Payroll & Accounting Associate

About the Foundation

The James Irvine Foundation is a private, nonprofit grantmaking foundation dedicated to expanding opportunity for the people of California. The Foundation’s focus is a California where all low-income workers have the power to advance economically. Since 1937 the Foundation has provided more than $2.6 billion in grants to organizations throughout California. The Foundation ended 2023 with $3.1 billion in assets and provided $180.3 million in grants. For more, please visit www.irvine.org.

About the Role

The Payroll & Accounting Associate is responsible for administering the day‐to‐day operations and processing payroll, including processing benefit invoices (group health, dental, vision, short‐term and long‐term disability, worker’s compensation, life insurance, flexible spending plan, and retirement plan contributions), compensation reporting, compliance, and payroll taxation, reimbursements, and adjustments. The Associate will also serve as the primary resource for payroll taxation questions, including working with the finance team on tax issues related to fringe benefits.

Additionally, the Associate supports the finance function of the organization, including reconciliation of monthly staff expense reporting as well as other support to the finance operations of the organization including entries in NetSuite and Bill.com.

Your responsibilities will include

• Prepare semi‐monthly payroll, including reconciling employee time and attendance records and producing monthly/quarterly reports. Perform annual W‐2 reconciliation
• Compute monthly 403(b), 457(b), HSA, and pension funding amounts and prepare relevant paperwork
• Review and reconcile FSA, commuter checks, and other benefits-related accounts monthly
• Process and reconcile contribution changes and adjustments for all retirement plans
• Prepare and submit all compliance reporting related to payroll and compensation to local, state, and Federal agencies
• Collaborate with the Talent department in the participation of compensation surveys and studies
• Reconcile monthly health care billing with enrollments and payroll system and submit for payment
• Support the annual worker’s compensation audit, retirement testing, and benchmark compensation surveys by providing third-party administrators and outside consultants with contribution data and reports
• Support the Accounting team in annual audit and accounting inquiries

What you’ll need

• General Experience. 3-5 years of overall professional experience.
• Relevant Experience. 2+ years of experience in payroll processing and reporting and supporting accounting functions.
• Tool-Proficiency: Demonstrated ability to use HR, business, and accounting software applications, such as NetSuite, SalesForce, and Namely HR.
• Comfort with Excel: Demonstrated abilities and fluency with Excel and numbers generally. Enjoying these will be vital to enjoying this position.
• An Abundance Mindset. You believe that we are living in a world of abundant resources and that the right team of partners can make incredible things happen. You bring relentless curiosity and creativity to every task, project, and engagement.
• A Learning Mindset. A desire for continuous improvement and a foundation of self-awareness that provides space for learning and growth.

Who you are

• A Team Player. Nothing is beneath or above you. You are quick to always lend a hand, or two! You are able to earn influence without authority and naturally seek to support both small projects and large strategic goals.
• An Effective Collaborator. You’ve successfully worked across cultural lines on a dispersed team, and you have the ability to operate in complex situations. You can easily gain trust from team members and are known for supporting them to ensure they are set up for success. You’re not afraid to ask questions.
• Trustworthy. You will be asked to make sensitive and critical judgment calls, and as such, you are known for your integrity; you take that reputation seriously. You always choose to make the right decision versus the easy decision. You know what information is sensitive, and you will protect it accordingly.
• Flexible. You can manage a diverse set of team needs and aren’t afraid to step outside your job description or comfort zone to help the team reach its goals. You’re comfortable with shifting schedules and don’t expect every day to go “as planned.”
• Mission Driven. A strong desire to contribute to the mission of The James Irvine Foundation, an understanding of issues impacting low-income communities, and a personal commitment to racial equity.

Compensation and location

The James Irvine Foundation’s compensation philosophy is reflected in its Talent Advancement. The program was created to ensure equity in staff compensation. While every staff member is assigned a Tier based on demonstration of competencies, the Foundation looks to outcomes as criteria for advancement through the program’s Tiers.

The salary for this position is $95,000 non-negotiable, plus benefits.

The James Irvine Foundation offers an attractive benefits package; highlights include comprehensive insurance coverage, 5+ months of paid family leave for new parents, and a very generous 401K contribution (10%!).

This position is full-time, and you must be already based in, or be willing to relocate to either, Los Angeles or the Bay Area. The expectation for this role will be in the office 40% of the time.

The Application Process

The James Irvine Foundation has engaged Equitable Hiring Group to support this hiring process. Click here to apply for our San Francisco office and click here to apply for our Los Angeles office.

Individuals who apply by Thursday, October 10, will be given priority. Therefore, we encourage you to submit yours soon.

When you apply, we kindly ask you to remove your schools from your resume. There is no need to reformat your resume and leave your degree as is; simplify it to “B.A. Economics,” for example. Just remember to remove any undergraduate and graduate school name references where possible. This “bias-reduced” process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants based on performance assessments instead of resume proxies (e.g., where you went to school).

This evaluation process will follow practices shown to reduce bias in decision-making and may be different from other application processes you have experienced.

The overall evaluation process will look to follow this anticipated timeline:

• Early October: Select candidates asked to complete short answer questions
• Mid-October: Initial interview with Foundation staff
• Late October: Finalist candidates will be asked to complete a timed trial assignment
• Early November: Finalists will participate in a multi-team member panel interview
  • Candidate references will also be checked at this step
• Mid-November: Offer extended

If you have any questions about the opportunity, please feel free to email abe@equitablehiringgroup.com.