Description

Director of Finance 

About APR

Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School (APR) is a tuition-free, public charter school offering a rigorous, college preparatory program in Grades 5-12 to 540 students from Boston. For 25 years, APR has empowered diverse learners (90% students of color; 11% English Learners; 25% on IEPs) of all racial and ethnic backgrounds to achieve their full intellectual and social potential through high-quality academic and enrichment programs to promote college and career exploration, cultural immersion, and community service. Our supportive and inclusive community actively counters patterns of inequity through dynamic learning partnerships between staff, students, and families. This work is grounded in the vision that all students graduate with a focused mind and a big heart, having the critical thinking, mastery of academic and social skills and a deep sense of self and others to joyfully pursue post-secondary education, careers, and civic life based on their passions and interests. Our 570 alumni have a six-year college graduation rate of 70% - double the national average of their demographic peers. 

Instructional Philosophy

Our welcoming, inclusive, and high expectations community enacts educational equity through an intellectually and identity affirming approach to teaching and learning grounded in dynamic learning partnerships between staff, students, and families. The APR team works to cultivate an environment in which students grapple with intellectually affirming curriculum across disciplines as members of identity affirming classroom communities. An APR education offers a counter-narrative that centers students with historically underrepresented identities as change-makers, influential leaders, and compassionate global citizens. We work collaboratively to uphold a supportive and challenging learning culture to ensure that each student's academic experience cultivates a deep sense of pride in identity, builds critical consciousness, and nourishes inherent genius. Our talented professional team facilitates an intentional, learning progression that empowers students with the aspiration, motivation, knowledge, and skill to confidently pursue opportunities of choice and transform society.

About the Position

The Director of Finance will be a strategic, collaborative, forward thinking team player. As a member of the APR senior leadership team, the Director of Finance will lead the vision for financial excellence, provide keen oversight of financial operations aligned to APR’s vision, and gather, assess, and synthesize information for the Board of Trustees, Executive Director, partners, senior leadership, and staff. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Finance will design and implement financial systems, processes, and best practices, and steer rigorous financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, compliance, and decision-making that support the organizational vision and enhance the quality of APR programs. We will know the Director of Finance is successful when we see evidence of strategic budget planning and management, excellent financial management systems, and proactive, empowering communication with key stakeholders. This is an ideal role for a finance professional with deep knowledge of school fiscal management who is highly qualified and highly motivated to carry out the following priorities: 

Leadership

• Serve as a key member of the APR senior leadership team, effectively collaborating with colleagues and staff across the organization, and ensuring the structure and work of the finance function fulfills organizational vision and mission.
• Ensure that the financial plans, organizational vision, and school based strategy are united to advance transformational outcomes for students in the short and long term.
• Provide thought partnership and timely reporting on financial issues and results to the Executive Director, Board of Trustees, and senior leadership team, proactively addressing issues and strategic opportunities and making recommendations supported by rigorous financial analysis, modeling, and review, and assessment of returns, risk, and due diligence.
• Develop financial strategy, including bringing strategic insight to decision-making, and providing strategic resource forecasting, modeling, intermediate planning, and tactical deployment.
• Identify opportunities for strategic financial management analysis and benchmarking.

Accounting & Finance 

• Lead the annual and capital budget process in collaboration with the senior leadership team and outsourced CFO.
• Lead and manage the finance team and develop its capabilities aligned to APR’s growth model, financial complexity and maturity, accounting, financing, budgeting, risk, and other industry standards and best practices to ensure the sustainability of the organization. 
• Develop the business and operational plans for all functions in the Director of Finance span of control, establishing goals, objectives, policies, and procedures in accordance with the organization’s strategic plan and vision for financial functions including documenting financial procedures.
• Steward the day-to-day operations and continuous improvement of the budgeting, finance and accounting, and related operational functions, including managing financial transactions and effective internal controls and mechanisms to detect and mitigate risk and protect the organization from financial losses and liabilities.
• Oversee accounting control systems, the annual financial audit, and the accurate and timely production of accounting information, monthly financial reporting, and other reports including but not limited to updated financial statements to the Executive Director and Board of Trustees.
• Coordinate the work of the Finance Committee and participate in all Board and Foundation meetings.
• Develop and oversee all financial business planning, contracting requirements, and fiscal compliance with federal, state, and local governments and agencies as well as foundations, private donors, and partners in the field. 
• Perform monthly, quarterly and annual reconciliations, including payroll and purchasing.
• Supervise state and federal grants management including budgeting and reporting.
• Oversee administrative functions including, but not limited to, procurement, payroll, and purchasing.
• Manage payroll, benefits, CORI checks, and MTRS for all APR staff.

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HR & Payroll 

• Collaborate with outside HR vendor to ensure strong processes to manage the employee life cycle, benefits, and HR policy management.
• Liaise with outside HR vendor on payroll and HR related issues.
• Process semi-monthly payroll, ensuring payroll deductions are set up properly with regular monthly reconciliations and ensuring the funding of payroll withholdings.

Qualifications of Ideal Candidate

• A seasoned and mature leader with at least 3 years of finance management and supervisory experience administering a program of similar size and scope or larger in a growth climate, with preference given to school finance and/or nonprofit experience.
• Advanced degree such as an MBA or designation such as CPA preferred. 
• Integrity, commitment to transparency, and accountability, with a demonstrated passion for APR’s vision and mission and commitment to public education.
• A self-starter with demonstrated experience overseeing school budgets and funding programs and the ability to manage diverse organizational and programmatic performance and accountability indicators.
• A proven track record in systems building and working collaboratively to refine and enhance financial and budgeting planning and processes
• Ability to drive decisions and manage organizational change in an evolving, dynamic environment.
• Strong analytical and keen problem-solving skills, and experience translating a strategic vision into an operational model that aligns with financial goals, planning, and analysis. 
• Excellent communication and organizational skills. Demonstrated resourcefulness in setting priorities, proposing new ways of creating efficiencies, and guiding financial investments in people and systems. 
• Excellent management and facilitation skills including building teams and managing people through a coaching/professional development orientation. Exceptional influencing, interpersonal, and motivational skills with experience collaborating in a multi-disciplinary, diverse, and dynamic team.
• Unwavering commitment to creating, maintaining, and upholding high-quality programs and excellence in strategic, organizational, and financial management.
• Strong attention to detail-oriented and strong technology proficiency including in Google Suites and Microsoft Office.
• Alignment and commitment to APR Core Values as follows:
• We work to promote student agency through an academic curriculum that molds “Focused Minds” and a social/emotional curriculum that fosters “Big Hearts”.
• We strive to be an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We recognize that our cultural differences are what make us a unique and strong community. 
• We work hard every day to demonstrate kaizen, the continual improvement of ourselves and our community, in a spirit of self-reflection and commitment to anti-racism.
• We believe in a culture of caring deeply and challenging one another directly in service of better outcomes for students; we embrace feedback from each other.

TO APPLY: Please email your resume and letter of interest to talent@pacrim.org

Equal Opportunity Employer

APR is committed to ensuring that all of its programs and facilities are accessible to all members of the public and free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws.