Program Associate

Sunflower Services; Durham (NC); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401k with company match

Commuter benefits

Paid time off

Volunteer time

Parental leave

Education reimbursement

Job summary

Sunflower Services is seeking a Program Associate on the Success Teams unit to support a portfolio of fiscally sponsored projects through contract and grant administration, financial tracking, and data management.

You will collaborate with Finance, HR, Compliance, IT, and client teams to ensure compliance and efficient operations, while maintaining high attention to detail and strong communication across diverse stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 2–4 years of relevant work experience in administrative or customer-facing roles
• Advanced or graduate degree may be considered in lieu of required work experience.
• Experience in requesting, reviewing, or drafting contracts or subgrants
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite and CRM database management
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, and/or reviewing nonprofit financial statements
• Familiarity and/or experience working within a fiscal sponsorship structure is a plus
• An appreciation for efficient processes and a desire to improve them
• Interest in contributing to team and project-level learning
• High attention to detail and process oriented
• Excellent time management skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to prioritize effectively and manage towards multiple deadlines simultaneously
• Ability to read and explain basic nonprofit financial statements
• Ability to use available resources and feedback to continually pivot, adapt, and grow
• Ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with diverse teams and audiences
• Effective collaboration skills and team player

Responsibilities

• Own operational functions for a portfolio of fiscally sponsored projects, including: Contract and subgrant management from initial review to drafting and implementation
• Financial review and reporting, including tracking cash flow and communicating variances to key internal and external stakeholders
• Maintain project data related to a project’s operational needs
• Project manage internally to ensure task completion within Client Service Standards
• Additional tasks to align with project need as assigned
• Ensure legal and procedural compliance and quality control for various project activities, liaising with cross-functional teams including Finance, HR, Compliance, IT, and others as needed
• Communicate with clients and internal teams in a clear and effective manner, collaborating as needed to resolve big-picture and complex needs
• Support the account manager in overall relationship management of the project
• Implement department and organizational policies and procedures as they are introduced
• Routinely apprise and align with internal stakeholders on the status of tasks; sharing processes and other relevant project data to senior team members, as needed
• Support the development of more efficient processes, systems, and technology as assigned
• Contribute to the achievement of team initiatives and internal projects as assigned
• Increase knowledge of philanthropic trends and nonprofit management best practices
• Participate in internal and external trainings related to industry best practices and internal policies and procedures

Skills

Communication skills

Time management

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Prioritization

Multitasking

Education

Advanced or graduate degree may be considered in lieu of required work experience

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

CRM database management

Job description

Job Title: Program Associate, Success Teams

Department: Partner Solutions

Location: Hybrid, based in Washington, DC, or Durham, NC, or Remote in IL, MD, NC, NJ, NY, or VA

Who We Are

Today's societal challenges are more complex, interconnected, and urgent than ever. Sunflower Services is comprised of over 240 professionals with deep expertise in the philanthropic sector. We provide support services to fiscal sponsors and intermediaries—and their hundreds of mission-driven projects—that are creating meaningful change. We welcome jobseekers who are motivated by results and driven by impact. For a list of current job openings at Sunflower, please visit our LinkedIn page.

Sunflower Services is an independent, nonprofit-owned Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to providing operational excellence to nonprofit and social impact organizations. Sunflower delivers integrated solutions in finance, HR, grants management, compliance, and other administrative areas, helping mission-driven organizations and changemakers focus on what matters most: their impact.

Position Overview

The Program Associate will support a team that ensures a portfolio of fiscally sponsored projects have the operational support necessary to meet their programmatic goals.

This role will be ideal for early professionals with an interest in strategic operations and process design. Incumbents of this role drive day-to-day operations for a portfolio of projects including processing payments, executing contracts and grant agreements, and tracking monthly financials within a portfolio of fiscally sponsored projects. This role will be responsible for independent execution of administration and operational tasks and works directly with nonprofit clients and multiple internal teams. This role will require some experience in nonprofit operations and relationship management.

This position generally reports to an Associate Director, Success Teams on the Partner Solutions team.

What You’ll Do

Client Services

• Own operational functions for a portfolio of fiscally sponsored projects, including:
  • Contract and subgrant management from initial review to drafting and implementation
  • Financial review and reporting, including tracking cash flow and communicating variances to key internal and external stakeholders
  • Maintain project data related to a project’s operational needs
  • Project manage internally to ensure task completion within Client Service Standards
  • Additional tasks to align with project need as assigned
• Ensure legal and procedural compliance and quality control for various project activities, liaising with cross-functional teams including Finance, HR, Compliance, IT, and others as needed
• Communicate with clients and internal teams in a clear and effective manner, collaborating as needed to resolve big-picture and complex needs
• Support the account manager in overall relationship management of the project
• Implement department and organizational policies and procedures as they are introduced
• Routinely apprise and align with internal stakeholders on the status of tasks; sharing processes and other relevant project data to senior team members, as needed

Other Responsibilities

• Support the development of more efficient processes, systems, and technology as assigned
• Contribute to the achievement of team initiatives and internal projects as assigned
• Increase knowledge of philanthropic trends and nonprofit management best practices
• Participate in internal and external trainings related to industry best practices and internal policies and procedures

What You’ll Bring

• 2 – 4 years of relevant work experience in administrative role, customer-facing role, or internship/fellowship experience required
• An advanced or graduate degree in relevant fields of study may be considered in lieu of required work experience.
• Experience in requesting, reviewing, or drafting contracts or subgrants
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite and CRM database management
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, and/or reviewing nonprofit financial statements
• Familiarity and/or experience working within a fiscal sponsorship structure is a plus
• An appreciation for efficient processes and a desire to improve them
• Interest in contributing to team and project-level learning
• High attention to detail and process oriented
• Excellent time management skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to prioritize effectively and manage towards multiple deadlines simultaneously
• Ability to read and explain basic nonprofit financial statements
• Ability to use available resources and feedback to continually pivot, adapt, and grow
• Ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with diverse teams and audiences
• Effective collaboration skills and team player

Compensation And Benefits

The annual salary range for this role is $60,000 – $63,500. Our salary ranges are based on national compensation benchmarks of similar sized companies in professional services. This role is eligible for an annual bonus at 3% of the annual salary.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus a flexible spending account and health savings account, in addition to a 401k with a company match, and commuter benefits.

We give generous paid time off, with 16 days of vacation time, 10 days of personal time, 20 hours of volunteer time, 11 company holidays, and 4 optional holidays.

We support work-life balance with parental leave, UrbanSitter membership, Employee Resource Groups, and fitness and telecommunications reimbursements.

We value growth and development with options for education reimbursement and professional development.

We also offer disability, life insurance, additional voluntary insurances, and access to Teladoc and Health Advocate.

Location Requirements

This will be a full-time position. The position will operate on a hybrid schedule, based in our Washington, DC, or Durham, NC offices, or it can be fully remote from the following locations: Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, or Virginia.

If a new hire is within proximity of our Washington, DC or Durham, NC offices, the expectation during onboarding (~90 days) is that you come into the office a minimum of 3 days per week. After this onboarding period, employees can then come into the office on a more flexible schedule with the remaining days worked at home/remotely.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer

We will make reasonable accommodations under the guidelines of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Sunflower Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer without regard to race, gender, disability status, veteran status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.

Visit our web page to learn more about Sunflower Services and watch this video.