Grants Accounting Manager

The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank is currently hiring a full-time, salaried and benefited Grants Accounting Manager at our Miramar location.

About the San Diego Food Bank
Established in 1977, the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank is a critical component to the welfare of San Diego County, providing nutritious food to people in need, advocating for the hungry and educating the public about hunger-related issues. For more information about the organization, please visit

Our Mission:
The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and our North County Food Bank Chapter provide nutritious food to people in need, advocate for the hungry, and educate the public about hunger-related issues.

Did you know?

• The San Diego Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in the county, feeding over 400,000 people every month in partnership with more than 450 nonprofit co mmunity partners.
• We are the fourth largest independent food bank in the country.
• We distributed 52 million pounds of food in 2025; more than 48% of that food being fresh produce.
• We have a Four-Star  rating on Charity Navigator.

We are committed to innovation and sustainability to reduce our impact on the environment. We have 1,400 solar panels, we are LEED v4 Gold Certified, we have a 3,600 sq. ft composting and recycling center that houses our recycling and composting machine and received the 2020 Business Waste Reduction & Recycling award.

Position Purpose
The Grants Accounting Manager serves as a key liaison between Finance, Development, Operations, and Programs. This role manages the full life cycle of restricted funds, including proposal budgeting, expenditure tracking, reporting, documentation, and spend-down monitoring. The ideal candidate will ensure compliance with donor intent, grant requirements, and applicable government regulations while providing timely financial analysis to support the Food Bank’s operating budget and program sustainability.

Primary Responsibilities
The duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to this position. All duties are expected to be performed in accordance with existing company policy and procedure. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Prepare month-end and year-end journal entries, including adjusting and accrual entries.
• Track restricted funds, maintain the Food Bank’s restricted fund schedule, and reconcile restricted balances to the general ledger on a regular basis.
• Ensure restricted revenue and donor-restriction information is consistently reflected between NetSuite and Development reporting systems.
• Monitor restricted spending by program and grant, identify potential under or overspending, and provide timely reports to internal stakeholders.
• Meet regularly with Development, Operations, and Programs to review restricted revenue, spending activity, and spend-down plans to ensure grant-funded activities remain on track.
• Maintain grant documentation, support audit-ready files, and assist with documentation requests for Uniform Guidance audits and other external government audits or desk reviews.
• Review grant agreements, award terms, donor restrictions, and reporting requirements to help ensure allowable costs, deadlines, match requirements, and documentation standards are understood and met.
• Prepare financial reporting for grants and restricted funds, including expenditure reports, budget-to-actual schedules, supporting documentation, and responses to funder or agency follow-up questions.
• Develop and maintain internal reports that provide real-time visibility into funded programs, restricted balances, spending trends, and remaining available funding.
• Assist the Accounting Director with revenue forecasting and budgeting for funded programs and share funding analysis with Development and Programs to support decisions about program sustainability.
• Provide support to the Accounting Director in variance analysis between budgeted and actual grant revenue & spending, proposing corrective actions where necessary
• Partner with the development, programs, and operations teams to create realistic budgets for new grant applications.
• Work with the Accounting Director to develop reasonable allocation methodologies for overhead, shared costs, and program activities funded by grants or restricted contributions.
• Assist the Director of Accounting and Accounting Manager in the annual budgeting process.
• Other duties as assigned.

 

Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a detail oriented and collaborative grants accounting professional with at least five years of relevant experience in nonprofit finance, grant accounting, restricted fund tracking and grant management. Possess strong analytical and organizational skills, advanced Excel proficiency, and experience with ERP systems such as NetSuite. They should understand grant compliance, donor restrictions, and Uniform Guidance requirements. They communicate complex financial information clearly, build effective relationships across Finance, Development, Operations, Programs, and proactively manage reporting requirements, competing deadlines, and confidential information with accuracy and sound judgment.

Education, Training and Experience
A typical way of obtaining the necessary education, training, and experience for this position includes:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field preferred; equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
• At least 5 years of experience in nonprofit finance, grant accounting, restricted-fund tracking, or grant management.

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge of:

• Advanced Excel, including formulas, pivot tables, data validation, and financial reporting tools.
• Fund accounting or ERP systems such as NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or similar platforms preferred.
• Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), government grants, and donor-restricted funds preferred.

Ability to:

• Produce work with a high level of accuracy, organization, and attention to detail.
• Explain complex financial concepts to non-financial stakeholders with clarity and patience. Ability to build rapport and trust across widely different teams.
• Exercise strong analytical judgment, discretion with confidential financial information, manage multiple deadlines, display proactive follow-through, and work comfortably across departments in a deadline-driven environment.

Licenses, Certificates, Special Requirements

• Track restricted funds, maintain the Food Bank’s restricted fund schedule, and reconcile restricted balances to the general ledger on a regular basis.

Compensation
This is a full-time, exempt, salary, benefited position.

• A market-level competitive salary is between $110,000- $120,000 based on experience and qualifications. 
• The compensation package includes a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package including: 403(b) plan with 200% employer matching; excellent health care coverage with free employee medical, dental and vision plans; company paid term life insurance; and a generous accrual of paid vacation and sick leave.

Work Schedule

• Typical schedule is Monday–Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm.

How to Apply

• Interested and qualified candidates should apply below.
• Submissions missing a resume will not be considered for the position.
• Background check and drug test are required for the position before