Compliance & Grants Analyst in Santa Ana, California at COMMUNITY LEGAL AID SOCAL

The Compliance & Grants Analyst supports Community Legal Aid SoCal’s grant portfolio through detailed financial analysis, compliance monitoring, documentation review, and reporting support. Working under the direction of the Director of Grants, this role helps ensure grant expenditures, sub-recipient activities, and program operations comply with federal, state, and local requirements, including 2 CFR Part 200. This position partners closely with program, finance, compliance, data, and administrative staff to keep grant files complete, accurate, and audit-ready. The position is also a main driver for ensuring timely and accurate invoicing to grant/contract funders. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, analytical, collaborative, and committed to advancing access to justice.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure grant compliance by reviewing expenditures, procurement activities, contracts, and vendor payments for adherence to funder requirements and 2 CFR Part 200 regulations.
• Monitor grant financial activity, process invoices and reimbursement requests, analyze budgets versus actual expenditures, and prepare financial and compliance reports.
• Maintain complete, audit-ready grant files, tracking systems, reporting calendars, award documentation, deliverables, deadlines, and funder communications.
• Coordinate with program, finance, compliance, and administrative teams to gather information for grant proposals, reports, monitoring activities, and funder requests.
• Support sub-recipient monitoring through risk assessments, financial reviews, documentation tracking, site visit preparation, and SAM.gov/debarment checks.
• Provide audit support, compliance training, technical assistance, and contribute to the development of internal controls, procedures, and grants management resources.
• Support preparation for funder site visits, monitoring reviews, and audits by organizing materials and tracking follow-up items.
• Other duties as required to meet the needs of the business.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Public Administration, or a closely related field required.
• Certified Grants Management Specialist (CGMS) or progress toward certification preferred.

Qualifications:

• Minimum three (3) years of experience in grants management, fund accounting, compliance, or a related field. Experience with federal grants and 2 CFR Part 200 strongly preferred. Experience working in a nonprofit, legal aid, public interest law firm, advocacy organization, or community-based organization is preferred.
• Working knowledge of 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Guidance) and federal grant compliance requirements.
• Familiarity with governmental accounting principles (GAAP/GASB) and fund accounting practices.
• Experience with financial management systems and grant tracking databases (MIP, SAP, or equivalent).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, data analysis); experience with Excel-based reporting preferred.
• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to manage multiple concurrent deadlines in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills; ability to clearly explain compliance requirements to non-financial staff.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and independently with minimal supervision.
• A commitment to and ability to articulate CLA SoCal's mission and values.

Holistic Benefits:

• May work as little as 35-hour workweek.
• A hybrid schedule may be available when the program is established.
• 16 paid holidays + PTO (including wellness days) starting Day 1
• Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and long-term disability
• 401(k) with employer contribution
• Student loan reimbursement program
• Bilingual bonus pay for qualified staff

About CLA SoCal:

Community Legal Aid SoCal (CLA SoCal) is a welcoming and hopeful non-profit organization dedicated to meeting the legal needs of low-income residents and seniors throughout Orange and Los Angeles Counties. We provide equal employment opportunities. We strongly encourage all interested individuals to apply, including people of different abilities, religions, identities, orientations, nationalities, and ethnicities. All individuals who are seeking a welcoming environment who celebrate and value the unique characteristics of every member of the team who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive at CLA SoCal to apply for this role.