Finance and Operations Manager

Finance and Operations Manager

at Transcend (View all jobs)

Flexible (Continental United States)

Start Date: Immediate 
Role Type: Full time
Location: Flexible -- Fully remote/virtual team
Travel: Willingness to travel 2-3 times/year for team collaboration

Who We Are:

Transcend’s mission is to support communities to create and spread extraordinary, equitable learning environments. Founded in 2015, Transcend has partnered with over 200 schools and 50 systems which collectively serve nearly 500,000 students in 30 states across the country. As a research and development (R&D) hub for the education field, Transcend provides schools and systems with research-backed, community-driven models, resources, and capacity so they can make significant leaps to reimagine the future of education. Transcend is a nonprofit that operates with a fully remote, nationwide team. 

For more information, visit our website; follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter; or check out this recent podcast featuring our two co-founders on Class Disrupted. 

The Opportunity:  

Come build and sustain the financial health and smooth operations for a caring and top-notch team – focused on redesigning school so that all young people can thrive. 

As the first Finance + Operations Manager on our team, you will play a critical role in ensuring our financial and operational systems, routines, and tools provide accurate, timely, and actionable information for decision-making and long-term sustainability. In stewarding our financial resources and operations, you will get a birds-eye view of an entrepreneurial nonprofit in action, and provide critical support to the entire team. 

Transcend is a young and growing nonprofit, entering year 7 of operations with ~80 teammates nationwide. The role can be based anywhere in the US, as Transcend is a fully virtual/remote team. This role reports to Trevor Bynoe, Director of Finance and Operations. 

See Trevor talk about his time at Transcend and what this role will mean to Transcend here.

In this role, you will get to:

• Do sophisticated financial modeling to help create, manage and improve Transcend’s complex financial models and reporting tools to analyze cash flow, budget performance, resource allocations, and overall financial health.
• Design new analytic tools and conduct ad-hoc analyses to support decision making across development, finance, and talent, including grant tracking, resource allocation tools, financial dashboards for a range of audiences, and more! 
• Craft compelling and clear data visualizations. Stacked bar or trend line? You know what works for what type of information, and relish the chance to design clear and compelling visuals that turn numbers into actionable insights.
• Manage key finance-related ops and HR systems and activities for Transcend, including creating contracts with school partners and independent contractors, salary benchmarking and equity checks for our team and contractors, and managing our printed products inventory and sales process.
• Research and implement new systems to support us as we grow, including PEO and benefits providers, software to support team allocations, and secure and smooth knowledge management (G-drive).
• Ensure compliance in our financial policies and systems, and support us in our annual financial audit. 

Who You Are:

You are an analytical thinker, with advanced skills in Excel and/or Google Sheets, who relishes the sweet moment when your complex analysis ties-out. You are precise and neat with your numbers, and spending quiet hours in a financial model brings you joy. You are familiar with GAAP financial statements and the fundamentals of accounting, and are eager to continue to grow your skills in finance, accounting, and related org operations. When you aren’t deep in the numbers -- you are researching and musing on the most efficient, values-aligned system that might improve team operations or streamline a routine process. 

You have strong organizational and project management skills, and enjoy seeing tasks through from idea to practice to iteration. You are masterful in managing your time, balancing competing demands and communicating actively with others who rely on you. Although you are comfortable working remotely, you understand and appreciate that your work is deeply connected with that of others, and look forward to building trusting relationships with a variety of teammates. You openly share your goals and ask for help when you need it, so work can be well-coordinated, especially in a virtual environment. 

The opportunity to work for a small, growing nonprofit -- and all that entails -- sounds like fun. You are comfortable with ambiguity, flexible to adjust to changing needs, and eager to roll-up your sleeves to help build Transcend as a lasting institution. 

Lastly, you love that your everyday work is in service to a mission that matters! You believe deeply in the power of education to change lives, and can’t wait to provide your analytical and operational expertise and ongoing learning to this cause. 

To all of this, you bring: 

• A commitment to Transcend’s mission of transforming education, with a passion for creating extraordinary and equitable learning environments
• A commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion in your approach to finance and operations
• Advanced skills in Excel and/or Google Sheets (e.g., INDEX MATCH, nested functions, queries, etc.) and eagerness to continue to build expertise in financial modeling
• Familiarity with GAAP accounting and creating and understanding financial statements
• Problem solving and critical thinking skills to support us in navigating through new problems, effective research, and implementation and management of new systems 
• Ability to independently problem solve and drive your own work, across multiple projects that move quickly in a remote work environment, with effective prioritization
• Hunger for feedback and growth based on a personal commitment to excellence and constant learning – thriving on feedback from multiple sources
• A willingness to travel up to 5% of the time to collaborate with your team
• Eagerness to embrace and live into Transcend’s core values

Perks and Benefits

Transcend is committed to providing our colleagues with a competitive benefits package. We are open to a range of experience profiles for this role. Early in our process, we will ensure that the salary band for the role based on your experience level and location is aligned with your expectations. Transcend offers medical, dental and vision coverage options, org-wide holidays, paid time off, paid parental leave, professional development opportunities, and fully remote work. We're also proud of our values-grounded, equity-focused, and fun(!) work environment, incredible colleagues, and a dedication to our work and each other. 

Join Us!

Transcend is an equal opportunity employer. We are building a diverse team that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we encourage candidates from historically underrepresented groups to apply.