Budget and Finance Specialist

Purpose

To provide daily oversight of departmental budget, prepare routine and timely reporting of fundraising revenue by areas within the department, and to coordinate monthly/quarterly reconciliation of income and expenses with Finance. To assist in the preparation of quarterly income and expense forecasts. To monitor formal pledges and verbal commitments, ensuring timely issuance of pledge reminders to individuals and congregations. To assist in preparing reports and presentations related to income, expenses, and fundraising activity, as requested.

Principal Responsibilities

Budget Management and Reconciliation with Finance

1. Provides operational support to supervisor to plan and manage Stewardship and Development operating budget, including variance reporting and forecasting.
2. Tracks departmental expenditures and alerts supervisor and/or area managers to potential over-spending.
3. Generates routine and periodic internal and external reports and trend analyses. Prepares and distributes monthly income dashboard to department’s director, supervisor, and designated UUA leadership.
4. Works with Gift Processing Manager as well as area managers/staff in Annual Program Fund, Friends of the UUA, and Legacy Giving, to ensure timely and accurate reconciliation of fundraising income with Finance.
5. Coordinates with Gift Processing Manager to complete monthly reconciliation of lockboxes and merchant services accounts across giving platforms, including online and mobile giving. Serves as primary lead on digital scanning/deposit of checks.
6. Monitors monthly General Ledger expense reports from Finance to ensure accurate coding to appropriate project codes. Submits journal entry requests, as needed. Processes vendor payments and other check requests for the department.
7. Serves as a liaison to Finance and provides timely responses to requests for information. Assists in responding to information requests from independent outside auditor.
8. Serves as team lead on process improvement initiatives to simplify and/or streamline existing financial reporting, including but not limited to maximizing current software/system features (e.g. Adaptive Insights, Crystal Reports), as well as researching new or emerging technology solutions.

Fundraising Activity Support

1. Assists the supervisor in providing data analysis and data modeling for new fundraising initiatives and/or proposed changes in fundraising strategies or methodologies. Analyzes data for trends and patterns, including comparison with historic data, as well as external benchmarks. Supports the supervisor in providing clear, accurate, and timely reporting of fundraising results. Monitors tracking of formal pledges and verbal commitments, including preparing and sending routine pledge reminders to individuals and, in coordination with the Annual Program Fund team, pledge reminders to congregations. Links entered gifts, as appropriate to verbal commitments. Participates in Stewardship and Development working groups and projects as requested/approved by supervisor. Performs other duties as requested by supervisor or the Director of Stewardship and Development. Performs other duties as requested by supervisor, the Director of Stewardship and Development, the Executive Vice President, or the President.

Qualifications

This is a Grade 10 position (expected hiring range $41,600-$51,900 depending on experience). Note that qualifications may be met as a result of lived experience, volunteer work, professional experience, and/or formal or informal training. Requirements include:

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 4 years of relevant work experience managing budgets, preparing financial statements and/or financial forecasts, etc.
• Candidate must be highly organized with superb attention to detail and be able to work independently as well as part of a team. Strong interpersonal skills and effective communication skills are essential.
• High proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word) is required, along with superb Excel proficiency. Finalists will be asked to take proficiency tests.
• The ability to prioritize diverse responsibilities effectively, and show flexibility and patience.
• Experience working in a nonprofit environment, including knowledge of the Raiser’s Edge and/or Financial Edge database, is a plus.
• Work or lived experience with communities of color or indigenous peoples is of particular value.
• Eagerness to work in an organization in which the dismantling of white supremacy is a high priority.

How to Apply

People with disabilities, people of color, indigenous people, Hispanic/Latinx, and LGBTQ candidates are encouraged to apply. The UUA is committed to developing a diverse and talented staff team. If you are excited about this role, but are unsure whether you meet 100% of the requirements, we encourage you to inquire and/or apply. Send cover letter and résumé—indicating “Budget and Finance Specialist” in the subject line—via e‑mail to careers@uua.org, via fax to (617) 948-6467, or to Human Resources, UUA, 24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210. E‑mail submissions preferred.

About the UUA

The Unitarian Universalist Association is a progressive religious denomination headquartered in Boston’s waterfront Fort Point Innovation District with offices in Washington, DC and at the United Nations in New York City. Our faith community of more than 1,000 self-governing congregations brings to the world a vision of religious freedom, tolerance, and social justice. Our normal workweek is 35 hours, we pay 80% contribution towards health insurance premiums, 11% towards retirement (after one year), and have generous paid time-off policies. We are a great place to work and we value diversity. The UUA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to the full inclusion of all. As part of this commitment, the UUA will ensure that applicants and staff with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact the Office of Human Resources at (617) 948-4648 or humanresources@uua.org. For more information on the UUA, visit us online at UUA.org and uuworld.org.

Support for the Mission and Values of the Association

The Unitarian Universalist Association is a progressive and historic religious denomination. While it is not generally required or expected that an applicant/employee identify as a Unitarian Universalist (UU) or be a member of a UU congregation in order to work at the UUA, all UUA staff members are expected to perform their job duties in accordance with the UUA’s values, principles and mission. In particular the following points, drawn from the Seven UU Principles, are of particular importance for the UUA’s work environment and staff culture:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every human being: We affirm the need for a human-centered workplace that allows our diverse staff to flourish. We also understand that our wider culture and society oppresses and denies human dignity, and we seek to counter the effects of that oppression in our hiring and workplace culture so that each person feels whole and valued.
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations, and the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all: We speak openly and publicly of our support for social and political issues, including LGBTQ equity, racial justice, climate justice, gender equity, and reproductive justice.
• The interdependent web of existence: We recognize that the liberation of all people is interwoven, and we work to counter patriarchy, white supremacy, colonialism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, environmental exploitation, and other interrelated systems of marginalization.