Room to Read, World Change Begins with Educated Children Controller (Director of Accounting)

Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.

We are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. We currently work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia – countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. Since our inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 5 million children by constructing more than 1,400 schools, establishing over 11,000 libraries, publishing 550 new children’s book titles in 22 local languages, and putting over 10,000 girls onto long-term, holistic scholarships.

Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$38 million and our global staff numbers over 420. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, and we have smaller fundraising offices in Delhi, New York, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Sydney, and Tokyo. We have an Asia Regional Office located in New Delhi, a Southern Africa Regional Office in Pretoria, and program offices in Colombo, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, and we are setting up operations and hiring staff for a new office in Tanzania.

Position Overview:

The Controller (Director of Accounting) is responsible for coordinating the accuracy and integrity of Room to Read’s accounting policies, practices, processes and data across all Room to Read entities and for managing the general ledger, day-to-day cash and internal controls for the consolidated (US) entity.

The Controller manages a team of five, works closely with the Director of Finance and global counterparts and reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

• Oversee accounting functions including the general ledger, account reconciliations, worldwide consolidation of all Room to Read office accounts; facilitate accurate and timely monthly, quarterly and annual closes and preparation of financial statements.
• Hire, train, develop, and supervise the accounting team.
• Lead preparation for the US combined financial audit and tax filings, working closely with external auditors; prepare highlights of key business indicators for the organization’s annual report; present external audit to senior management and Audit Committee.
• Manage cash flow and worldwide bank accounts; approve Country Office cash forecasts.
• Coordinating with Asia and Africa Regional Finance staff, review international Country Office accounting data, identify and correct errors, identify and compute accruals and apply accounting principles to transactions; as needed, review country external audits, coordinate follow up, including board approval, and leverage information provided by external and internal audits.
• Maintain current knowledge and understanding of accounting and tax regulations, laws, industry trends, practices; establish policies and procedures for compliance, including compliance with US government A-133 reporting.
• Serve as financial software (GL) system administrator; provide GL and accounting training to the worldwide Room to Read team.
• Develop, analyze and make recommendations relating to accounting and financial data processing systems to ensure effective and efficient financial operations.
• In coordination with the CFO, ensure that the organization has adequate financial controls and establish additional controls as necessary.
• Establish and implement short- and long-range team and departmental goals, objectives, policies and operating procedures in conjunction with the CFO.
• Collaborate with the Finance team to ensure alignment of chart of accounts with annual and quarterly budgets.
• Prepare as-needed analyses and participate in accounting, cross-departmental and global projects.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelors Degree in Accounting or related field; CPA highly desirable.
• Minimum 5 years experience as a Controller, preferably in a mid-size (>$50MM), growing and complex international global or regional for-profit or nonprofit corporation.
• Proven management skills and ability to coach and develop accounting team and build relationships with diverse groups of people across the organization.
• Adept at using general ledger systems (Epicor & FRx desirable) and experience with fund accounting.
• Very strong MS Office skills required.
• Superior problem solving, analytical, and decision making skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Flexibility and willingness to work with colleagues in different time zones worldwide.
• Legally eligible to work in the United States; no sponsorship provided.

To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:

• Have a passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact an up-and-coming non-profit organization
• Be an innovative and creative thinker – you are not afraid to try something new and inspire others to do so
• Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
• Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction
• Work well independently as well as part of a team
• Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment

Compensation:

Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include health, dental, vision, long-term disability insurance, commuter benefits, and a 401K match. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization that is changing the world through literacy and gender equality in education.

Application Procedure:

Please send a cover letter and resume by email, with “Controller” in the subject line, (no letters, calls, faxes, or drop-ins) to hiring@roomtoread.org Due to high applicant volume we regret that we are not able to respond to all applicants personally. Applications are accepted until the position is filled.

Room to Read is an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and developing
the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.