Director of Finance

The Director of Finance oversees the financial management and fiscal integrity of the Pace Women's Justice Center (PWJC). The Pace Women’s Justice Center is an independently funded legal services center within Pace University School of Law, under the 501(c) (3) nonprofit status of Pace University. Founded in 1991, it was the first academic legal center in the country devoted to training attorneys and others on domestic violence issues. The Center’s mission is to end abuse by providing innovative legal programs including direct legal representation for victims and survivors of domestic violence and elder abuse, training, community education and outreach, service coordination, and information and referrals. Today, with a staff of 35 and over 10,000 hours contributed annually by pro-bono attorneys, volunteers, and law students, the Center provides direct legal services to over 3,100 victims and survivors of domestic violence and elder abuse and conducts over 100 training and outreach events each year.

Reporting directly to the Executive Director and serving as a key member of the Management Team, this role provides high-level financial oversight across the Center's operating budget, multiple funding streams, operating units, and staff members. The position leads long-term reserve planning, fiscal administration of the grant lifecycle (Federal, State, County, and Private Foundations), portal administration, compliance, system troubleshooting, and direct supervision of finance personnel in alignment with Pace University policies and grantor standards.

Position Duties

• • Serves on the Management Team, providing strategic fiscal advice to support organizational decision-making and PWJC’s Strategic Plan implementation.
  • Manages PWJC’s unrestricted fund balance, maintaining a minimum operating reserve to safeguard against unexpected funding losses.
  • Contributes to general center operations and represents the financial perspective across key committees (weekly grant, bimonthly management, and periodic advisory board meetings).
  • Manages the fiscal components of the grant lifecycle across Federal, NYS, County, and Private Foundation awards, leading annual budgeting, forecasting, and expense projections across individual grant codes and expense categories.
  • Develops and maintains the consolidated overall budget for the Center, incorporating complex labor distribution calculations, personnel projections, and cost-allocation models across all funding sources.
  • Calculates and tracks Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) labor allocations for all internal and external stakeholders, ensuring accurate personnel cost alignment across grant budgets.
  • Develops individual grant budget proposals, narrative justifications, indirect cost calculations, and processes incoming grant awards.
  • Prepares budget modifications and amendments, monitors spending deadlines, and conducts grant reviews with program leadership to mitigate funding risks.
  • Maintains detailed budgets, contracts, and award documentation directly within relevant federal, state, county, and foundation portal systems.
  • Oversee quarterly certified cost reports, private funder reporting, indirect cost reconciliations, and reimbursement requests.
  • Serves as the primary point of contact for annual grantor desk audits, information requests, and donor reporting.
  • Serves as the primary financial liaison to Pace University departments including University Grant Reporting/Sponsored Research, General Finance, Payroll, Procurement, and Information Technology (IT) to resolve financial system issues, align reporting workflows, troubleshoot technical transitions, and ensure institutional compliance.
  • Manages core financial operations across procurement, travel, payroll, and vendor expenses, ensuring strict compliance with grantor standards of allowability, allocability, and reasonableness.
  • Performs detailed financial roll forwards to reconcile directly to the Pace general ledger.
  • Oversees vendor contract processing, including grant-funded vendor agreements, ACH wire transfers, and lockbox/donation reconciliations for university Form 990 filings.
  • Navigates system transitions by managing operational workarounds, payroll/labor distribution corrections, and journal vouchers to ensure ledger integrity.
  • Maintains complete documentation supporting internal/external audits, regulatory filings, and grantor reviews.
  • Directly supervise, mentors, and coaches the Staff Accountant, guiding daily tasks and fostering professional growth.
  • Oversee team execution across accounts payable/receivable, vendor setup, travel and expense processing, Effort Reporting compliance, grant expense logs, revenue/donation log, journal vouchers, and general ledger reconciliations.
  • Establishes internal controls and drives continuous process improvements across financial workflows and university coordination.
  • Performs other such duties as may be assigned from time to time.

Position Qualifications

• • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field required; CPA or MBA preferred.
  • 7+ years of progressively responsible experience in nonprofit and grant accounting, with demonstrated expertise in Federal, New York State (NYS), County, and Private Foundation grant administration, fund balance management, consolidated budgeting, and financial analysis. Experience with sponsored research or grants administration within a university setting is a plus.
  • Strong working knowledge of GAAP, chart of accounts, Effort Reporting compliance, consolidated financial modeling, and labor distribution/FTE allocation methodologies; hands-on experience navigating governmental and foundation portal platforms; expertise in grant reconciliations, budget modifications, fringe benefit cost allocations, and payroll/GL reconciliations; advanced Microsoft Excel skills required along with working knowledge of the Microsoft suite.
  • Self-starter, able to work independently and as part of a team.
  • Attention-to-detail, highly organized, analytical mindset.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills.
  • Understanding of and interest in mission-driven organizations.

Work Hours

Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., with additional hours as needed. Hybrid work mode available after initial training period.