School Finance Analyst

Overview

The School Finance Analyst is a part-time role designed for an individual looking to apply and grow their business, analytical, and finance/accounting skills in the education sector. Finance Analysts support schools in their day-to-day financial operations, including payroll, accounts payable, grants management, and monthly accounting closes, while receiving hands-on training and mentorship from experienced team members. We take a long-term view of our Analysts and their career development, with the intention for this role to grow into a full-time position as business needs and performance align, and ultimately provide a pathway to a School Finance Specialist role.

Reports to a Finance Team Manager. Location flexible.

Who we are:

EdOps is a B-Corp which partners with schools to provide expert support in finance, accounting, and student data management, helping education leaders make informed decisions while minimizing the financial, operational, and compliance burdens of running a school. Simply put, we make it easier for school leaders to increase student achievement. Our experience working with a wide range of schools – from newly authorized charter schools to independent schools with century-long histories, and from microschools to multi-campus networks – allows us to provide high-quality finance, accounting, and student data support across diverse educational environments.

Our team of over 100 professionals currently serves over 100 independent and public charter schools and networks across D.C., Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, and New York. We are serious about being the best possible partners to schools, and it shows in our 93% annual client retention rate. We work hard at being a rewarding, enjoyable workplace where staff can grow professionally and make an impact. We are looking for education focused, accounting and finance loving, collaborative people to join our team.

What you will do:

• Support all necessary back-office financial/accounting aspects of a portfolio of schools, including accounts payable, payroll, accounts receivable, bank reconciliation, grants administration, and financial compliance.
• Collaborate with EdOps School Finance Specialists to maintain accounting books/schedules and produce monthly financial statements.
• Assist in audit preparation, annual 1099 issuance and other ad-hoc reports.
• Liaise with school staff.

What you will accomplish:

• By Year 1 you will:
  • Independently manage the payroll process and accounts payable for multiple schools.
  • Learn and understand key aspects of the monthly accounting close cycle including grants administration and bank reconciliations.
  • Complete annual financial compliance requirements like 1099s.
• By Year 3 you will:
  • Independently manage key parts of the monthly accounting close cycle including grants management, journal entries, accounts and bank reconciliations.
  • Support fundamental aspects of the annual financial audit process for one or more schools.
  • Take on increased ownership of day-to-day accounting and finance activities for assigned schools.
  • Promotion opportunity: Senior Analyst and/or Associate School Finance Specialist.

Who you are:

• Find joy in solving tactical financial problems for schools. The little things make schools actually work.
• Care about education and outcomes for students as much as you care about well designed financial processes.
• Energized by being in a customer service role. We are here first and foremost to serve our school clients.
• Natural inclination towards resourcefulness and a “can-do” attitude. You are comfortable when there is no clear solution and will reach out and look for one.
• Able to proactively communicate and recognize how your work connects to others inside and outside of the company.
• Desire and willingness to learn. We will teach, but you need to be ready to take a lot in.
• Able to collaborate with colleagues at any level of the organization internally and externally. We work with school staff and leaders at all levels, from the Front Desk Assistant to the Executive Director; the Analyst job also requires open lines of communication with Specialists.
• Able to work independently and take ownership of completing assigned work.
• Committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Open to learning and growing in these areas together so that each of us can contribute to building a culture of equity and support our schools in advancing these values. Please see more on EdOps's commitment here.

What you need:

• Strong organization and time management skills. There is a lot going on here.
• Intermediate Excel knowledge, such as formulas like vlookup and sumifs, because Excel will be your best friend in executing on the everyday financial work.
• Quantitative or technical background in either experience or coursework as there are numbers everywhere in our work.
• Strong attention to detail as the details in our work, such as school staff being paid on time, are critical.
• General comfort with technology systems (e.g., Google suite, financial systems) because we are not big fans of paper around here at EdOps.
• An openness and proactive mindset toward leveraging new technology, especially AI tools, to innovate and enhance the quality and efficiency of your work. "If you've already used AI to make your work better or faster, we'd love to hear about it.
• Coursework or experience in business, economics, finance or accounting.
• Typically, Finance Analysts have post-secondary educational experience and/or relevant work experience.

What you get:

• Purpose driven work focusing on student achievement through operational excellence. That is what it is all about.
• Chance to work every day with colleagues who are committed to kids and supportive of each other’s efforts.
• Check out other perks of working at EdOps here. And some details on benefits here.

We know that a team from a wide range of backgrounds with different life experiences, identities, opinions, and talents makes us better able to innovate and deliver on our mission of supporting schools to improve student outcomes. Every day we work to build an inclusive company culture where everyone can be themselves at work and do their best work.

What you can expect from the hiring process: