Cambridge, MA

The Organization
The Schott Foundation for Public Education’s mission is to develop and strengthen a broad-based and representative movement to achieve fully resourced, quality preK-12 public education, giving every child an opportunity to learn. The Schott Foundation is a national leader in social justice philanthropy and public education advocacy. Schott strategically resources advocacy campaigns to provide students with an opportunity to learn by providing a hybrid of philanthropic supports, network building supports, communications supports, and policy advocacy supports. Schott makes it possible for communities across the country to address the race and income-based “opportunity gaps” that underlie achievement gaps – ultimately helping thousands of students, district-by-district and state-by-state. In helping to strengthen this movement, Schott recognizes its pivotal role as both funder and advocate in the social justice arena.

Position Overview
The Schott Foundation for Public Education seeks to hire a new Director of Finance who will report to the Chief Operating Officer. This is a new, part-time role to provide vital oversight of the organization’s finance and accounting activities. The Director of Finance will be an advisor and strategic thought partner to the COO as the organization grows. The successful candidate will be a hands-on and participative manager and will have one direct report to manage finance, business planning and budgeting. This role is twenty hours per week.

The Director of Finance will play a critical role in partnering with the senior leadership team in strategic decision making and operations as the Schott Foundation continues to enhance its programming and build capacity in advocacy groups across the country. This is a tremendous opportunity for a finance leader who is seeking meaningful part-time work to maximize and strengthen the internal capacity of a well-respected, high-impact organization.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
•    Create and present financial reports in an accurate and timely manner. Manage the month-end close process, including the employee and overhead allocations. Review bank reconciliations and complete financial reports and internal grantee/funder reports.
•    Prepare short and long-term financial forecasts of cash flow and financial performance for use with internal management and external parties.
•    Organize financial reporting materials for internal and external audiences, support the Foundation’s grantmaking work and oversee all financial, project/program and grants accounting.
•    Oversee and lead annual budgeting and planning process in conjunction with the Leadership Team; administer and review all financial plans and budgets; monitor progress and changes and keep senior leadership team abreast of the organization’s financial status.
•    Oversee audit and tax functions, coordinate activities with outside audit firm and review its performance.
•    Assess the viability of Financial Edge accounting system and if needed, implement any system changes, Review current contracts management reporting system to ensure that the contract billing and collection schedule is adhered to and support operational requirements.
•    Update and implement all necessary business policies and accounting practices; when appropriate, propose and implement improvements to the finance department’s operations.
•    Responsible for reviewing accounts payable entry and cash disbursements, including processing online payments, reviewing credit card entry and 1099 reporting.
•    Responsible for cash receipt entry, including electronic payments from funders, and supervising the grant award process tracking.
•    Prepare periodic reports and budget narratives for the board meetings three times a year.

QUALIFICATIONS:
•    An MBA, CPA or equivalent experience is required.
•    Experience with key areas of financial management mentioned above. Nonprofit experience is strongly preferred but not required.
•    An appreciation for social justice and advocacy in support of traditional public education.
•    A passion for getting things done, and an appreciation for details. A strong believer in continual, strategic process improvement, who is also ready to jump in to handle fires as they occur.
•    Excellent interpersonal skills and a sense of humor are a plus.