World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, seeks a Financial and Administration Manager (Lead Specialist, Program Operations).
WWF is looking for a Financial and Administration Manager to oversee the financial management of a complex, multi-partner, program funded by the US Government. The position will be responsible for managing the budget, financial analysis and reporting, grants and agreements, and other administrative functions related to the project and any additional assigned portfolios. The role will provide financial and administrative assistance to, and oversight of, program staff and grantees to ensure that budgets and agreements are in compliance with WWF policies, procedures, systems, and donor requirements.
Salary Range: $100,000 - $143,800
Location: Washington, D.C. (Hybrid work structure with minimum of 2 days a week in office)
Please note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.
Monitors and manages financial performance, ensuring compliance with donor and internal policies, while driving accuracy in forecasting, expense tracking, and budget adherence.
Manages the lifecycle of outgoing agreements under their respective portfolio to ensure appropriate financial and administrative management systems are implemented to meet the level and complexity of funding to ensure compliance with donor funds.
Manages the allocation of programmatic staff time on awards, ensures accurate labor charging to donors and performs effort certification reclasses as necessary.
Conducts financial analysis to identify risks and discrepancies and provides technical guidance to program staff and grantees to strengthen financial management and resolve issues.
Maintains a monthly internal financial dashboard to keep the Project Director and Project Steering Committee informed on the financial status, including obligations, burn rate (by partner), spending projections, compliance, cash flow, etc. Participate in regular project update calls to stay current on project progress.
Monitors agreement-related accounts, approves expenses, and reconciles conditional grants on a quarterly basis and compiles projections for Q4 accruals on conditional grants.
Participates in the Competitive Subaward Review Committee process to ensure consistent, fair, and transparent decision-making aligned with program objectives.
Conducts verification of subgrantee organizational status, legal documentation, and financial systems, and confirms eligibility for participation in the Competitive Subaward program.
Supports subaward negotiations and performance monitoring, including deliverables tracking, milestone verification, and review of partner financial reports.
Reviews and approves financial reports prepared by Donor Reporting Team for submission to USG Funder. Reviews and analyzes all project financial reports to ensure compliance and notifies program staff of any problems or discrepancies and provides technical assistance to grantees in resolving problems.
Provides guidance to program staff on budget formulation, tracking and adjustments, expense accounting, financial analysis and reporting, and contract management.
Recommends and implements departmental procedures and provides feedback on policies and operating procedures.
Works closely with the Grants Administration and Compliance team to ensure proper contractual oversight of the agreement, including adherence to donor regulations.
Develops and regularly update financial risk registers and mitigation plans for the project and all sub-grantees, including conducting onsite training/visits.
Performs subgrantee monitoring of partners by overseeing their compliance, financial accountability, and performance.
Maintains good working relationships and stays abreast of program issues to provide overall support to program initiatives.
Partners with Program staff to support operational responsibilities and serves as a resource for financial and administrative policies.
Identifies training needs and facilitates contracts orientation and training for project staff.
Designs and delivers capacity-building trainings to partners and subgrantees.
Leads cost proposal for funding opportunities and supports development of proposal budgets. Monitors the lifecycle of the financial progress of proposals throughout execution and close out.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Key Competencies
Client and Constituent Focus: Understanding the needs of program staff, grantees, and donors to make project successful connecting to our internal controls paves the pathway for how to move forward.
Managing competing priorities: Having a well-developed sense of urgency vs priority vs risk is essential. There are often many needs and wants and balancing that can be difficult.
Ability to act independently: Ability to manage one’s own tasks, make sound decisions, guidance and solve problems with minimal supervision.
Partnerships/Relationship Management: Relationship management in a coalition is essential to align diverse stakeholders, leverage collective strengths, mitigate risks, ensure operational compliance, and build trust for sustained collaboration.
Adaptability/Problem Solving: Problem-solving helps teams anticipate challenges and develop contingency plans, while adaptability ensures these plans can be implemented swiftly when conditions change.
Interpersonal and Communications Skills: Interpersonal and communication skills are vital in budget management because they enable clear collaboration, negotiation, and stakeholder alignment to ensure accurate planning and sound financial decisions.
A bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 8 years of professional work experience in accounting, business, public administration, or related field is required.
Strong project and grants management experience overseeing financial and administrative activities is required.
Experience managing U.S Government funded projects and grants are required.
Knowledge of Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) is required
Experience managing a competitive subaward grant program is highly desirable.
Must have strong organizational, quantitative, and analytical skills
Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities successfully
Experience working with Adaptive, Smart Simple and Workday systems highly desirable
Ability to operate with considerable independence and discretion
Experience with non-profit organizations is highly desirable.
Position may require travel (<10%) to visit partners in US or overseas
To Apply:
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) promotes equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.
