Manager Of Trust Accounting

DEPARTMENT: Finance

POSITION TYPE: Full Time (35 hours per week), Permanent. Some weekends and evenings required a few times during the year as it relates to grants adjudication, committee, and Board meetings.

REPORTS TO (TITLE): Director of Finance

LOCATION: Our office is in downtown Vancouver; however, we provide the option to work remotely from anywhere in BC.

ACCESSIBILITY: Current office is located on the 15th floor of a building with elevator access and accessible, gender-neutral washrooms and additional accessibility considerations.

SALARY: $124,051 to $158,510 based on experience (we expect someone new to the Foundation to start at the lower end of this range)

POSTING DATE: January 19, 2024

CLOSING DATE: Until filled

ABOUT THE LAW FOUNDATION OF BC

The Law Foundation of British Columbia (the Foundation) invests in work that empowers people and strengthens communities, aimed at creating a future where systems of law and justice support all people to live and thrive in dignity.

The Foundation makes grants using funds arising from the interest paid on lawyers’ pooled trust accounts and other sources.

Through its funding, the Foundation supports many programs and services that seek to promote justice for people at both an individual and systemic level. This includes funding targeted at racial justice initiatives, supporting a network of advocacy and legal aid services, providing educational opportunities, and supporting access to legal information, to name a few.

A significant focus of the Foundation’s work is to provide funding support for Indigenous peoples’ work on justice initiatives, as prioritized by Indigenous communities, whether involving Canadian law or Indigenous legal orders.

Working at the Foundation means joining a team of passionate, hard-working professionals. We are committed to building and supporting an inclusive and respectful working environment, where all employees are valued for their contributions to our mission.

We offer a comprehensive benefits program, which includes:

• generous extended health and dental coverage for employees, their spouses and dependents
• 3 weeks annual vacation as a base, and late December office closure
• family friendly workplace policies, parental leave top-ups, life insurance plan, and a workplace culture with an overarching emphasis on wellness and work life balance
• RRSP contribution of 6% of salary without matching requirement
• wellness spending account for each employee
• generous care days (sick leave) entitlement
• flexible work arrangements
• relevant professional fees and memberships covered
• training and professional development opportunities

In its hiring practices, the Foundation strongly encourages applications from members of communities that are marginalized or that experience structural discrimination including those identifying as Indigenous, people of colour, members of non-dominant ethnic, religious, linguistic, and/or cultural groups, women, (im)migrants/newcomers, people with (dis)abilities, and LGBTQ2S+ people. The Foundation believes that a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve strengthens our ability to achieve our mission.

To learn more about what we do, please visit www.lawfoundationbc.org.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Manager of Trust Accounting is a member of a dynamic Law Foundation team that is working to create, amplify and support innovative solutions to difficult access to justice challenges and systemic inequities that affect the well-being of diverse communities in British Columbia.

Reporting to the Director of Finance, the Manager of Trust Accounting plays a critical role within the Foundation, overseeing the Foundation’s trust interest revenues and strengthening relationships with financial institutions and ensuring the Foundation earns fair and accurate amounts of interest on lawyers’ pooled trust accounts. The ideal candidate for this role is passionate about the Foundation’s values, is an excellent communicator, possesses strong data management skills, thinks strategically and pragmatically, and has a sound foundation in accounting.

This is a multifaceted role that will interact with various individuals at financial institutions across the province, the Trust Assurance team at the Law Society of BC, and other members of the Foundation’s Finance team. They will monitor the landscape for trends that affect the Foundation’s revenues and develop initiatives and practices to optimize the Foundation’s resources, improving its ability to support all people to live and thrive in dignity.

