Chief Financial Officer

Note: This position is Hybrid (Zambia) or Remote with a strong preference for a home base in Kenya, South Africa, United Kingdom, or Eastern United States

Healthy Learners is on a mission to improve the health of children through school-based community health. Our simple yet powerful model moves the healthcare entry point to where children already are – their schools – by training and equipping the people children already trust and are with nearly every day – their teachers. With our flagship program in Zambia, we partner with the country government and local communities to bring our school health model. Today, we have served nearly 1,000,000 students, and with the Zambian government as a full partner, we’re on track to reach 2.5 million children by 2028.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Healthy Learners has experienced rapid growth – increasing from $4M to $14M in the last two fiscal years – and is on a trajectory for future expansion and scale. At this exciting time, we are seeking a highly experienced and forward-thinking Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to drive the organization's long-term financial health, sustainability, and scalability. Specifically, the CFO will:

• Provide visionary financial leadership to guide the organization through growth and scale, ensuring long-term sustainability, operational excellence, and alignment of financial strategy with mission and impact.
• Serve as a thought partner to CEO and organizational leadership, contributing to overall organizational direction and helping shape and drive the vision for scale.
• Provide strategic financial modeling and forecasting and build business cases to guide sustainable growth.
• Provide rigorous financial oversight and stewardship, including audits, annual budgeting, risk management systems, and funding readiness.
• Lead and mentor a high-performing 5-member finance team, fostering a culture of ownership, transparency, and excellence.
• Partner with the board’s treasurer and finance committee, providing timely and insightful financial reporting and serving as a thought partner on key fiscal decisions.
• Identify and implement efficiencies that streamline operations and support scale without compromising quality or compliance.
• Establish and refine procurement systems that support compliance, cost-effectiveness, and mission-aligned growth across geographies.
• Drive the selection, implementation, and adoption of scalable systems and processes for financial management and reporting, including ERP platforms and dashboards.
• Define and implement clear financial authority and delegation matrices across teams to support accountability and clarity in decision-making
• Promote a culture of transparency and compliance with financial policies and procedures, serving as an accessible resource in communicating the "why" behind financial decisions and policies.

WHO YOU ARE

• You are an enthusiastic champion for Healthy Learners’ mission and values. You are inspired to scale a proven solution to improve the health of children through school-based community health. You thrive on a team that values humility, emotional intelligence, a willingness to learn, and a hunger for continuous growth and improvement.
• You are a strategic and growth-oriented finance leader with international nonprofit experience. You bring 15+ years of progressive nonprofit financial leadership, with demonstrated skill in budgeting, modeling, accounting, compliance, and financial planning, ideally at organizations experiencing growth and scale.
• You are a trusted thought partner to executive leadership. You bring a strategic lens to financial decision-making, helping to shape organizational priorities, inform long-term planning, and translate vision into operational plans. You offer high-level insight while staying connected to day-to-day execution.
• You are a forward-looking strategist and systems thinker who connects financial planning to organizational impact. You design adaptive financial structures and implement scalable systems, processes, and policies that support programmatic growth, clarity, and accountability.
• You are an effective communicator who builds trust across diverse audiences. You translate complex financial concepts into accessible language, fostering alignment and shared understanding. You engage stakeholders across teams and backgrounds with clarity, empathy, and intention.
• You are a thoughtful people leader who builds and develops high-performing teams. You bring out the best in others by leveraging their strengths, setting clear expectations, and creating a culture of ownership and accountability.
• You are a resourceful, action-oriented operator with strong technical skills and analytical rigor. You anticipate needs, test scenarios, and drive progress using data, with experience in ERP platforms and dashboards to support informed, sustainable decision-making.
• You thrive in dynamic, high-growth environments and inspire others to embrace change. You build strong cross-functional partnerships and rally teams across departments, cultures, and time zones around shared goals.

Other desired qualifications, experience, and knowledge include:

• Master's degree in business administration or related area
• Experience working in global health, education, or international development, particularly in a scaling organization
• Experience and/or knowledge of working with country governments in Sub-Saharan Africa