Senior Manager, Finance & Accounting

Job Description

About the Organization

CLASP is the leading global authority on efficient appliances’ role in improving people’s lives and reducing climate emissions. An international NGO with 25 years of expertise and offices on five continents, CLASP collaborates with policymakers, industry leaders, and other experts to create a more sustainable future for people and the planet. CLASP and our partners are dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing, interconnected crises: the climate emergency, poverty, inequality, and access to energy. Find out more about CLASP.

Context & Reason for the Hire

The Finance and Accounting Team of CLASP is a team of six employees reporting to the Director of Finance, who leads financial strategy and partners with senior leadership to ensure fiscal responsibility in support of our mission.

To capitalize on the organization’s potential and growth, we are seeking a Senior Manager, Finance and Accounting, to report to the Director of Finance, and lead Finance and Operations engagement across programs and regions at both strategic and operational levels. This role requires hands-on involvement in daily activities while also providing strategic insight to align financial goals with team objectives and influence key decisions.

CLASP seeks skilled individuals with the highest standards of personal and professional integrity. We value good business judgment, diplomacy, and amicable professionalism.

Our Vision for the Role

Our vision for the Senior Manager, Finance and Accounting role is to work in close partnership with regional leaders to align regional financial goals with the organization’s strategic priorities, programmatic objectives, and annual registration renewal requirements. This role will take leadership of day-to-day finance and accounting operations, with a primary focus on regional offices and payroll functions—ensuring compliance, timeliness, and accuracy. The Senior Manager will be responsible for building a high-performing, mission-aligned team and cultivating strong partnerships with third-party accounting firms. By leading the finance and accounting operations of the regional offices, this role will create space for the Director of Finance to focus on broader strategic initiatives in collaboration with senior leadership. We are seeking a proactive, hands-on, and confident leader who fosters positive employee experience and champions operational excellence across all aspects of finance.

Key Responsibilities

Regional Offices Finance business partner:

Partner with regional leaders to align financial goals with -regional offices’ objectives, providing insights that influence key decisions.

Leading the coordination of field offices’ annual audits and overseeing annual file preparation handled by third-party partners; acting as the primary liaison with external auditors and third-party partners to ensure timely and complete submissions

Managing and Strengthening Relationships with Third-Party Accounting Partners.

Build and maintain strong, strategic vendor relationships to encourage collaboration, enhance service quality, and explore future partnership opportunities.

Provide guidance and assistance to third-party partners on maintaining accurate subledgers, preparing financial reports for the annual registration renewal process to ensure compliance with both local regulations and organizational standards. Analyze financial performance and key drivers to identify risks and opportunities, advising stakeholders on actions to enhance outcomes.

Leading the coordination of field offices’ annual audits and overseeing annual filing preparation handled by third-party partners; acting as the primary liaison with external auditors and third-party partners to ensure timely and complete submissions

Creating general ledger reports for specific offices to support internal and external financial reporting needs.

Leading ongoing communication and collaboration with third-party partners regarding financial and accounting matters; providing timely responses and guidance to ensure consistency and accuracy

Review and provide feedback on the annual contract renewals of accounting partners to ensure terms remain aligned with organizational needs and performance expectations.

Overseeing Payroll Functions for all offices: (8 field offices and U.S. headquarters)

Managing semi-monthly and monthly payrolls for all offices by reviewing and approving payroll preview registration reports to Ensure accurate and timely processing of payroll across all locations, in coordination with internal teams and third-party providers

Review year-end PTO and benefit accrual schedule for field offices to ensure the accuracy

Reviewing PTO carryover balances to ensure accuracy in accordance with field office PTO accrual policies.

Manage monthly, quarterly, and year-end payroll reports and reconciliations, review W2s, ensuring alignment with financial records and supporting audit readiness.

Supervise the Accounts Payable Function

Provide guidance and support to the Accounts Payable Associate in all AP related functions

Review 1099 and ensure timely filing.

Other Responsibilities include but not limited to:

Review the 5500 schedule to ensure accuracy before submitting it to the third-party partner for the annual Form 5500 filing.

Lead the quarterly update of the timesheet and expense submission tracking sheet; distribute the updated sheet and quarterly expense reports to team leaders and follow up on late submissions and potential cost control issues.

Maintain and regularly update accounting policies, procedures, SOPs, and documentation related to field office benefits and paid time off, while strengthening internal controls across all offices, ensure adherence to these policies and monitor compliance with applicable international financial regulations and internal organizational requirements.

Supervise and support the system administrator to ensure timely handling of system access requests, data updates, and issue resolutions.

Support system improvements and process optimization to enhance operational efficiency and scalability.

Collaborate with project managers to keep budgets current in Vena, CLASP’s platform for financial planning and analysis.

Team Management

Supervise two direct reports, providing mentorship, performance feedback, and professional development support.

Lead and develop a high-performing finance and accounting team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and professional growth.

Oversee workload planning, performance evaluations, and skills development, ensuring team alignment with organizational goals and timely, accurate financial reporting.

Who You Are

Adapt and respond to work priorities. You adapt initiatives, priorities, and methods based on changing operational/external conditions and client need. You tailor work based on team capacities, organizational priorities, resources, client needs, and operational/external context

Persuade. You advise managers and teams on new approaches that sustain project/program quality or delivery. You build collaborative networks with clients and external stakeholders that assess performance, anticipate needs, and enable adaptation of projects and programs.

Adapt the Project and Program Cycle. You sustain quality and timeliness of delivery while incorporating new learnings, policies and procedures based on evolving client feedback, stakeholder needs and operational demands.

Demonstrates strong initiative and works effectively with minimal supervision."

"Proactively manages responsibilities and drives tasks to completion independently. Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field. Professional certification such as CPA, ACCA, CMA, CGMA, Chartered Accountant, or equivalent is highly desirable.

Minimum of 10 years of progressive finance and accounting experience—including at least 4 years in a management or supervisory role—and demonstrated experience as a Finance Business Partner working closely with program and operational teams.

Knowledge of international payroll, tax, and compliance standards.

Demonstrated experience in international, grant-based nonprofit organization and managing grant funding from U.S. government and/or international donors (e.g., USAID, FCDO, GIZ, Sida).

Demonstrate strong understanding of grant management, cost allocations, financial compliance, and complex accounting structures within an international nonprofit environment.

Experience with accounting systems such as Intacct (Sage), Nexonia, Bill.com and reporting tools such as Vena is a plus.

Proven ability to collaborate internationally and cross-functionally with business leaders to align financial insights with objectives.

Ability to manage third-party vendors and lead global finance initiatives effectively.

Excellent leadership, staff management, communication, and organizational skills.

Proven ability to manage and support competing priorities and deadlines while effectively coordinating with geographically dispersed third-party partners

Compensation and Location

CLASP offers competitive compensation commensurate with experience, including paid health insurance for individuals and their families/dependents, retirement fund and includes a collegial office environment that supports wellness and flexible working options.

CLASP offers a hybrid work environment. While much of the work can be done remotely, team members are expected to be in the office on designated days—currently including a weekly all-staff day—and as needed for meetings, trainings, or other in-person activities. Applicants should be comfortable with a flexible in-office schedule.

This position will be based in the organization's Washington, DC office. Early morning or evening hours are sometimes necessary to accommodate international collaboration; travel will be required. The annual salary range for this position is $100,068.00 to $129,865.00.

CLASP is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. Each person is evaluated based on personal skill and merit.

Full-time