Fiscal Grants Supervisor

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Fiscal Grants Supervisor is part of the State Bar of California's Office of Access & Inclusion's (OA&I’s) leadership and management team and performs the most complex financial analysis and fiscal oversight work for OA&I’s grant programs and provides direct supervision of professional fiscal staff. The position is responsible for directing fiscal monitoring of grantees, including the review of audited financial statements, budgets, and expenditure reports; developing and maintaining fiscal compliance policies, procedures, and internal controls; analyzing complex and sometimes novel fiscal compliance issues and developing recommendations for resolution; and preparing financial reports and presentations for the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission (LSTFC) and its committees.

This role requires a strong financial professional who can lead people, strengthen grant compliance and monitoring, improve cross-team collaboration, and effectively navigate organizational leadership while remaining grounded in OA&I’s mission of expanding access to justice.

The Ideal Candidate

We are seeking a detail-oriented, analytical fiscal leader with deep financial expertise—ideally with a background in accounting, auditing, or financial management, such as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or equivalent experience. The ideal candidate should have deep expertise in nonprofit fiscal compliance, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and the Code of Federal Regulations for management of federal funds. The ideal candidate should also have a strong understanding of grantmaking and compliance in a public or nonprofit setting, and have the capacity to ensure fiscal integrity, accuracy, and accountability across complex grant programs supported by multiple funding sources.

Strong team leadership is essential. The successful candidate will have a track record of developing staff, fostering high-performing teams, and implementing change management. Candidates should be able to explain complex fiscal issues clearly to non-fiscal audiences, including grantees, colleagues, and commissioners. While not required, experience working in grantmaking and with legal aid organizations or other nonprofits in California—along with familiarity with IOLTA, EAF, and grants-management systems such as SmartSimple—is highly desirable. A commitment to access to justice, equity, and public service is core to this role.

This role demands a fast-learning curve. The successful candidate will be expected to quickly gain fluency in the State Bar's grant programs, compliance requirements, and stakeholder landscape in order to provide sound leadership and continuity for the grants team and its partners.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Compliance, Monitoring, and Fiscal Integrity

• Oversee fiscal compliance and financial monitoring across a portfolio of 110+ legal aid nonprofits, in close collaboration with grants administration leadership, to ensure compliance with grant terms, statutory and program requirements, accounting standards, and reporting deadlines.
• Direct the review of grantee audited financial statements, budgets, expenditure reports, and other fiscal submissions; identify findings and risks and ensure timely, appropriate follow-up.
• Oversee and perform fiscal monitoring visits and desk audits, ensuring consistent application of grant rules and fiscal standards across grantees and grant programs.
• Oversee fiscal eligibility checks, including verification of grantees’ 501(c)(3) and good-standing status.
• Analyze complex and sometimes novel fiscal compliance issues—such as questioned or disallowed costs, cost allocation, and use of restricted funds—and develop clear, well-reasoned recommendations for LSTFC approval.
• Establish and maintain strong fiscal and internal controls across the grants portfolio, including adherence to GAAP throughout the grant lifecycle using the State Bar’s grants-management system.
• Lead and draft the codification of grant rules related to fiscal and internal-control processes, and ensure adopted rules are properly implemented.
• Support the accurate and timely disbursement of grant funds, including reconciliation of payments and grant balances across funding sources.
• Serve as key staff support to the LSTFC — OA&I's governing body for grantmaking — delivering presentations, analysis, and recommendations that enable informed, mission-aligned decision-making.
• Potentially oversee and serve as staff support to the LSTFC’s Grant Eligibility and Support Committee, which is charged with ensuring comprehensive oversight and support of grantee compliance across all grant programs while maintaining consistent standards and promoting accountability.

Reporting, Audits, and Operations

• Write financial reports and memos and present to the LSTFC or its relevant committees—including the Grant Eligibility and Support Committee—on fiscal compliance issues, as needed.
• Prepare fiscal analyses supporting grant allocations, funding recommendations, and program design.
• Contribute to the development and management of the OA&I grants administration budget.
• Support State Bar internal and external audits related to grant funds, including preparing documentation and implementing corrective actions.
• Support fiscal reporting obligations under contractual and interagency agreements, including those with the Judicial Council and CalHFA.
• Oversee various OA&I related-audits.

Team Development & Leadership

• Lead, develop, and motivate a fiscal team of approximately five staff with varying levels of fiscal and compliance expertise, fostering a culture of accuracy and accountability.
• Assign and review work, set performance standards, and provide coaching, professional development, and performance management.
• Promote a supportive work environment focused on staff well-being, performance, and growth.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and service-oriented team culture.
• Build team capacity through coaching, mentoring, and cross-training.
• Partner with OA&I and State Bar leadership to prepare staff for new mandates, systems, or policy updates.
• Develop productive and positive working relationships within OA&I and across offices to support work of the office and the State Bar.

Grantee Support & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a resource to grantees on fiscal requirements, building strong, collaborative relationships with grantee finance and executive staff.
• Develop and deliver fiscal compliance trainings and technical assistance to grantees, including content for annual grantee trainings.
• Partner with the State Bar’s Office of Finance and other offices to align grant fiscal processes with organization-wide financial practices.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a field that develops skills related to essential duties, or equivalent academic achievement.
• Master’s degree in a relevant field may substitute for up to two (2) years of experience.

Preferred Experiences/Qualifications

• Minimum five (5) years of experience at and/or above the journey-level that included responsibility for such professional-level activities such as budgeting, administrative analysis, program development, marketing, evaluation, human resources management, and/or work contributing to the development of operational procedures or plans.
• Minimum three (3) years’ management/supervisory experience administering personnel and budget requirements.
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) strongly preferred, or equivalent accounting or auditing experience.
• Experience in grants fiscal compliance or monitoring in a government, judicial branch, philanthropic, or nonprofit setting.
• Experience reviewing nonprofit audited financial statements and single audits and applying cost principles and cost-allocation standards.
• Familiarity with nonprofit fiscal compliance and GAAP, and with grants-management systems (e.g., SmartSimple).
• Familiarity with California’s civil legal aid ecosystem, including IOLTA, EAF, and related public funding sources.
• Experience presenting fiscal information to boards or commissions.
• Experience navigating and drafting recommendations related to complex and sometimes novel compliance issues.

Key Competencies

• Technical accounting and analytical expertise, with exceptional attention to detail.
• Sound judgment in matters of compliance, fiscal integrity, and risk management.
• Strong people leadership, including staff development and change management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including preparing materials for commissioners, trustees, and policymakers.
• A process-improvement mindset and commitment to building scalable systems.
• A demonstrated commitment to access to justice, equity, and public service.