Program Finance Manager

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Position description

Karuna Center for Peacebuilding is headquartered in Hadley, MA, USA, but this is a fully remote organization. The selected candidate will ideally live in an Eastern Standard time zone and be able to engage live with international partners in West Africa.

The candidate must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.

Application Deadline: ​Until filled; use the online form provided at karunacenter.org/jobs to apply.

Anticipated Job Start Date: ​Mid to late October 2026

Salary range: $75,000 – $85,000 for full-time, or $60,000 – $66,000 if hired at 32 hours per week, with the salary based on the level of experience and expertise

The Opportunity:

Karuna Center for Peacebuilding is pleased to announce an open position for a Program Finance Manager. This specialized role is focused on the financial management of Karuna’s international projects, with special attention to improving systems, policies, and processes; on regulatory compliance; and on capacity-building for subrecipients’ finance team. Managing grants funded by the U.S. Department of State, the successful candidate will specialize in translating federal compliance standards (2 CFR 200) into practical, accessible templates and workflows that improve efficiency on our end and that work well for our grassroots international partners. The role also involves creating and managing budgets for proposals and funded programs and supporting work on the annual audit. This is a new, hands-on position that will be an integral part of our small, highly collaborative virtual office team. Pending grant funding, this role will either be an 80% (32 hours per week) position or a full-time position.

The Program Finance Manager works directly with Karuna’s program team and with the finance and program staff of our international subrecipients, who are valued local peacebuilding partner organizations of varying sizes and financial competencies. Currently, work in this role focuses on four subrecipients in Nigeria carrying out community-based peacebuilding to prevent violence. The ideal candidate excels both at working with numbers and working with people and will have experience working on subrecipient financial management for peacebuilding, development, or humanitarian organizations, as well as proven competency in cross-cultural communication. The Program Finance Manager reports directly to the Executive Director, engages with the bookkeeping firm, and collaborates with the Program Managers and the part-time Program Finance Coordinator.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Program Level Financial Management, Regulatory Compliance, and Systems Strengthening:

• Collaborate with the program team and Karuna’s international subrecipients to optimize program financial management templates and processes, with a focus on efficiency and usability
• Lead on the financial management of funded projects, in collaboration with the Program Managers and the part-time Program Finance Coordinator. This is hands-on work that includes monthly review of payment requests, oversight of program staff’s review of receipts and expense reports, quarterly close out of subrecipient budget vs. actuals documents, occasional budget amendments, and financial close-out of projects when grant period ends
• Ensure program financial management processes are informed by a working understanding of program implementation and progress
• Train subrecipient finance teams, including occasional international travel for in-person capacity-building, and engage in ongoing mentoring
• Stay updated on changes in 2 CFR 200 to ensure ongoing regulatory compliance, and use that knowledge to update and/or draft organizational and program policies related to the financial management of projects and of subrecipients
• Assist with program proposals, working closely with the technical team and host country partners to develop project budgets and support the writing of the budget narrative
• Support the program team and bookkeeping firm in providing documents for the annual audit and engage with auditors around program finance policies and procedures

Support for Operations and Finance:

• Time permitting, support discrete tasks related to organizational operations and finance

Qualifications

• 5+ years relevant experience in the financial management of U.S. government grants, especially DOS and/or USAID grants. Experience working with partners in West Africa is a plus
• 3+ years experience managing subrecipient budgets in international currencies
• Demonstrated competency in optimizing systems for the financial management of international subrecipients, based on a deep knowledge of 2 CFR 200
• Ability to apply a coaching mentality for engagement with subrecipients. Experience training and mentoring international subrecipients in the financial management of projects a plus
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to engage effectively with a wide range of people across cultures, with fluency in English required
• Excellent numeracy skills, with strong attention to detail required
• High proficiency in Excel and Google Sheets. Working knowledge of QuickBooks a plus
• Ability to be well-organized, manage multiple tasks simultaneously, and meet deadlines
• Resourcefulness in problem-solving, initiative to learn new skills, and passion for continuous improvement in processes
• Positive attitude, team player, and commitment to Karuna Center’s mission
• Flexibility and adaptability to support the success of Karuna’s programs

Working Conditions:

• Work performed at home with considerable time using a computer
• Will include occasional international travel to Abuja, Nigeria and other international contexts where Karuna works
• Hours generally conform to a standard work day in Eastern Standard or Daylight Time, with some flexibility needed to collaborate effectively with partners across world time zones, and especially those working in West Africa. There is room for limited flexibility in one’s work schedule when needed.
• Collaborative, informal office culture, on a small, remote team that engages with multiple consultants and international partners

Benefits:

• Health insurance: After a 3-month probationary period, Karuna Center covers the cost of health insurance premiums, up to $1040 per month, for either an individual or family health insurance policy
• Paid holidays*: 12 paid holidays per year
• Paid vacation: 15 days (3 weeks) paid vacation the first year, increasing to 21 days (4 weeks plus 1 day) after that
• Paid sick days*: Up to 10 paid sick days per year, including up to 3 days for care for an immediate family member.
• Family and Medical and Other Leave Benefits: Karuna Center provides Family Medical Leave and other leave benefits, consistent with the laws of the State in which its employees work remotely.

*In the event an employee works remotely in a state that requires a higher benefit, the higher benefit will apply.

Application instructions

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