Director of Finance

Director of Finance Hiring Manager: Tae Kang, Chief Operating and People Officer Location: New York Role Tier: 4 - Director About Us Our nation’s education system is leaving millions of students—including an overwhelming number of students of color and low-income students—unprepared for college, career, and life. Research shows that classroom teachers are the single most important in-school factor in improving student achievement, and we believe a truly thriving teaching profession requires educator voice and leadership. We work to build durable teacher power, especially among those historically excluded from decision-making, to shape the systems and policies that define education. Founded by public school teachers, Educators for Excellence is a growing movement of nearly 40,000 educators working together to build a high-quality, diverse teaching profession with the resources and conditions necessary to help every student thrive. Together, we research and develop educator-informed solutions, build teacher power, and advocate for policy change at the district, state, and national levels. What We Do Our work is grounded in the belief that the teaching profession is one of the most vital forces shaping our shared future - and that educators must be at the center of shaping the policies and systems that define public education. We focus on developing teacher leadership and power to drive issue advocacy campaigns that shape policy, contracts, and the national conversation. To achieve our vision for transforming the teaching profession, we advance and support the implementation of a focused set of policy solutions backed by research and educators. Our agenda focuses on achieving a high-quality, diverse workforce through: Building strong and sustainable career pathways. Creating coherent systems of instructional support. Funding public schools fully and equitably. By building durable teacher power, teachers unite as a collective force to drive lasting change and advance an equitable, sustainable public education system where every student has the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed. The Opportunity Educators for Excellence is seeking a Director of Finance to serve as the organization's strategic financial leader during a critical period of organizational growth and maturity. This role is responsible for driving E4E's budgeting, forecasting, long-term financial planning, grants management strategy, compliance, and financial sustainability, ensuring the organization has the fiscal infrastructure to grow, sustain, and scale its mission impact. Working within a dynamic organizational context, the Director of Finance will bring both strong soft (relationship building, communications, empathy) and technical finance skills and experiences, helping to shape both the culture and practice of the function. The Director of Finance partners closely with executive leadership, budget owners, Development, Program, and Program Operations teams to ensure strong fiscal stewardship, integrated grants management, and financial systems that enable sound decision-making across the organization. This leader will set the standard for how E4E thinks about financial health, translating complex financial data into clear, actionable insights for organizational leaders and strengthening the cross-functional coordination that keeps grant compliance, revenue recognition, and financial planning tightly integrated. As a member of the Finance, Operations, People, and Equity (FOPE) team, the Director of Finance will supervise and develop the finance team, set departmental priorities, and ensure strong internal controls, audit readiness, and alignment between financial strategy and organizational goals, helping build the institutional infrastructure that enables E4E's programmatic teams to drive impact with clarity and confidence. Responsibilities: What will you do? Strategic Financial Leadership Review, assess, and make recommendations to build, improve, and drive refinement in current financial management systems, processes, and relationships with external vendors. Lead organizational budgeting, forecasting, and financial strategy in alignment with E4E’s new multi-year strategic plan. Partner with executive leadership, Program Operations team, and budget owners to support strong financial decision-making and resource allocation. Develop and monitor financial metrics, long-term financial models, and scenario planning to assess sustainability and risk. Present clear, timely financial reports and analysis to leadership, strengthening financial literacy and organizational accountability. Regularly assess financial health and make strategic recommendations to optimize expenses and maximize programmatic impact. Oversee annual financial audit processes and manage external auditor relationships. Lead relationships with key vendors and external consultants. Ensure strong internal controls, policy alignment, and GAAP-compliant financial reporting. Grants Management This role serves as the organizational lead on financial grants management, ensuring compliance, strategic use of revenue, and strong cross-functional coordination. Grants Financial Strategy Lead the financial strategy for both restricted and unrestricted funding, including cost analysis, grant sustainability planning, and grant monitoring and reporting systems Partner with Development and Program teams to build compliant, strategic proposal budgets that reflect full cost recovery and long-term financial health. Provide financial review and approval of all budgets and financial information submitted to funders. Restricted Net Asset (TRNA) Management Update and maintain the Temporarily Restricted Net Asset (TRNA) schedule at least monthly as the primary tool for tracking restricted activity. Integrate GAAP-based revenue recognition into monthly reporting and forecasts. Use the TRNA schedule to support variance analysis, forecasting, and year-round audit readiness. Track restricted grants, ensuring accurate allocation of expenses and timely recognition of revenue. Cross-Functional Grant Integration Establish and lead regular cross-functional grant monitoring and forecasting discussions across Finance, Development, Programs, and the Program Operations Team. Clarify and formalize roles, workflows, and handoffs related to: Grant setup, Revenue recognition, Spending against restrictions, and Financial reporting to funders. Implement a monthly Finance–Development reconciliation process to align grant tracking, reporting, and receivables. Communicate regularly with program and development leaders regarding available fund balances and spend-down plans. Monitor grant expenditures to prevent unallowable costs and ensure compliance with grant terms and deadlines. Review and monitor financial components of sub-grantee and consultant agreements to ensure adherence to funding restrictions and reporting requirements. Prepare internal and external grant-related fiscal reports and support responses to financial questionnaires from funders. Financial Compliance & Risk Management Ensure all financial practices and reporting comply with applicable federal, state, and local regulations. Manage financial risk and strengthen processes to ensure audit readiness and long-term sustainability. Oversee compliance related to restricted funding, federal grants, and applicable nonprofit regulations. Establish clear accountability for lobbying compliance, including: Oversight of tracking, documentation, and reporting processes Alignment of time tracking, payroll allocations, and expense coding to support accurate lobbying classification Coordination across systems to ensure reporting accuracy and audit readiness Financial Infrastructure & Process Leadership Set priorities and direction for the finance team to ensure accurate, timely financial reporting and strong internal controls. Oversee financial systems and reporting structures to ensure alignment with GAAP and nonprofit accounting standards. Strengthen financial policies and procedures to support transparency, clarity, and cross-departmental collaboration. Support strategic improvements to financial systems that enhance efficiency, data integrity, and reporting quality. Team Leadership Supervise and develop members of the finance team. Lead and drive successful change management. Establish clear goals, priorities, and performance expectations aligned with organizational strategy. Build a culture of strong financial stewardship, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Cultural leadership: As a member of the FOPE team, the Director will champion E4E’s Core Values and Commitment to Anti-Racism . The Director will be a key financial thought partner for national teams and regional chapters and will be a trusted partner for strategic financial analysis and planning. In doing so, this staff member actively embodies anti-racist practices in all aspects of their work and pushes the organization and their colleagues to continue to grow and improve within these values by modeling a strong and inclusive culture for their team and the streams of work they manage. The Director will support a team culture in which all people can thrive, grow, and develop to further E4E's mission. Minimum Requirements: Experience: At least 7+ years of professional experience. Experience in nonprofit finance leadership roles within a dynamic organizational development context (e.g., start-up, new strategic plan execution, etc.) is strongly preferred. Technical Skills: Experience with Sage Intacct & Microsoft Office; Salesforce experience is a plus. Deep Excel knowledge preferred, Experience with DocuSign, ADP, and Concur, and/or a strong ability and desire to learn systems and software tools preferred Transportation: Virtual Core Values: What beliefs do you embody? How do you approach your work? Responsiveness - We keep each other in the loop to keep the work moving forward. Inclusiveness - We make spac