy and guides how the Barr Foundation carries out its philanthropic mission. Barr is committed to strive for excellence, act with humility, adopt a long-term perspective, and embrace risk. Additionally, while each program is guided by distinct priorities and goals, Barr embraces a common set of approaches in all aspects of its work, namely flexibility and nimbleness, a broad range of tools, knowledge and learning, openness and transparency, and active collaboration.  

For more information on the Barr Foundation, please visit: www.barrfoundation.org.  

About the Position  

Reporting directly to the Controller of the Barr Foundation, the Senior Accountant will be actively involved in all financial matters of the foundation.  Primary accounting activities will include closing the books each month, recording monthly investment activity, reconciling accounts, reviewing expense reports, partnering with multiple foundation departments to prepare/monitor their budgets, attending to audit requests, aiding in the preparation of the 990-PF tax return, and performing other ad hoc projects as requested by the Controller of the Barr Foundation and other senior members of the Barr Foundation.  The Accounting group and all of Barr operates in a highly team-oriented fashion.  The organization is also committed to supporting personal and professional growth in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

This full-time position offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits.  

Specific Responsibilities  

·      Prepare monthly journal entries and reconcile Barr’s financial activity

·      Reconcile K1s and 1099s, investigating any variances  

·      Close the books on a monthly basis in a timely manner  

·      Reconcile balance sheet accounts monthly, identifying and communicating variances   

·      Work closely with the A/P manager to ensure coding accuracy and timely payment processing  

·      Reconcile and prepare analytics on a quarterly basis for P&L accounts  

·      Assist in the process of creating the grants and OpEx budgets for numerous departments  

·      Communicate financial trending to departments to help them manage their budgets

·      Participate in the audit process, attending to audit requests in a timely manner  

·      Review expense reports in a timely manner, identifying deviations from the T&E policy  

·      Prepare tax workpapers and analytics during the tax return preparation process  

·      Gather data utilized for annual benchmarking with our peer network 

·      Provide attentive support to all departments across Barr   

Qualifications  

Required  

·      Bachelor’s degree in accounting  

·      At least 3-5 years of accounting experience   

·      Experience working with transactional investment accounting  

·      Familiarity with account reconciliations 

·      Ability to work across multiple teams maintaining a consistent line of communication with staff  

·      Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills  

·      Experience working with auditors  

·      Track record of independently identifying and implementing streamlined solutions for operational tasks  

·      Demonstrated ability to identify, plan, and execute on multiple active projects in an efficient manner  

·      Practical tax knowledge   

·      Exhibits effective communication skills  

·      Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Product Suite

·      A commitment to working in, contributing to, and learning from a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. 

Preferred, not required

·      Non-profit work or volunteer experience  

·      Experience with Form 990-PF & MA Form PC  

·      Familiarity with Intacct, Salesforce, Nexonia and Skuid 

·      Ability to translate information into visual presentations

How to Apply   

Please visit: https://bit.ly/BarrSrAcct to apply for this position. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with applications encouraged by Friday May 21st.  All inquiries may be directed in confidence to Denise Gillespie, Director of Human Resources, via email at: barrjobs@barrfoundation.org. 

Covid-19 Update

This position is based in our Boston office. At this time, due to COVID-19 and out of concern for the health and safety of our employees and guests, the Barr Foundation is planning to work remotely until the fall. As a result, this position would begin as a remote work arrangement, with a return to the office subject to those policies and procedures that will guide the office reopening.

 

Barr has also retained an executive search firm to help source candidates for this important position.  

Barr is an equal opportunity employer, with a commitment to building and fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. We welcome candidates who would both contribute to and learn from working in such an environment.