Financial Innovation Associate

Salary Range: $65,000.00 To $75,000.00 Annually

Team:
Shorefast Institute

Location:

Remote work position, available to applicants based in Fogo Island or St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, or in the Toronto (GTA) region of Ontario.

The Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies is a national initiative to build, learn, and share practices that strengthen local economies in service of place. The Institute's work is organized around three interconnected programs — Economic Nutrition, Shorenet, and The Forge.

Modeled on food nutrition labelling, the Economic Nutrition Certification Mark reveals the economics beyond price for any product or service: what every dollar pays for and where it goes. Following a successful national pilot in 2025, Economic Nutrition is scaling across Canada and drawing international attention, including selection in 2026 as a top ten Edge of Government innovation by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation and Apolitical.

The Shorefast Institute is part of Shorefast, the charity behind Fogo Island Inn. 100 percent of Shorefast's operating surpluses are reinvested into building a resilient future for Fogo Island. Learn more about us: institute.shorefast.org

The Financial Innovation Associate grows with the program: an accounting professional who wants to use their financial skills to contribute to a program directing investment back into the places we live. This is not a typical accounting role. The Associate is the analytical backbone of the certification process, working directly with businesses from single-location social enterprises to large national companies, and helps redefine what it means to be a “creative accountant” by developing new economic tools and reports powered by accounting data for businesses and regions across the country.

Reporting to, and mentored by, the Manager, Financial Innovation, the role contributes to program delivery and operations alongside an ambitious team.

• Certification analysis. Complete the first pass review of every Economic Nutrition certification: analyzing business financial data, validating inputs, and preparing certifications for senior approval. Serve as the primary point of contact for businesses during their certification window, guiding them through the process with clarity and care.
• Renewals and standards. Lead annual renewal reviews and help maintain the certification standards documentation. As new edge cases and business models emerge, contribute to writing the rulebook for a first of its kind certification.
• Insights and advocacy. Dig into regional certification data to surface the insights that power the Institute's advocacy reports and point to targeted areas for investment that strengthen local supply chains.
• Large business engagements. Provide financial analysis support on engagements with larger enterprises, where certification becomes a deeper consulting relationship.
• Program delivery. Over time, facilitate the financial and data sections of the Economic Nutrition program, teaching business owners and regional partners how to read and act on their own numbers.
• Program operations. Share in the administration that keeps a growing national program running, including contracts and payment tracking, participant onboarding, scheduling and KPI tracking alongside the program team.

• Two to three years of accounting or finance experience.
• CPA designation or actively pursuing it. Recent CFE writers are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Strong analytical skills and fluency with financial statements, with the ability to work confidently with imperfect, real-world business data.
• Excellent communication skills, especially the ability to explain financial concepts to audiences who are not finance specialists, with patience and warmth.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, and comfort balancing analytical work with program administration.
• Bilingualism in English and French would be an asset.
• A genuine interest in community economic development, social enterprise, or place-based…