Finance Director

Employment Position

Finance Director

Click here to apply »

“Tara Mandala was created to bring people together to support each other, practice, and do retreat in order to reach realization. The second purpose of Tara Mandala is to be a temenos for the emergence of the sacred feminine, through the lens of Vajrayana, leading to the balance of genuine partnership between the masculine and feminine in our world.”
– Lama Tsultrim Allione

About Tara Mandala

Tara Mandala is a vibrant international Buddhist Community established in 1993 by Lama Tsultrim Allione to foster the development of wisdom and compassion in order to benefit all beings. The physical heart of the Tara Mandala community is its 700-acre Dharma Center located in Southern Colorado. 

Through Tara Mandala’s practice activities and a global network of affiliated Sanghas, we offer meditation practice, teachings, and deep retreat experiences in the tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism informed by the Sacred Feminine. Tara Mandala is committed to fostering a welcoming atmosphere for people of all races, genders, and spiritual backgrounds to explore, embody, and express the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha.

Finance Director Job Brief

Tara Mandala welcomes candidates who are familiar with the organization’s mission and can wholeheartedly align their workplace values with Buddhist principles. In the Tara Mandala work environment, we strive to have open, flexible, and kind hearts and minds, while cultivating compassion and empathy for ourselves and others. All Tara Mandala staff members are committed to serving the mission of the organization and manifesting wisdom and compassion in the various activities of body, speech, and mind. The Tara Mandala Leadership Values can be reviewed here. 

This position is a full-time, exempt, salaried position, which includes occasional evening, holiday, and weekend work. This position can be full-time residential (with housing, food, and utilities provided), hybrid working onsite/living offsite, or fully remote. Annual Salary for this position is $55,000-$75,000. We also offer benefits such as Paid Time Off and opportunity to attend select retreats at Tara Mandala.

Job Summary

The role of the Finance Director is to oversee all financial planning for the organization by continually analyzing and assessing performance, retaining constant awareness of the organization’s financial position, and acting to reduce problems while implementing the organization’s strategic goals. The Finance Director reports to the Executive Director (ED) and is responsible for providing oversight and direction to the finance team. The Finance Director is responsible for managing the organization’s financial activities and accounts, setting up and overseeing the organization’s finance IT systems, managing and implementing the annual budget process, creating monthly financial reports for tracking the performance of each organizational department, and delivering monthly finance memos to the Tara Mandala Board of Trustees.

Specific Duties and Areas of Oversight

• Duties include training and supervision of the finance team members.
• Identifying, implementing, and documenting all internal financial controls, processes, and procedures relative to using QuickBooks (QB) and other financial software.
• Tracks and manages Tara Mandala’s bank activity and account balances, facilitates timely deposits and other banking transactions as required, oversees accounts payable and accounts receivable processes.
• Oversees organizational payroll processes, including full-time staff and contractors.
• Collaborates closely with Tara Mandala Directors to support operational needs, especially in regard to Fundraising and Programs.

Financial Reporting

• Oversees account creation and maintenance and class creation and maintenance within QuickBooks.
• Supports generating and auditing financial statements and reports for directors, board members, and executive directors.
• Reconcile, audit, and create monthly reports delineated in the month-end checklist.
• Produces other financial data reporting from QB as requested.

Payroll

• Work with the People Services Manager to set up new employees for payroll, follow HR onboarding guidelines, and obtain completed W-4 & I-9 forms with acceptable documentation for our records for any paid employees.
• Maintain and audit bi-weekly payroll spreadsheet to ensure the accuracy of ASAP’s bi-weekly payroll runs.
• Annually set each employee’s daily paid holiday rates (based on budgeted hours).  Coordinate these details with ASAP contact & set up in staff Gmail calendar, monitor employees’ accrued PTO balances, and maintain employee deductions (IRA, healthcare, due to TM). Send multi-state statements, rate updates & all related correspondence to the ASAP tax manager.
• Review quarterly Federal and State payroll reports produced by ASAP and participate in any ASAP webinars educating on updated laws related to payroll and benefits.  
• Calculate & pay Vanguard Simple IRA employer & employee contributions bi-weekly.  Maintain Form 5305-Simple annually.

