Vice President, Finance

About the Organization 

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of tuition-free public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 275 schools, nearly 16,500 educators, and 175,000 students and alumni. 

Our mission: Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. 

Our vision: Every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities. 

The KIPP Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports KIPP schools across the country. The KIPP Foundation trains and develops outstanding educators to lead KIPP public schools; provides tools, resources, and training for excellent teaching and learning; promotes innovation; and facilitates the exchange of insights and ideas across KIPP and other public schools and organizations. 

About Our Values: 

• Focus on Excellent Results: Winning for Children and Families – Denying people of color and people experiencing economic hardship excellent outcomes from public organizations is longstanding and only perpetuates inter-generational racism and poverty. We pursue excellence at a world-class level because our children and families deserve nothing less. We focus on excellent results, generated by excellent daily action because intentions alone will not enable our children to lead fulfilling lives. 
• Courageous Action: We do Hard Things All day, Every Day – Our work is centered on reversing the impact of generational racism and poverty on children of color from low-income families. This work is inherently challenging and will never be easy. Our mission requires that, through concerted action, we embrace, confront, and overcome adversity. 
• Resilient Solutions Focus: Find a Way or Make One – We doggedly pursue solutions to every problem we confront. For every problem, we find or invent a solution. We are smart, optimistic, and thoughtful in crafting solutions, but also timely, recognizing that our children only have one life to live. We embrace a growth mindset, believing that simply because we have not achieved our ultimate aims today does not mean that we cannot tomorrow. We chase the continuous improvement of ourselves, our interpersonal relationships, our teams, and our organization.

Position Overview 

The KIPP Foundation is looking for a Vice President, Finance, Controller who will be responsible for ensuring accuracy and integrity of the KIPP Foundation’s financial and reporting systems. The controller will lead and manage all daily accounting operations, audit, compliance, and monthly/annual financial reporting for a growing $100MM+ annual budget. The Vice President, Finance will manage the execution of financial compliance, the general ledger, procurement including vendor relationships, payroll, grants management, and the annual audit process for KIPP Foundation. In this role, you will also provide services and support finance leaders across the KIPP network, which currently spans across 27 regions. 

The Vice President, Finance will lead a team of 9 which includes direct supervision of the Sr. Director of Accounting & Audit, Director, Systems & Payables, Senior Payroll Accounting and Sr. Director, Grants Management. The Vice President, Finance will report directly to the Chief Financial Officer. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Finance and Accounting Management – Oversee the daily operations of the accounting department including control systems, transaction-processing, and policies and procedures; Manage month-end and year-end closing process; Develop and maintain a well-documented and effective system of finance and accounting procedures to ensure financial controls are implemented and monitored. 
• Financial Policies and Procedures – Develop, analyze and make recommendations relating to accounting and financial data processing systems to ensure effective and efficient financial operations; Assist CFO in the development of accounting and financial policies and procedures, review current procedures and monitor for compliance; Provide effective training to end users to ensure organizational compliance with financial policies. 
• Audit and Compliance – Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal government reporting requirements and tax filings; Safeguard assets and ensure accurate and timely recording of all transactions by implementing disciplines of internal audits, controls and checks across all departments; Serve as the primary contact during audit season for all audit requests, in coordination with the managing director of finance (including the workers’ compensation audit) 
• Financial Reporting – Prepare financial reports to key stakeholders, including partnering with development and grants team to provide reports to funders and to the federal government; providing financial reporting packages to Board of Directors, Audit Committee and Leadership Team. In addition, oversee the annual financial statement and A-133 Single audit 
• Team Leadership – Serve as member of the Expanded Leadership Team and contribute to org-wide initiative, while always operating as a culture and brand ambassador for KIPP to both internal and external audiences; lead, manage, and coach a high-performing team of fiancé professionals; advise and consult finance leaders across KIPP network to promote financial best practices. 

Key Competencies 

• Mission and Student Focus: a passion for KIPP’s mission; desire and ability to uphold KIPP’s values (Focus on Excellent Results, Courageous Action, and Resilient Solutions Focus) 
• Team Leadership & Talent Development – this includes team management skills, including people management, team management, and project management; as team lead, can foster a climate of openness, trust, solidarity, and continuous learning while ensuring synergies, efficiencies, and alignment across multiple initiatives that may span teams, functions, and regions. This also includes financial leadership, such as a strong example and effectively holds team members accountable to organizational financial guidelines. 
• Relentless Focus on Solutions and Results – Operates with strong oversight and attention to detail, while keeping goals at the center. Set culturally competent and ambitious goals with team to achieve measurable outcomes; create an environment in which all systems and processes support high levels of efficiency to ensure that chief priorities are accomplished successfully; champions the ongoing spirit of improvement and professional growth across the organization while holding teams accountable to results; 
• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving: can effectively identify several viable solutions and evaluates each one by considering the implications against a desired outcome; can effectively make and implement decisions where required even in the face of incomplete or ambiguous information that optimizes the probability for positive outcomes for the organization while centering our values; makes decisions that can withstand public scrutiny. 
• Process & Project Management: Can effectively manage complex projects with multiple stakeholders to deadlines while balancing multiple short- and long-term projects; demonstrates disciplined, independent, and innovative approach to translating strategy into priorities and project plans, even in unstructured spaces; continually applies strong attention to detail to the execution of all projects and constantly looks for ways to improve and to scale learning quickly. 
• Stakeholder Management and Influence: Identifies and creates opportunities to partner with relevant stakeholders; establishes trust through strong relationships to help facilitate gathering information, routing content drafts, and finalizing materials; can effectively drive desired impact through strong relationship building 
• Cultural Competence & Commitment to Equity: A proactive cultural leader and team player who thrives on collaboration and learning; can effectively collaborate with teammates across lines of difference. 

Qualifications

Experience and Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or Business or 10 years of equivalent experience. CPA Designation or MBA is preferred for this role 
• Expertise and experience with nonprofit accounting systems and fund accounting, with a strong preference for experience in public accounting 
• Exemplary integrity, discretion, and cultural competence while working with staff and with confidential/sensitive information. 
• Strong commitment to providing superior customer service 
• Strong management skills, including people management, team management, and project management. 
• Comfort and desire to work with in a collaborative, agile, outcomes-focused, equity-driven, and learning-oriented team. 

Additional Information

Work Conditions 

• Travel requirements: 10% 
• This is a full-time, exempt role 

Location 

It is preferred, but not mandatory for this role to be based out of a KIPP Foundation office. This role also offers the option of working from a remote office full-time. KIPP Foundation office is in NYC and Chicago. 

Compensation and Benefits.

In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation, or a range thereof, for roles in locations where legally required. Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, and relevant experience. The salary range for this position is $190,000-$227,000. In addition, KIPP Foundation provides a variety of benefits to employees, including: 

• 25 holidays for + 18 days additional flexible PTO days (flexible PTO increases to 23 days for years 3 and 4 and to 28 days for years 5+). 
• 100% paid parental leave 
• 100% coverage of the premium for employee and 75% for employee + family’s medical/dental/vision plans. 
• Wellness benefits such as fitness reimbursements, discounted tickets to theme parks/attractions, backup care support for children and adults/elders, and our employee assistance program 
• Finance Security benefits include such as a 401K retirement plan with 4% match, employer-sponsored legal plans, life/disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts 

KIPP Foundation embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of the students and communities with whom we work and the world that around them. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, mental or physical disability, and genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, military status, protected veteran status or any other category protected by law.