Staff Accountant

Mellon Foundation

Staff Accountant

The Mellon Foundation (“Foundation”) is a not-for-profit, grant making organization that believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and we believe that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom to be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. The Foundation makes grants in four core program areas - Higher Learning, Arts and Culture, Public Knowledge, and Humanities in Place - and through its signature Presidential Initiatives. The Foundation seeks a Staff Accountant for our Finance team.

Team Overview:

Mellon Finance provides central financial stewardship and services in support of the notable work undertaken by the Foundation. We strive to build operational excellence and compliance capabilities that enable the Foundation to fulfill its mission and goals.​

Position Summary:

The Staff Accountant will perform a variety of accounting functions, with a primary focus on vendor management, compliance, accounts payable, and disbursement activities related with the Foundation’s administrative expenses. This role is an integral part of the Finance Department and requires close collaboration with other Foundation staff.

The ideal candidate is thoughtful, highly motivated, solutions-oriented, and collaborative, with strong communication and organizational skills. The position demands a high level of attention to detail, accuracy, and discretion, as well as the ability to anticipate outcomes, multi-task, and remain composed under pressure. The Staff Accountant position reports directly to the Accounting Manager.

Position Description:

Responsibilities may include, but will not be limited to the following: 

Vendor Management and Compliance

• Reviews and processes new vendor requests accurately and promptly, ensuring compliance and policy requirements.
• Creates vendor records in the financial system, collects both W-9 and W-8 forms, and issues NYS tax-exempt certificates.
• Conducts semi-annual monitoring and maintenance of vendor records in the financial system.
• Prepares and issues 1099’s to over 250 vendors including preparing detailed year-to-year analysis.

Accounts Payable, Disbursements and Deposits

• Investigates outstanding invoice balances and communicates with staff and vendors until resolved.
• Reviews, assigns and enters invoices in the financial system, ensuring accurate general ledger and functional/departmental classifications.
• Prepares payment processing documents, records payments in the financial system, and posts payment confirmations.
• Ensures all check payments are uploaded to Foundation’s banking portal.
• Analyzes and reconciles general ledger accounts related to vendor disbursements.
• Monitors the online banking portal for returned payments, positive pay exceptions, and other alert, promptly addressing issues with staff, vendors, or bankers.
• Receives, deposits, analyzes, and records cash receipts.

Other Duties

• Reads and categorizes all e-mails in the Finance team’s group inbox and proactively follows up until resolved.
• Maintains the Foundation’s matching gifts program, including tracking employee contributions and confirming eligibility of matching gift recipients.
• Performs special projects as assigned by the Accounting Manager, Controller, and CFO.

Qualifications:

A bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• 3-5 years of experience in accounting, accounts payable, or vendor management, preferably in a non-profit or foundation environment.
  • Experience with financial systems and accounting software is a must.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook), particularly advanced Excel (e.g., pivot tables, VLOOKUP, formulas).
  • Familiarity with online banking portals and payment systems.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with both internal staff and external vendors.
  • Detail-oriented with a high degree of accuracy in financial record-keeping and reconciliations.
  • Strong analytical skills to investigate discrepancies, identify trends, and resolve issues in a timely manner.
  • Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and manage multiple responsibilities.
• Proven ability to take direction but also to work with minimal direct supervision

Mellon Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Mellon is committed to access and inclusion for our applicants. If you have accessibility requests to support your participation in the hiring process, please let us know at your earliest convenience.

Mellon offers a generous total reward package that includes base salary and a comprehensive benefits program, as well as an excellent working environment. Mellon is committed to providing compensation that is competitive and equitable within the philanthropic sector. The estimated annual salary range for this role is $90,000 - $100,000. The amount of pay offered will be determined by several factors, including but not limited to qualifications, unique skills, credentials, or experience that is expected to impact the candidate’s contribution to the role. We will also consider market data as well as the Foundation’s internal pay equity framework.

Please note that Mellon maintains a hybrid work schedule, with three days per week in person at the Foundation’s Manhattan offices.

Candidates should apply by submitting a cover letter describing fit for the position and a resume by April 18, 2025. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.

The Foundation will consider each complete application carefully but only contact those individuals it believes are most qualified for the position.