Accounts Payable

• Closely monitor, review & assist AP staff (formerly handled by Finance Director).
• Ensure:
  • W-9s and W-8BENs are obtained for vendors
  • All invoices and receipts are timely, accurately entered & coded in QB
  • Review & approve weekly AP batches.  Sign checks and/or approve ACH & wire payments.
  • Bank of CO Visa & Capital one cards are reconciled and paid promptly
• Annually update and distribute employee expense reimbursement forms to staff.
• Facilitate international wire transfers based on flow through agreements in place with vendors or other organizations.
• Calculate monthly & quarterly teacher compensation payments, working closely with the Programs Director.

Accounts Receivable

• Supervise and train accounts receivable staff and support their activities.
• Support staff to respond to member/donor emails concerning donations, program payments, refunds, credit card maintenance, discounts, payment plans, scholarships, etc.
• Review in-kind transaction entry and reconcile.  Maintain translator compensation credits.
• Implement collections process and define specific goals and reporting for staff.

Dakini Store

• Supervise & support transactional staff in AP and AR duties.
• Review reconciliations and supervise sales tax reporting and payments.
• Create an annual budget.

Procedure Documentation

• Maintain and continuously improve existing internal controls and procedures relative to the finance department. 
• Create documentation and ongoing revisions to keep processes and procedures up-to-date and relevant.
• Participate in annual reviews (of directors, the finance department staff, etc.).

Bank Reconciliations and Cash Management

• Perform monthly bank reconciliations.
• Manage transfers between bank accounts to ensure that adequate funds are able to meet project cash flow requirements.
• Update cash flow reporting & bank account balance sheet weekly.
• Facilitate timely bank deposits for Operations and Dakini Store accounts.
• Reconcile and manage petty cash.
• Become signor and relationship liaison on all Bank of Colorado & Brown Advisory accounts.

Monthly and Year-End Reporting

• Generate a monthly finance memorandum reviewed by the ED, for the board’s review, which includes actuals to budget and identify finance needs.
• Generate monthly reporting for various departments, including programs, fundraising, land & building, FYD, Dakini store, etc.
• Generate and send 1099’s annually for vendors by Jan 31st.
• Review ASAP’s annual W-2’s for all employees of the prior work year.
• Prepares special reports and analysis requested by the ED, board or other directors to manage the organization’s finances.
• Work closely with global Sanghas to obtain 1099 & donation letter data for filing annually.

Budgeting

• Work closely with Directors and ED to create an annual budget.
• Attend Board meetings as requested, normally twice a year but more often if needed.

Donor Relations and Fundraising

• Coordinate distribution of the annual tax-deductible contribution letters to donors after year-end is reconciled by Jan 31st.
• Work closely with the fundraising team to:

• Scan donation checks
• Supply monthly donation report for upload to Bloomerang
• Participate in onsite fundraising events when available, to answer questions, collect signed pledge forms, collect donations and/or set up recurring donations.
• Produce a report after each fundraiser to communicate pledge success

Required Education, Skills & Competencies

• Five years or more experience in a similar role.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance/Accounting required. Master’s Degree in Finance/Accounting and/or CPA preferred.
• Successfully passing a financial background check.
• Well-developed finance and budgeting experience, including Excel skills, Budgeting, and forecasting skills.  
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.  
• Attention to both the detail and big-picture perspectives is needed to ensure the day-to-day as well as long-term operational success of Tara Mandala.  
• Highly organized and resourceful with the ability to prioritize, problem-solve, and take initiative.  
• Knowledge of how to use organizational software. Understanding of QuickBooks Enterprise (QBE), QuickBooks Online (QBO), Excel, Shopify, Stripe, Authorize, PayPal, MS Office, Google Suite, and web interface systems.  
• Upholds Tara Mandala’s Leadership Values and Code of Conduct and Ethics, Communication Agreement, and Residential Agreement, and acts as a role model for residents.

Personal Characteristics

• Very organized
• Empathetic and compassionate
• Independent, problem solving and responsible
• Holds confidentiality, integrity, honest and trustworthy
• Dependable and flexible

Physical Requirements of Position

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. 
• Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times.

For residential positions:  Tara Mandala’s Residential Agreement and Code of Conduct and Ethics, and Communications Agreement is available for review here.

Other Duties: This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time as needed by the organization.

Tara Mandala is an equal opportunity employer and seeks diversity with respect to race, religion, ethnicity, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation, and physical abilities.