The Foundation is at an exciting juncture in its history, with opportunities in all areas of its work to breathe life into the new strategic plan. It is also in a period of transition following leadership renewal and pursuing structural and operational change to respond to the new challenges it faces. While the implementation of the five strategic priorities is an all-of-Foundation endeavour, it is intended that this position advances the Foundation’s mission through the key focus area of Building a Thriving Foundation, which aims to provide the Foundation with strong infrastructure and resources to serve its mandate.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Review of Trust Interest Remittances:
  • Conduct thorough cycling inspections of the trust interest remittances from approximately 50 financial institutions.
  • Using Excel and data analytics tools and in collaboration with relevant external parties, inspect historical remittances of all financial institutions and prepare reports of incomplete or inaccurate remittances.
  • Ensure the ongoing completeness and accuracy of remittances and reporting from financial institutions.
  • Prepare regular reports and analyses.
• Relationship Building and Communications:
  • Develop and execute a comprehensive relationship-building program with financial institutions, working alongside the Director of Finance to establish mutually beneficial partnerships and promoting the positive impact of the institutions and the Foundation in communities across the province.
  • Maintain and enhance amicable relationships between the foundation and financial institutions.
  • Promote the importance of fair interest rates on lawyers' pooled trust accounts to support local communities.
• Financial Reconciliation and Reporting:
  • Ensure accurate accounting of Trust interest revenue.
  • Perform monthly reconciliation of remittances with account statements.
  • Prepare and present financial reports to management and the board.
• Forecasting: In collaboration with the Director of Finance and Assistant Controller, conduct ongoing revenue forecasts and work with external parties to redevelop and maintain forecasting model.
• Contract Management: manage the ongoing interest rate agreements between the Foundation and financial institutions.
• Research and Reporting: Conduct ongoing research on current and future technology in the banking sector, and on financial and economic trends and developments, and prepare and present reports to management.
• Legal Professions Regulatory Modernization: In the event of changes in the legal regulatory environment, support the Director of Finance in ensuring a continuity of effective trust policies and procedures.
• Internal Controls: Carry out internal controls in the trust interest cycle and ensure that controls are executed completely and on time. Make recommendations for new or improved internal controls from time to time.
• Accounting Policies: Ensure revenue accounting policies are complete and current and are adhered to.
• Accounting Systems and Processes: Continuously evaluate and improve revenue processes, including the utilization of financial systems and tools. Identify opportunities to streamline processes, automate tasks including using MS Power Automate, and enhance data accuracy and integrity.
• Audit Support: Collaborate with internal and external auditors during the audit process. Provide requested documentation, explanations, and supporting schedules to facilitate a successful audit.
• Relationship Management: Collaborate with various internal and external contacts, including senior management, cross-functional teammates, and external parties such as auditors, tax advisors, and regulatory authorities. Build strong relationships and ensure effective communication.

This dynamic and technical role involves some review of other team members’ work and significant collaboration with other people inside and outside the Foundation, but is not a supervisory role with direct reports. The Foundation will support the professional development of a successful candidate who wishes to advance their career into a supervisory role in the future.

Note: This job may require additional responsibilities and duties as assigned by the Law Foundation of British Columbia. This job may require occasional travel within the province.

DESIRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

The Manager of Trust Accounting must have one or a combination (or equivalent) of the following:

• A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation.
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience.
• Progressive completion of data management, financial planning & analysis, and/or Excel/Google Sheets professional development courses.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, financial reporting, and business law and compliance.
• Experience working in a nonprofit or foundation environment an asset.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & CORE COMPETENCIES

The Manager of Trust Accounting would benefit from the following skills, abilities, and attributes:

• An adaptable, process-oriented, data-driven mindset, with experience in and an affinity for continuous improvement while always keeping the organization’s mission top of mind.
• Excellent people skills, with experience collaborating in a multidisciplinary, diverse, and dynamic team and a strong ability to develop and maintain relationships internally and externally.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills, including experience in negotiation.
• Ability to exercise tact, good judgement and discretion and work independently in a remote team environment.
• Familiarity with the non-profit sector.
• Enthusiasm to commit to the Law Foundation’s vision, mission, and values of reciprocity, equity, decolonization, sustainability and supporting change.
• Thoughtful and reflexive approach to individual social location, power and privilege, with a strong understanding of personal strengths and areas for growth.
• Skilled in leading, planning, coordinating, and managing complex projects and work assignments.
• Ability to co-create a culturally safe working environment that is inclusive of diverse intersecting identities.
• Fluency and comfort with software and programs used in our work, including Microsoft Office 365, Teams, Zoom and strong aptitude to master other relevant workplace software applications.

All staff at the Foundation require a strong understanding of and ability to maintain confidentiality and our compliance with privacy legislation. They must also be committed to the Foundation’s mandate and the core values of reciprocity, equity, decolonization, sustainability, and transformation.

Please do not be discouraged from applying if you do not possess the precise combination of all of the skills, attributes, qualifications and experience listed above. Furthermore, if your lived experience provides you with a foundation that is equivalent to the work experience listed, you are encouraged to describe that in your application.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please submit the following through this application portal:

Interviews will be conducted by Foundation staff by video. The Foundation will make appropriate accommodations, if needed, for candidates that we interview.

By submitting your application, you certify that all information submitted is true, complete and correct. Any information provided in your application, any assessment documents or processes and/or an interview that is found to be false or misrepresented in any respect, may eliminate you from further consideration for employment or may result in dismissal.

We acknowledge that the Foundation’s main office is located in Vancouver on the shared lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, and conducts its work throughout the homelands of Indigenous peoples across the place we now call British Columbia. The Law Foundation of BC is committed to supporting a just and meaningful reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and others in these lands.

If you are interested in applying and have questions about the process, please contact Britt Mayne at britt@eleveneleventalent.com.