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EarthRights International

Finance Director

About EarthRights International

EarthRights International (EarthRights) combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment, which they define as “earth rights.” They rise in defense of communities and the planet, using the power of law and the power of people in pursuit of justice.

They are a team of community organizers, campaigners, and legal strategists who challenge corporations, governments, and banks that violate peoples’ rights and destroy the planet for profit. They are part of a global network of earth rights defenders who aim to protect the planet for the future. 

EarthRights International makes change through three important strategies: training community and legal activists, strategic legal work defending human rights and demanding corporate accountability, and campaigns to promote systemic governmental and corporate policy change. 

For 25 years, they have stood with communities in pursuit of a world where everyone lives with the dignity of justice and human rights on a planet where precious resources are shared equally and preserved for the future. They have trained over 400 Defenders through their EarthRights School, and they have filed over 25 groundbreaking accountability cases against the world’s largest corporations.

EarthRights has a global team of over 75 staff with offices in the United States, Thailand, and Peru.

About the Role

EarthRights seeks a dynamic leader with a broad understanding of accounting systems, policies, and procedures to serve as its new Finance Director. The Finance Director is ultimately responsible for managing all accounting and financial matters of the organization. 

The Finance Director is responsible for keeping management informed regarding the organization’s financial condition and any pending problems and recommending actions to ensure the financial security and integrity of the organization. The Finance Director reports to the Deputy Director and works with the Audit, Investment, Executive, and Finance Committees of the Board of Directors. They supervise and direct internal accounting staff and/or manage an accounting service provider and regularly interact with staff at all levels of the organization.

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Preparing all schedules for, and managing, financial statement audits and other audits as required by law/funders
  • Preparing all funder budgets and reports and keeping track of all grants, TRNA, and grants receivable 
  • Working and engaging with auditors yearly
  • Maintaining a list of fixed assets and depreciation
  • Processing monthly payroll and managing timesheets for staff
  • Acting as chair for Investment Committee and main contact for the investment firm
  • Working with an outside accounting firm to file 990
  • Filing all documents as required by law: 1099s / FBAR / state registrations
  • Recording all deposits 
  • Managing 401k plan, including making monthly deposits and meeting quarterly with the retirement investment committee 
  • Creating a monthly budget and actual reports that are sent to all budget managers
  • Working with office managers in international offices to ensure proper internal controls for those offices
  • Reviewing, inputting and reconciling all expense reports from international offices
  • Preparing quarterly financial statements and detailed analysis; discussing finance with management and the Board of Directors.
  • Supporting program heads or Directors on financial analysis needed in their day-to-day work, utilizing the system and processes to provide ad hoc reports
  • Preparing the overall organization budget, compiling input from program staff and directors and preparing working documents with budget vs. actual analysis and variance explanations
  • Making wire transfers for international payments
  • Cutting checks and supervising the accounts payable process
  • Monthly bank and investment reconciliations
  • Working with an insurance broker to ensure proper coverage, including Directors & Officers, cyber, malpractice and property insurance
  • Directly supervising a Finance Associate in the D.C. office and working with staff in other regions who perform finance functions.
  • Participating in and contributing to the work of EarthRights’ Senior Leadership Team

Other Responsibilities until the Deputy Director position is filled

Note that EarthRights is also engaged in a hiring process for a Deputy Director and that the Executive Director may supervise the Finance Director until that position is filled.

  • Filling in for some Deputy Director administrative and supervisory duties until that position is filled
  • Managing office lease renewal
  • Managing office phone system and reviewing needs for other information technology systems

Skills and Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree in accounting or business-related degree
  • Relevant prior experience with responsibility for full accounting process and staff management in a non-profit environment
  • Advanced Excel proficiency
  • Flexibility and sensitivity to work within a diverse, multicultural, and growing non-profit organization 
  • Ability to communicate regarding accounting and finances to a wide range of team members with varying levels of experience with financial data
  • Strong skills in collaboration and communication with both internal and external actors
  • Ideally, experience with finance and accounting work across multiple countries and familiarity with issues that arise in a multi-national organization
  • Experience and understanding of 501(c)(3) organizations in the USA
  • Ideally,  a CPA certification 

EarthRights International is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices and actively encourages people of color, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQI people to apply.