Director of Finance
Remote
Network Support – Finance and Accounting /
Full-time /
Remote
Position Description
The Director, Finance is a full-time, exempt position, reporting directly to the VP of Finance. The Director will be responsible for leading the analysis and communication of financial data across two of our regions, as well as our National teams. The Director will work directly with the Regional Executive Director(s) and their teams, as well as National Leadership Team members to provide support in budgeting, annual and long-term forecasting, reporting and long-term strategic planning.
The Director will serve as a strategic partner to the VP of Finance, Regional Executive Directors, and National Leadership Team, providing financial data and insightful analyses to support decision-making processes. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in collaborating with cross-functional teams, ensuring financial stability, and contributing to the achievement of organizational goals.
The Ideal Candidate
The ideal Director, Finance candidate will align with Rocketship’s Vision, Mission, and Values as well as our DEI vision. In partnership with the VP of Finance, the ideal candidate will reinforce a positive culture within the team to ensure Rocketship remains a model of excellence in financial stewardship in public education.
This leader will have a strong executive presence, excellent communication skills and significant ability to motivate and influence others. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of fiscal management as well as excellent analytic and strategic planning skills. The candidate should possess the ability to communicate complex financial information in an easily digestible manner to stakeholders who are not well versed in finance. The candidate should combine a capacity for systems-level thinking, careful attention to detail, and strong interpersonal skills in building relationships with critical internal and external stakeholders.
Essential Functions
- Perform and lead in-depth financial analyses, build and maintain detailed growth and strategic models, and develop fact-based recommendations to help make informed business decisions.
- Maintain a close working relationship with other members of the Network Support Team (NeST—Rocketship’s centralized office that operates in support of our schools and regions), school directors, and all school staff (teachers, school leaders, support staff, etc.) to provide actionable data and engage in strategic financial decision making.
- Work with the VP, Finance and other stakeholders to define and implement the annual budgeting process.
- Provide support in the preparation and submission of authorizer and government compliance reports.
- Prepare materials and analyses for the annual audit including supports for the Single Audit
- Provide coaching and development to team members to support growth
- Optimize the FP&A process, reporting and system functionality, identifying and integrating improvements
- Analyze and review monthly variance results and quarterly forecasts, in close partnership with other Finance Department and Accounting leadership
- Partner with cross functional business leaders to establish budgets, build forecasts and communicate results
- Support the preparation of financial reports and presentations for internal and external audiences (i.e. Authorizers, Senior Leadership, Board Members, and Budget Managers)
- Successfully represent Rocketship’s financial needs, interests and results with internal (school leaders, regional leaders, executive team) and external stakeholders and develop trust and leverage influence with external organizations and allies
- Ensure the finance team is viewed as a positive support to the organization’s mission and that it is fully aligned with Rocketship’s values: Authenticity, Community, Tenacity,Innovation, and Excellence.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance or Accounting, MBA preferred.
- 5+ years of experience in financial analysis, forecasting and planning.
- A belief in the mission and education model of Rocketship Public Schools with the ability to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, flexible and autonomous environment.
- Experience and comfort working in a fast-growing organization and managing continuous change and ambiguity.
- Strong understanding of, and experience with, accounting principles and financial statements.
- Ability to creatively translate large amounts of data into useful information and actionable conclusions.
- High level of intellectual curiosity, self-motivation, and attention to detail.
- Ability to prioritize multiple responsibilities in a dynamic environment and manage deadlines accordingly.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving and interpersonal communication skills (both written and verbal) with the ability to work independently and interact effectively with all levels of management.
- Advanced Excel skills.
- Significant experience modeling and forecasting with Adaptive Insights or other Business Intelligence tools.
- Experience with accounting systems, such as Intacct, SAP, Netsuite.
- Ability to partner cross-functionally, through strong relationship building.
- Ability to strategize and deliver results, create metrics and drive accountability.
- Highest level of integrity and good judgment.
- Comfortable working under pressure.
- Possess a service-oriented, positive attitude.
- Possess a commitment to the Rocketship DEI Vision.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience managing multiple reporting units
- Location: DFW area under a hybrid model preferred. However, fully remote anywhere in the U.S. could also be an option
$145,000 - $165,000 a year
