Associate Specialist, GP Field Program Operations

Company Description

Founded in 1961, WWF works to help people and nature thrive. As a global conservation organization, WWF operates in more than 100 countries, partnering with communities, companies, and governments to protect wildlife, conserve vital habitats, and advance sustainable solutions. Grounded in science and driven by collaboration, WWF works to help nature by conserving biodiversity, supporting resilient communities, and addressing climate change. Nearly 1 million people in the United States and more than 5 million globally are WWF members.

Job Description

Major Function

The Associate Specialist is responsible for assisting with the administration of outgoing programmatic and operational agreements for the Great Plains (GP) and Native Nations Conservation (NNC) programs. Provides support to Financial Leads and Program staff throughout the agreement process and ensures coordination. Contributes to agreements issuance, tracking project deliverables, payments to recipients, processing journal entries in Workday (e.g. reclasses, assistance with year-end accruals for grants, etc.) and agreements close out. Coordinates with Financial Leads to ensure financial, contractual, and administrative information of outgoing and other operational agreements is accurate and well-organized in related Operations Systems (SmartSimple, Workday, SharePoint and AirTable), deadlines are met, and problems or inconsistencies are raised and addressed. Provides support with operational functions of field-based program as needed, including Accounts Payable, field equipment management and tracking, and GP’s fleet vehicle data monitoring and record keeping.

Key Responsibilities

• Supports Financial Leads with outgoing agreements, including grants; consultancies; MOUs; travel support, equipment loan, licensing, milestone infrastructure, and participation agreements; honoraria; and field office space related agreements.
• In coordination with Program staff, supports pre-agreement preparation by collecting and reviewing documents such as recipient and tax forms, identifying and resolving issues, following up with partners and Program staff as needed, and setting up or updating partner records in SmartSimple and troubleshooting any system integration issues.
• Assists Program staff with the issuance of new agreements, including the Scope of Work and Budget development, and the use of the agreements management system, as needed.
• Drafts all types of agreements, ensuring that pertinent Prime Donor provisions are included, as applicable.
• Prepares paperwork and routes agreements for internal review, secures timely signatures and distributes documents to appropriate parties.
• Processes and tracks outgoing agreement payments in a timely manner and in accordance with WWF policies and procedures, including reconciling receipts and expense reports as needed.
• Monitors and clears advances, records expenses for conditional grants.
• In coordination with Financial Leads, supports monitoring of compliance with deliverable requirements, including issuing reminders to subgrantees and consultants.
• Processes journal entries in Workday throughout the lifecycle of the agreement (e.g., agreement accounting reclasses, obligation adjustments, assistance with year-end accruals for grants, etc.).
• Closes out agreements following WWF policies and procedures and coordinates with Financial Leads, Program staff, and partners accordingly.
• Maintains information and files pertaining to agreements across multiple systems. Regularly monitors on-going compliance with WWF reporting requirements and individual project deadlines. Assists in ensuring all project reports are routed to appropriate individuals for review and approvals are recorded.

• Ensures all accounting throughout the agreement lifecycle adheres to FASB guidelines.
• Provides weekly status updates to Operations team on in-progress agreements/amendments, deliverables, closeouts, etc.
• Provides support to the management and coordination of day-to-day administrative operations and special projects, as directed.
• Identifies, coordinates and expedites the communication of information and issues both inter-departmentally and intra-departmentally, as well as externally with partners, as appropriate.
• Provides support in tracking and analyzing GP’s fleet vehicle data and helps troubleshoot inconsistencies.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Core Competencies:

• Attention to Detail & Quality: Demonstrates a high level of accuracy and attention to detail, ensuring financial, contractual, and administrative information is complete, consistent, and well-organized.
• Planning, Organization & Prioritization: Effectively manages multiple priorities and deadlines while maintaining high-quality work in a fast-paced environment.
• Problem Solving & Judgment: Proactively identifies issues, evaluates information, and develops practical solutions, escalating concerns when appropriate.
• Collaboration, Communication & Relationship Management: Communicates clearly and effectively and builds productive working relationships across teams and with external partners. Collaborates effectively to coordinate work, address issues, and achieve shared goals.
• Accountability & Follow-Through: Takes ownership of responsibilities, proactively follows up on outstanding items, and ensures commitments and deadlines are met.

Skills and Abilities

• A Bachelor’s degree and minimum of two years of experience, or minimum four years of relevant experience.
• Working understanding of basic accounting principles (including FASB accounting).
• Familiarity with U.S. Government-funded projects is highly desirable.
• Experience working with Native Nations and/or rural communities a plus.
• Highly organized, detailed-oriented, strong quantitative and analytical skills.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and produce high-quality work under time constraints.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Must be customer service orientated, be collaborative, and enjoy problem-solving.
• Proven ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a matrixed team environment.
• Demonstrated ability to use word processing, databases and spreadsheet software packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, AirTable, Workday, SmartSimple).
• Committed to building and strengthening a culture of inclusion within and across teams.
• Identifies and aligns with WWF’s core values:
  • COURAGE – We demonstrate courage through our actions, we work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.
  • INTEGRITY – We live the principles we call on others to meet. We act with integrity, accountability and transparency, and we rely on facts and science to guide us and to ensure that we learn and evolve.
  • RESPECT – We honor the voices and knowledge of people and communities that we serve, and we work to secure their rights to a sustainable future.
  • COLLABORATION – We deliver impact at the scale of the challenges we face through the power of collective action and innovation.

Additional Information

Applicants located in the Bozeman, MT area preferred but will consider remote applicants located within the US.

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.

Relocation is not provided for this position.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) promotes equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.