Finance Manager

Finance Manager (Remote)

ABOUT US

CollegeSpring is the only national nonprofit providing teacher-led test prep during the school day, helping students impacted by poverty unlock greater options after high school. For 16 years, we’ve partnered with school districts and organizations across the country to help more than 50,000 primarily first generation, economically disadvantaged, BIPOC students unlock opportunity through increased scores on gateway tests like the SAT, ACT, and TSIA2 (Texas Success Initiative Assessment). Today, we continue to expand by maximizing impact through larger district and nonprofit partnerships and harnessing the power of technology to better serve teachers and students.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Finance Manager leads all financial and accounting practices while ensuring that CollegeSpring executes on its strategic vision by developing the financial infrastructure and measures to achieve dramatic results and growth. This role is hands-on and execution-oriented, owning the day-to-day accounting close, bookkeeping, reconciliations, and preparation of complete, audit-ready financial statements. By expertly fulfilling financial stewardship responsibilities, the Finance Manager ensures high levels of operational efficiency and compliance, increased program sustainability, and sustained program growth.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Financial Stewardship: Drive impeccable finance and accounting processes by owning execution and strategic levels.

• Accounting Operations & Close: Own core accounting functions including accounts payable, expense management, journal entries, reconciliations, general ledger maintenance, and month-end and year-end close. Accurately track and recognize multiple revenue streams (restricted and unrestricted philanthropy and fee-for-service) in accordance with GAAP and nonprofit accounting standards.
• Financial Reporting & Audit: Produce timely, accurate financial statements and supporting schedules; investigate variances; and maintain clean, well-documented records. Lead the annual audit end-to-end as primary liaison to auditors and oversee preparation of required regulatory filings.
• Investment Oversight & Cash Management: Oversee investment and reserve accounts in alignment with Board-approved policies; serve as primary staff liaison to investment advisors; and ensure accurate accounting, monitoring, and reporting of investment activity for Board, audit, and compliance purposes.

Program Sustainability: Promote organizational health and longevity through financial planning and transparency.

• Budgeting & Forecasting: Lead preparation and ongoing management of the annual budget in partnership with departments; analyze and forecast performance to inform leaders on budget-to-actual results.
• Financial Efficiency & Metrics: Strengthen financial management practices and cost controls; collaborate cross-functionally on vendor and system decisions; and prepare clear financial and operational metrics for leadership, Board, and committee use, including ownership of FinOps-related strategic goals.

Program Growth: Support strategic initiatives to expand and enhance CollegeSpring's programs through financial thought partnership.

• Financial Modeling: Develop financial models to support strategic decision-making, scalability, and resource allocation.
• Fundraising & Grant Finance Support: Partner with the development team to support fundraising and grant efforts through financial briefs, donor and grant reporting, forecasting, and compliance monitoring; ensure accurate tracking and reporting of restricted, multi-year, and donor-funded revenue.

Board & Committee Support: Ensure effective Board and committee governance through thoughtful preparation, organized materials, and timely follow-through.

• FinOps, Audit, & Governance Committees: Prepare and coordinate FinOps and Governance Committee meetings and materials; maintain accurate financial, investment, and governance documentation; track decisions and action items; partner with legal counsel on policy and bylaw updates; and serve as primary liaison to external advisors, including the investment advisor.
• Board Meetings: Coordinate Board meetings end-to-end, including scheduling, agendas, materials, and logistics; partner with the Board Chair and CEO to finalize agendas and presentations; compile and distribute Board packets; and track Board action items and follow-through.

HOW YOU’LL DO IT

Driven by CollegeSpring’s:

• Position: Empowering students with greater choices after high school.
• Vision: Life-changing opportunities for every student.
• Mission: Building confidence and capability with test prep for all.
• Values:
  • Excellence Is Our Standard. We believe in the potential of people, the power of ambitious goals, and supporting each other to achieve excellence.
  • Learning Drives Us. Every day we learn, improve, adapt, and make the changes that propel our progress.
  • Challenges Are Opportunities. A can-do attitude and growth mindset can overcome adversity and move mountains.
  • Relationships Fuel Impact. Accountability, trust, and communication are the cornerstones of the internal and external relationships which make our impact possible.
  • Agency Is Our Aim. We promote student readiness and empower them with choice.

Core Competencies

• Communication: You are comfortable drafting communication in other’s voices. You have the ability to anticipate questions and needs of audiences. You are able to leverage communication to inspire, influence, drive people to action, support decision making and build relationships. You have the ability to support others in building their communications skills.
• Problem Solving: You are able to leverage others thoughts and expertise in order to problem solve collaboratively and view an issue holistically. You are leaning into the challenges as opportunities and proactively seeking out problems to solve. You are able to look at situations from multiple viewpoints and identify potential pitfalls or challenges early on and provide possible solutions. You have the ability to support others in building their problem solving skills. You have the commitment to not resting on how things have always been done. You have the ability to experiment, fail fast, and iterate.
• Relationships: You are able to anticipate the needs of people and proactively act. You have the ability to respond to stakeholders in an empathetic and compassionate way that values the relationship. You build strong internal relationships. You have the ability to empathize and see others' perspectives.
• Data Analysis: You are able to translate user experience findings into strategic recommendations network-wide. You are able to look at data from multiple perspectives in order to communicate a larger story or narrative. You are able to contextualize data within the larger narrative and story. You are able to support others in their data analysis and management skills.
• Collaboration: You have a strong respect for different thoughts and opinions when approaching a project. You have the ability to fill in the gaps and highlight areas that others may have missed. You have the ability to communicate with different people and teams and manage communication from others – all while committed to a shared outcome.
• Project Management: You take initiative to move forward on projects; proactively seeks guidance rather than waiting for direction. You have the ability to tackle large complex projects by breaking them down into project plans and managing diverse groups of internal and external stakeholders to achieve timely success. You have the ability to manage up.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree
• 3-5 years of leadership experience in finance and/or accounting in a nonprofit setting.
• Demonstrated experience owning month-end close, reconciliations, and audit preparation in a nonprofit or complex accounting environment.
• Experience preparing organizations for independent financial audits and managing auditor relationships.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills with the ability to articulate financial concepts and metrics to varying audiences.
• Experience working in and managing a metrics-driven team.
• Proficiency in QuickBooks, bill.com, and Google Workspace.
• Nice to Have: Experience in the education sector (schools/school districts)

Preferred

• Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), or Financial Risk Manager (FRM)

MORE DETAILS

• This role is remote within the United States. Travel will rarely but occasionally be required.
• The hiring salary range for this position is $78,000 - $91,000, with final offer dependent on qualifications and internal equity. In addition to salary, total compensation includes a benefits package of health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances, flexible spending accounts, 403(b) retirement plan with employer match, 32 paid days of office closures, 15 days PTO in your first year, 5 sick days, 2 paid days to volunteer in your community, inclusive paid family leave, and an annual work from home reimbursement.
• We believe that the unique contributions of all CollegeSpring employees create our success. To ensure that our culture and our work continue to incorporate everyone’s perspectives and experience, we never discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status. We welcome all applications from a wide range of candidates. Selection for roles will be based on individual merit alone.
• Must be able to sit or stand for prolonged periods.
• This is not necessarily an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements or working conditions. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, CollegeSpring reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed to address evolving business and partner needs.

Total compensation includes a benefits package of health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances, flexible spending accounts, 403(b) retirement plan with employer match, 32 paid days of office closures, 15 days PTO in your first year, 5 sick days, 2 paid days to volunteer in your community, inclusive paid family leave, and an annual work from home reimbursement.

English, fluent