Head of Finance

Build MATS's Finance function from the ground up: create the systems, processes, and team that let a 65-person AI safety organization double in size and thrive.

MATS (ML Alignment Theory Scholars) is an AI safety research fellowship and talent development nonprofit operating at ~$31M annual budget and scaling roughly 2x annually. We run cohorts of 120–175+ fellows across Incubation, Bridge, and Anchor research tracks, with offices in Berkeley, London, and Washington DC. We are mid-build-out of a full C-suite (CEO, CFRO, COO, CPO, Scientific Director) as the organization professionalizes its operating infrastructure to match its growth trajectory.

The Head of Finance owns MATS's financial operations end-to-end: the org's books, its money in (grants, donations) and money out (payments, stipends, procurement), the plan that ties spend to strategy (budgeting/FP&A), and the controls that keep all of it defensible (audit, risk, treasury). This is the senior operating finance role under the CFRO — Christian sets financial and risk strategy at the C-suite level and represents Finance to the Board;

the Head of Finance runs the function day-to‑day and is the primary executor of that strategy.

This role is right for someone who wants to build financial infrastructure for a nonprofit doubling in size annually — not maintain a steady-state function. Expect to design systems (not just operate them), make judgment calls under real ambiguity (multi‑currency, multi‑entity, cross‑border grant flows), and professionalize processes that have outgrown their current scale.

Accounting & Controllership

• Day-to-day bookkeeping, month‑end/year‑end close, chart of accounts, and general ledger integrity across US (and UK, if applicable) entities
• Financial statement preparation (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow) for leadership and Board reporting
• Reconciliations, journal entries, and maintaining a clean audit trail

Budgeting & FP&A

• Build and maintain the annual operating budget in partnership with the CEO, CFRO, and function leads
• Rolling forecasts and scenario planning (e.g., funding upside/downside cases, cohort-size sensitivity)
• Variance analysis and monthly/quarterly financial reporting to the leadership team and Board
• Unit economics and cost‑per‑fellow type modeling to inform program‑side resourcing decisions

Grants & Revenue

• Manage the full lifecycle of receiving and accounting for grants and donations: tracking restricted vs. unrestricted funds, donor/grantor reporting requirements, and compliance with funder terms
• Partner with development/fundraising on grant proposal financials and post‑award financial reporting

Payments, Payroll & Stipends

• Run payroll and the fellow stipend disbursement process across multiple cohorts, tracks, and (likely) currencies/jurisdictions
• Vendor and contractor payments, expense reimbursements, and accounts payable
• Own the policies and tooling (e.g., Brex/Ramp‑style platforms, payroll providers) that make this scale without manual overhead

Procurement

• Set procurement policy and approval workflows appropriate to a fast‑scaling org (avoiding both bottlenecks and uncontrolled spend)
• Vendor selection and contract financial terms for major spend categories (compute, office leases, software)

Audit & Compliance

• Lead annual financial audit (or audit readiness) and manage auditor relationships
• Ensure compliance with nonprofit financial regulations across US, UK, and any other operating jurisdictions (e.g., 990 filings, UK Charity Commission requirements if applicable)
• Maintain internal controls appropriate to MATS's size and risk profile, and evolve them as the org grows

Financial Strategy & Risk Management

• Co‑develop financial strategy with the CFRO: runway planning, reserve policy, funding diversification, multi‑year financial modeling
• Identify and mitigate financial risk (currency exposure, funding concentration, cash flow timing across grant cycles)
• Translate financial strategy into operating policy that program and ops teams can actually work within

Treasury / Investing Funds

• Manage cash and short‑term investment of organizational reserves consistent with a nonprofit risk posture (capital…