Director of Finance and Grant Administration

GENERAL SUMMARY:

In keeping with the Mission Statement and Principles of Covenant House New Orleans (CHNO), the Director of Finance & Grant Administration serves as a strategic and mission-driven leader responsible for the organization's financial operations, accounting functions, grant administration, financial compliance, and fiscal stewardship. The Director ensures that CHNO's financial resources are managed with integrity, accountability, transparency, and in alignment with organizational priorities and regulatory requirements.

The Director of Finance & Grant Administration leads the organization’s day-to-day financial operations, under the direction of the Chief Financial Officer. The Director is responsible for grant accounting and administration, compliance, accounting, reporting, and functional expense oversight. The Director collaborates closely with program, development, executive, and operational leaders to align financial resources with CHNO's mission and strategic objectives.

As a member of the leadership team, the Director of Finance & Grant Administration helps ensure that CHNO's commitment to dignity, respect, well-being, and opportunity is reflected not only in direct services but also in the financial systems, practices, and stewardship that support those services. Through strong partnership and collaboration, this leader helps create the foundation that allows staff, programs, and young people to thrive

Core Values and Principles in Practice

CHNO team members are culture carriers and are expected to consistently demonstrate and operationalize the following commitments in their daily work with youth, colleagues, and community partners:

• Dignity: The Director of Finance & Grant Administration demonstrates respect, professionalism, integrity, and compassion in every interaction. This leader recognizes that sound financial stewardship ultimately supports positive outcomes for youth, staff, and the broader community and ensures that organizational decisions reflect the dignity and worth of every person served by CHNO.

• Collaboration: The Director works in close partnership with programs, development, operations, people and culture, and executive leadership teams to align financial strategies with

• organizational priorities. Through open communication, shared accountability, and relationship-building, the Director helps create a culture where departments work together to achieve mission-driven results.

• Trauma-Informed Care: Embed safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, and predictability into all interactions and services. Recognize the impact of trauma on development and behavior and respond with patience, compassion, and skill while promoting healing and resilience.

• Accountability & Integrity: Demonstrate consistency, professionalism, transparency, and follow-through in all work. Honor commitments, maintain accurate documentation, uphold confidentiality, and ensure compliance with agency standards while fostering personal accountability and responsibility among our young people.

• Respect and Well-Being: The Director contributes to an environment where employees are equipped with the resources, support, and systems needed to perform their work effectively. By promoting sustainable financial practices, supporting staff development, and helping ensure organizational stability, this leader plays an important role in fostering the well-being of both employees and the youth served.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the organization’s subject matter expert and primary internal and external point of contact for all grants, contracts, and related financial matters.

• Maintain a comprehensive grant tracking dashboard that includes award amounts, funding periods, restrictions, reporting deadlines, reimbursement schedules, match requirements, budget revisions, renewals, closeout requirements, and responsible staff.

• Manage access to grantor systems and submit applications, budgets, revisions, reimbursement requests, financial reports, progress reports, and closeout documentation through required grant portals by established deadlines.

• Review grant agreements and award documents to identify financial requirements, allowable costs, restrictions, match obligations, performance conditions, reporting requirements, and compliance risks.

• Coordinate with program and development teams to ensure grant budgets, narratives, deliverables, and financial data are aligned before submission.

• Maintain complete grant files, including executed agreements, approved budgets, correspondence, reports, invoices, draw requests, supporting documentation, and audit evidence.

• Participate in Board, committee, audit, finance, and leadership meetings as assigned.

• Represent the Finance Department in organizational and external meetings.

• Perform other duties as assigned in support of organizational operations and mission achievement.

1. Grant Accounting, Revenue, and Expense Management

• Record grant revenue, receivables, deferred or conditional amounts, releases from restriction, and related journal entries accurately and timely in the accounting system.

• Reconcile grant awards, billings, cash receipts, receivables, deferred revenue, restricted net assets, and general ledger activity each month.

• Monitor grant expenditures for allowability, allocability, reasonableness, period of performance, funding availability, and consistency with approved budgets.

• Review payroll allocations, time-and-effort documentation, cost allocation methodologies, procurement support, and other source documentation charged to grants.

• Prepare and submit timely reimbursement requests, drawdowns, invoices, and expenditure reports with complete supporting documentation.

• Analyze grant budget-to-actual results, investigate variances, forecast spending, and recommend budget revisions or corrective actions to prevent overspending, underspending, or questioned costs.

• Manage grant closeouts, including final reconciliations, revenue recognition, expenditure validation, receivable collection, release of restrictions, and retention of required records.

• Maintain appropriate internal controls over grant revenue, expenses, reporting, cash draws, and supporting documentation

3. Financial Leadership and Functional Expense Management

• Lead the monthly and year-end close processes and ensure timely, accurate financial statements and management reports.

• Oversee functional expense classifications among program services, management and general, and fundraising in accordance with applicable accounting standards and organizational policy.

• Develop, document, and maintain defensible methodologies for allocating shared costs across grants, programs, departments, locations, and functional expense categories.

• Prepare functional expense analyses and schedules to support financial statements, grant reporting, annual audits, and the organization’s informational tax return.

• Compile and present cash flow reports, budget-to-actual reports, financial statements, grant forecasts, and special analyses for executive leadership and the Board of Directors.

• Lead annual budgeting and forecasting in collaboration with department leaders, incorporating grant restrictions, funding periods, staffing allocations, match requirements, and indirect cost assumptions.

• Develop, implement, and enforce financial policies and operating procedures consistent with organizational requirements and generally accepted accounting principles.

• Coordinate annual audits, grant-specific audits or monitoring visits, and tax filings; prepare requested schedules and respond to findings or corrective action requirements.

• Maintain effective communication with grantors, auditors, program leaders, development staff, executive leadership, and other stakeholders.

• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

4. Quality Improvement

• Analyze trends and practices of similar organizations at local and national levels and identify and propose strategies for improvement within the organization.

• Working with executive colleagues, consistently evaluate data, feedback, productivity, or other key performance indicators to evaluate their program and operational issues for quality improvement purposes.

5. Staff Leadership & Development

• Manage, coach, and develop Finance Department staff; establish clear responsibilities, review work quality, and promote timely cross-training and professional development.

• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and service excellence.

• Establish clear performance expectations and support staff in achieving individual and departmental goals.

• Promote effective communication and strong working relationships across the organization.

• Ensure adequate training and cross-training to support departmental continuity and operational effectiveness.