Launched in 2021, the Advanced Education Research & Development Fund (AERDF, sounds like air-diff) is a national nonprofit that unlocks breakthrough methods, knowledge, and solutions to solve for the most pressing learning and teaching challenges in PreK–12 education.
At a time when artificial intelligence is evolving faster than our education system is designed to do, AERDF provides the R&D capabilities, infrastructure, partnerships, and expertise for experts and innovators to develop next-generation approaches and solutions to drive necessary change. We go beyond incremental advancements to support multi-year, problem-driven R&D programs that aim for system-wide transformation. Learn more about AERDF here: https://aerdf.org.
Role SummaryThe Director, Accounting & Grants owns AERDF's books and its grants, and acts as the finance partner to program teams from budget design through reporting The finance team is small: the VP, an AP/AR and payroll specialist, and this role, with an outsourced accounting firm handling routine close work. The Director is the senior accountant on the team and the reviewer of everything that firm produces.
AERDF is a fully remote organization, and employees may work anywhere in the United States.
We are deeply committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. People of all backgrounds and identities, particularly those with the lived experience of the students and communities we serve, are encouraged to apply. Please do not hesitate to apply even if you do not meet all of the qualifications.
Core ResponsibilitiesThe role is accounting-first for its first six months, then shifts toward program partnership. Time shares below are the steady state from month seven.
Accounting and Close (~40%)- Own and manage the monthly close in Sage Intacct; review the outsourced firm's reconciliations, accruals and standard entries, and post journal entries as needed.
- Maintain the chart of accounts and dimensions (department, program, grant) so grant-level reports come straight out of Intacct.
- Account for restricted net assets; record conditional vs. unconditional awards, releases from restriction and pool balances.
- Review payroll before each run and supervise the AP/AR and payroll specialist.
- Own internal controls and segregation of duties.
- Lead the annual audit and Form 990 with the external auditor.
- Prepare audit schedules and the bridge between the Board's cash view and GAAP results.
- Keep the award register current: terms, tranche schedules, conditions, reporting dates and indirect rates.
- Work with the program leads to build grant budgets before proposals go out: staffing, subawards, direct costs and indirect.
- Test proposed budgets against the program's plan, the award's allowable costs and AERDF's cash position.
- Meet each program lead monthly to review spend against budget, sub-award commitments and forecast to completion.
- Track indirect recovery against each award's cap.
- Prepare funder financial reports.
- Support sub-award administration: commitments, remaining balances and closeouts.
- Manage the outsourced accounting firm: scope, deliverables and quality.
- Manage and develop the AP/AR and payroll specialist.
- 8+ years in nonprofit, foundation or sponsored-research accounting, including 3+ years owning a monthly close.
- Hands-on restricted-fund accounting: conditional vs. unconditional contributions, releases from restriction.
- Pre-award and post-award grant budgeting, with experience building budgets alongside program or research staff.
- Led or managed an annual audit and Form 990.
- Clear communicator with non-finance colleagues.
- Advanced Excel.
- Experience with a cloud ERP.
- Experience with Sage Intacct, including dimensions and grant reporting.
- Background in a university sponsored-programs office, a research funder or a grants-heavy nonprofit.
- Experience managing an outsourced accounting firm.
We offer a competitive compensation package including base salary and comprehensive benefits. AERDF is a remote and flexible work environment. Our base compensation levels vary depending on location, experience, and qualifications.
The base salary range for this role is $140,000 - $216,000.
Skills Required
- 8+ years of experience in nonprofit, foundation, or sponsored-research accounting
- 3+ years owning a monthly close
- Hands-on restricted-fund accounting, including conditional and unconditional contributions and releases from restriction
- Pre-award and post-award grant budgeting experience
- Experience building budgets alongside program or research staff
- Led or managed an annual audit and Form 990
- Clear communication with non-finance colleagues
- Advanced Excel
- Experience with a cloud ERP
- Experience with Sage Intacct, including dimensions and grant reporting
- Background in a university sponsored-programs office, research funder, or grants-heavy nonprofit
- Experience managing an outsourced accounting firm
What We Do
Advanced Education Research & Development Fund (AERDF, sounds like air-diff) is a national nonprofit launched in 2021 that advances scientific discovery & inventions that further learners’ brilliance and transform their PreK-12 futures. AERDF’s ambitious three-to-five-year initiatives (known as programs), funded with budgets up to $25 million, address major teaching and learning challenges and opportunities the public and private sector have historically ignored for Black and Latino learners and learners experiencing poverty in the United States. AERDF programs build on existing community-driven evidence and expertise, as well as learning sciences, to translate fundamental insights into usable knowledge, useful practices, equitable approaches and transformative tools for education practitioners and students. We believe R&D, if led inclusively, can be an engine of innovation that brings together educators, researchers, and product developers to better define problems together and actually co-create solutions. Like the ARPAs (Advanced Research Projects Agencies), AERDF focuses on advanced R&D for scientific discovery and invention. Through partnerships and “bridges" in the ecosystem, we steward our generalizable knowledge, insights, and solutions into the real world for others to carry forward, sustain, and adopt. Our approach to Advanced Inclusive R&D in Education builds learning solutions for the quality education students deserve—and because our teams know the science behind why these solutions work, we are confident that they can work for students nationwide. Since our 2021 launch, our Advanced Inclusive R&D programs – currently focused on math, formative assessment, and reading – have engaged more than 20,000 students
