Budget Specialist

AMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST•Washington, DC

6d•$75,000 - $80,000•Hybrid

About The Position

American Farmland Trust (AFT) is seeking a Budget Specialist to join their finance team. This role is responsible for preparing accurate budgets to meet organizational needs, including participating in the preparation of grant proposal budgets in coordination with the Grants Management division. The Budget Specialist will balance data-driven recommendations with the technical maintenance of fiscal records, ensuring the integrity of financial projections and information. This position works closely with various departments to support budget development, provide financial insight, and ensure compliance with policies and regulations.

Requirements

Thorough understanding of grant accounting functional areas, overhead and reimbursement principles.
Prior federal award budget management experience.
Knowledge of nonprofit accounting standards.
Ability to perform financial analysis and explain steps for resolution.
Proficient with Office365, SharePoint, & Teams with advanced knowledge of Excel functions.
Strong verbal, written, analytical and organizational skills.
High level of ethics, integrity, transparency, and trustworthiness.
Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with individuals, teams, and committees.
Ability to translate financial concepts to individuals at all levels in the organization – including non-finance employees.
Familiarity with federal & foundation funding arrangements and related items such as match requirements and overhead limitations.
Desire to engage and learn from fellow colleagues and about American Farmland Trust.
Extensive experience working within a remote or hybrid environment and amongst a distributed workforce.
Experience with prioritizing competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
Self-starter who takes initiative to problem solve.
Strong technical skills involving various financial software such as Martus, Sage Intacct or other similar budgeting and ERP programs.
Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance or Business Administration required or 6+ years’ experience in a non-profit organization working with federal grants and budgets or Combination of education and experience that can demonstrate the ability to perform job functions.

Responsibilities

Work in coordination with the Grants Management division in the preparation of proposal budgets and related timelines, ensuring alignment with financial policies, procedures, coding, and on-time completion.
Prepare annual budget as well as projection budgets (reforecasting).
For reforecasting, calculate year-end projections based on YTD actuals.
Collaborate with other AFT teams during work planning.
Ensure that all appropriate support services are covered in budgets.
Implement budget policies and guidelines.
Develop models or suggestions for expenditures to optimize budget adherence.
Produce monthly financial statements and related analysis, including staff hours reports.
Assist in the review of expense contracts for budget feasibility and ensure procurement guidelines are followed.
Assist with the annual financial statement audit.
Responsible for loading the budget and grant budgets into the ERP.
Report customization and ad hoc analysis.
Dashboard reporting development.

Benefits

Excellent vacation
Medical & Prescription Coverage
Dental Coverage
Vision Coverage
Company Paid Life Insurance & Long-Term Disability (LTD)
Voluntary Life Insurance
Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – Healthcare & Dependent Care
Health Savings Account (HSA)
401k Plan
Sick Leave: Regular full-time employees accrue 13 “sick days” per year.
Vacation Leave: Accrue 15 days during the first year increasing by one day per year to 20 days per year maximum.
Holidays: AFT observes twelve fixed holidays and a week between Christmas and New Years off during the year (all offices closed) plus a choice of up to three (depending on hiring month) floating holidays.