Accounts Payable & Purchasing Specialist

The Organization

Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is an international non-profit organization that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. With an annual budget of $35M, headquarters in Washington, DC and a European corporate office in Brussels, Belgium, SFCG’s mission is to transform how individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict – away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. SFCG seeks to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on their commonalities. With a total of approximately 600 staff worldwide, SFCG implements projects from 53 offices in 30 countries, including in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.

Summary of Position

Search for Common Ground (SFCG) seeks an Accounts Payable and Purchasing Specialist to manage the cash disbursements function. Reporting to the Accounting Manager, s/he ensures the related procedures conform to best practices, company financial policy, funders’ guidelines, and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for accruals management. The ideal candidate will have experience in managing payables, check disbursement and wire transfers, as well as procurement in the nonprofit INGO sector.

Primary Responsibilities

• Process weekly domestic check and international wire transfer requests submitted via SharePoint Finance Portal, ensuring timely payment to all vendors, consultants, country offices, and partners.

• Process staff requests for reimbursement and advances for payment weekly, or more often if necessary.

• Prior to processing related payments, will conduct a review of bills, invoices, and advance/expense reimbursement requests under audit best practices and internal controls, as well as USG and other funder’s guidelines (eg. EU) for: appropriate authorization and supporting documentation demonstrating eligibility/allowability, reasonableness, and proper account coding/allocation to departments and/or projects.

• Produce a listing of pending payments for the Accounting Manager’s approval on a weekly basis.

• Send confirmations of wire transfer requests processed to the country office personnel.

• Receive and match Purchase Orders (P.O.’s) and General Requisitions with packing slips and/or invoices from vendors, resolving any discrepancies with appropriate management personnel.

• Maintain records for employee advances, ensuring that all money advanced is properly accounted for with appropriate supporting documentation for recording of expense, or cash is returned, as appropriate.

• Reconcile the credit card account for all cardholders with appropriate receipts on a monthly basis.

• Ensure that all international air travel has appropriate boarding passes attached subsequently to support the travel occurrence.

• In conjunction with the Grants & Contracts unit, support the field offices in submitting procurement requests with appropriate supporting documentation.

• Coordinate procurement requests with the Operations team as needed.

• Ensure all new system vendors/payees are approved by the Accounting Manager, and set up appropriately in the accounting system, as well as the banking wire transfer software templates, as applicable.

• New payees must be vetted through the appropriate Excluded Parties & OFAC SDN (Terrorist Watchlist) databases, and existing payees on a periodic basis.

• Respond to all vendor and staff calls timely and professionally with independent problem resolution on routine matters.

• Reconcile all vendor statements when received, with prompt follow-up on outstanding items.

• Reconcile the Accounts Payable aging report to the Accounts Payable general ledger balance monthly.

• Provide appropriate documentation in support of the annual audit and adhoc project-specific audits as requested.

• Collect, prepare, and distribute documents related to IRS year-end compensation reporting (i.e. IRS W-9 and Form 1099’s / 1096).

• Appropriate record retention and maintenance of all electronic and paper accounts payable and purchasing records in a neat and orderly manner.

• Initiate improvement and simplification of accounting processes and procedures.

As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.

Minimum Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance, or equivalent experience.

• A minimum of five (5) years in managing cash disbursements and procurement functions in the nonprofit INGO sector, including international wire transfer payment management.

• Proven knowledge of automated accounting systems customized to a fund accounting environment using batch processing.

• Working knowledge of US Government Cost Principles (OMB Circular A-122) and other Donor’s regulations surrounding eligible costs and procurement rules.

• Solid spreadsheet and analytical skills; proficiency in Microsoft Office products required.

• Ability to negotiate the lowest possible cost for the commodity/service balanced against the optimum quality and schedule needs.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, including courtesy, cooperativeness, and professionalism.

• Effective communicator internally and externally.

• Excellent written and oral English communication skills to effectively interact with staff regarding detailed financial information, and business-related inquiries into financial matters in a highly diverse multicultural environment.

• Demonstrated commitment to teamwork in a fast-paced work environment.

• Strong attention to detail.

• Highly organized with ability to meet deadlines, both prescribed and self-imposed.

• Ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks.

• Adaptable and flexible.

Desired

• Experience with Great Plains accounting software.

• Fluency in French or another language

Salary: Commensurate with experience and education, with excellent benefits

How to apply:

Please send a cover letter and current resume to employment@sfcg.org or fax to +1 (202) 572-6287 with the subject heading: Accounts Payable and Purchasing Specialist - DC. Please be sure to include salary requirements (in currency figures) or current salary, projected start date, and to mention where you found this posting. We are looking to fill this position immediately, but with the right candidate. No phone calls please. Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. Please see our web site www.sfcg.org for full details of our work.