Contracts Associate I

• Location: Richmond, California

• Program: Operations

• Type: Full-time

• Experience Level: Some experience

• Position Type: Permanent

• Salary: $70,000 to $75,000. See details below. 

• First review of applications: 3 weeks after posting

• Application closing date: Open Until Filled

About SFEI

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which has a 30-year track record of providing robust and innovative science to decision-makers, policy-makers, practitioners, and community members to measurably improve the health and resiliency of Bay-Delta ecosystems. As a boundary organization, SFEI operates at the interface between science and policy, recognized nationally for our ability to build consensus to support effective environmental decision-making and policy. Our mission is to deliver visionary science that empowers people to revitalize nature in our communities. 

SFEI employs an interdisciplinary staff of more than 80. Our operations and IT staff are the backbone of our organization and keep everything running smoothly. SFEI has three major programs: Clean Water, Environmental Informatics, and Resilient Landscapes. Our program staff represent numerous scientific and technological fields, including chemistry, modeling, ecology, wildlife biology, landscape planning, historical ecology, geomorphology, geospatial analysis, and web development. 

For more information on our mission, values, programs, and staff, visit theSan Francisco Estuary Institute website.  

Position Description

SFEI is looking for a Contracts Associate to join the grants and administration team.  The organization is in a growth phase with expected increased funding over the next five years. We are looking for a Contracts Associate to support the administration of grants and contracts. Tasks will include project initiation, annual compliance reporting, compliance with grant/contract requirements including tracking and ordering certificates of insurance, assisting with accounts receivable and accounts payable, supporting yearly audits, and financial reporting. The ideal candidate possesses strong communication and organizational skills, proactive planning skills, ability to multitask, ability to track and see tasks through to completion, and ability to communicate with different staff on progress and potential issues. This is a great opportunity for someone who has an interest in grant and contract compliance and administration and enjoys a wide range of tasks.

Primary position responsibilities will include:

• Support grant and contract start up and completion.

• Support grant and contract compliance including annual federal grant reporting, developing and managing a certificate of insurance compliance process, and other grant reporting as needed.

• Initiate new projects within the project accounting system (Deltek) and develop and run reports as needed.

• Support accounts receivable and accounts payable for grants and contracts.

• Support subcontract administration and tracking

• Support financial analysis of grants and contracts

• Communicate grant and contract requirements to project managers and provide pertinent information and support to project managers.

If you are excited about this role, but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to still apply. You may be just the right candidate for this, or one of our other roles.

Qualifications

We seek a highly organized associate with strong attention to detail.

Required Experience

• Bachelor’s degree plus 1-2 years of relevant experience or 5-6 years of experience in a related field

• Experience working with grant and contract administration

Required Skills

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

• Ability to manage and prioritize a variety of detail-oriented tasks successfully

• Must be a self-starter and able to proactively anticipate next steps

• Strong organizational skills

• Must possess strong knowledge of MS Office and Google Suite Applications, especially Excel and/or Google Sheets and project accounting software

• Ability to work independently with limited supervision and in a team environment

Preferred Skills

• Interest in working in a mission-driven environmental science non-profit

• Some knowledge of accounting principles

Salary & Benefits highlights

• This will be a Contracts Associate I position (depending on degree/experience). The anticipated salary range is $70,000 to $75,000 for this position (Bay Area salary ranges are listed; note that salary ranges for other locations are 10-15% lower depending on location and are based on locational salary data). Salary ranges take into account many factors for making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, education, internal equity, and organizational needs. We expect to offer starting salaries at or near the lower end of the salary range.  

• Matching contributions to retirement plan (immediate vesting) (403B)

• Medical Insurance: health, vision, dental with employer and employee contributions

• 12 paid holidays

• Vacation days starting at 3 weeks accrual/year

• Professional development resources

• Hybrid workplace

• Local candidate preferred

Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action Employer

At SFEI, we celebrate the diversity of our staff and the places we serve, and recognize the value and strength of diversity. We are committed to growing together and creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace. In 2022, SFEI developed and adopted mission and vision statements for DEIJ within and beyond our organization. We also created an action plan which is currently underway. We strongly encourage applications from women-identified people, people of color, and people with other identities commonly under-represented in environmental science. We invite you to share what you like about your professional experience as well as about yourself personally. 

San Francisco Estuary Institute is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We are committed to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, family or parental status, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Accommodations Statement 

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you have the right to request an accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our website or application portal as a result of your disability. To request an accommodation, contact us at 510-746-7355 or admin@sfei.org.

Please note that SFEI cannot sponsor an employment visa (e.g., H-1B) to fill this position.

In the spirit of a fair hiring process, no phone calls or emails please.